CCN Program Overview
You can run F5® hardware and software products in secure
environments where there is no Internet connectivity and data cannot leave the
secure environment.
For CCN customers, F5 offers a manual licensing process.
The product exports a system-specific set of data that is submitted manually.
The F5 license server will return a system-specific license file.
The product will then use the license file to enable
software features and disallow the license from being installed on
additional systems.
Requirements and eligibility for the manual licensing process
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You should use this manual licensing process only for systems in secured
environments, also known as closed circuit networks (CCN).
F5 defines these systems as: "Devices that, due to a security policy,
cannot connect to F5 Networks License Server through the normal
licensing process to acquire a license for the product". This definition
may include devices that must go through a day-long (or longer) security
or sanitization process to send and receive data through the F5 License Server.
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The system must run in a secured environment where physical network
configuration or a security policy strictly prohibits you from transmitting
any data outside the network, such as in highly-secure government, military,
or banking environments.
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The CCN process does not support F5 end-of- life (EOL) platforms, such as the
F20 or F25. Please visit
support
for the most up-to-date platform EOL list.
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Make sure that your system has a current service contract before you
submit a license activation, especially when upgrading the software version.
To be eligible for software version upgrades, a system must have a current F5
service contract. This eligibility is automatically validated through the
service check date in the license file and the software release date embedded
in the software.
For more information, please see
K7727: License activation may be required before a software upgrade for the BIG-IP or Enterprise Manager system.
Alternatives for licensing in a secure environment
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You can license new or Return Materials Authorization (RMA) hardware units
before installing them in the CCN by temporarily connecting the units to
an open network where you can license them through the standard manual or
automated licensing processes. Obtaining the unit‘s initial license through
the standard licensing process also helps F5 better support the unit in the
future.
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Use the F5 Secured Environment License Utility.