Cisco Meraki license co-termination simplifies license management for multi-unit networks through redistribution of license credits. Co-termination is easy enough to comprehend conceptually, but the process can be complicated. Continue reading for an explanation of Cisco Meraki's licensing co-termination.
How It Works
The goal of co-termination is to maintain the same renewal date across all licenses, regardless of when new equipment is added. Users would constantly be renewing individual licenses if it weren't for co-termination. However, with this policy in place, if you add a new unit with a one-year license, but your other equipment has less than a year of licensing left, the excess term is shared equally among all units so that they all have the same term left.
A Simple Example
The situation is most simply illustrated when you have identical hardware with the same license type. As an example, suppose you have nine access points (APs) with two months left on their licenses. You then buy a new AP with a standard one-year license. As it stands, the new unit's license would expire ten months after the existing units.
Co-termination means that instead of having one unit with a longer license period than the others, the excess is shared among all units to ensure a common licensing term. In this example, the excess ten months is shared among all ten units giving an extra month of license term to each. Therefore, the purchase of the new unit means that you now have ten units, all with three months left on the licenses.
The same is true in the reverse situation. Let's say four months after purchasing ten APs with two-year licenses, you realize you need an additional AP. You purchase a one-year license, which, without co-termination, would expire eight months before the others. Instead, the extra time from the older licenses is shared with the new license.
Real World Cases
Unfortunately, this concept does become more complicated when different types of Meraki licenses come into play. The principle explained above is still applied; however, everything is weighted according to dollar value and the equation must be run multiple times.
You are not gaining or losing financially with this arrangement as you are still getting the amount of licensing you paid for – it is merely being distributed across your units to better match your network.
Co-Termination Calculator
To get an idea of how new licenses will affect your co-termination date, use the Cisco Meraki co-termination calculator or the formulas below. It's important to note that the calculator must be run multiple times for multiple different license lengths. This means that one-year licenses should be calculated with other licenses of one year. Then, the time ascertained will be used in the next calculation of new licenses of different terms as the Remaining Time1.
1. Remaining Time1 of Existing Licenses = Expiration Date - Current Date
2. Incremental Days = New License Term in Days - Remaining Time1
3. Incremental Dollar Days of new products of the same term =
(Incremental Days x Base PriceNewA x Number of LicensesNewA) + (Incremental Days x Base PriceNewB x Number of LicensesNewB) +...
4. Daily License Usage Rate = (Number of LicensesExistingA x Base PriceExistingA) + (Number of LicensesExistingB x Base PriceExistingB) + (Number of LicensesNewA x Base PriceNewA) + ...
5. Incremental Time Purchased = Incremental Dollar Days / Daily License Usage Rate
6. Remaining Time2 = Incremental Time Purchased + Remaining Time
We're Happy to Help
Co-termination can be confusing, but understanding the underlying purpose can help. Ultimately, co-termination streamlines future licensing decisions and ensures all components are licensed concurrently. This allows you to add to your system incrementally while managing licensing as a single system.
Do you have more questions about Meraki licensing? Hummingbird Networks is happy to help! Contact us today!
