Meraki Licensing FAQs
General Licensing FAQs
How does Meraki licensing work?
Meraki devices use the Meraki cloud for centralized management and control. The Meraki cloud is licensed on a per device, per year basis. Each device is licensed for a set duration with an expiration date.
What is the difference between co-termination and per-device licensing models?
Meraki supports two main types of licensing models, per-device licensing (PDL) and co-termination licensing (co-term). Details regarding the similarities and differences between the two models can be found in the Meraki Licensing document.
Can I combine co-termination and per-device licensing models in the same organization?
No. Licensing is handled on a per-organization level and each organization can only have one licensing model. Organizations will use the co-termination model by default, but administrators can opt into the per-device model if they choose.
How much does an Enterprise Cloud license cost?
License prices vary for each product line. For example, a one-year wireless license list price is $150 and a three-year switch license list price is $400. Licenses are available for different time durations (1 day, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10 years).
How do I buy an Enterprise Cloud license?
You can buy a license through an authorized Meraki partner or reseller.
Do I need to have a license for every piece of Meraki hardware?
Yes, every Meraki hardware component requires a cloud license to be managed. Meraki hardware that isn’t licensed won’t pass traffic.
Do I have to buy more licenses every time I buy new hardware?
Not necessarily. While each device requires a license to function, it is possible that a previously purchased license (that hasn't expired) could apply to a new device. For example: since wireless APs devices do not have model-specific licenses, you could purchase a new MR model to replace an older MR model (as part of an upgrade) without also buying a new license.
Please note that licenses and hardware are sold separately.
NOTE: Some Meraki MX security appliances are eligible for license conversion. Please call Meraki Support for additional information and assistance.
Are there different license tiers or editions?
The cellular gateway (MG), camera (MV), and systems manager product lines have one tier: Enterprise.
The switch product line (MS) has two tiers: Enterprise and Advanced licensing (only for select models)
The wireless product line (MR) has two tiers: Enterprise and Advanced/Upgrade (which are described in the Cisco Umbrella Integration document).
The security/SD-WAN appliance product line (MX) has three tiers: Enterprise, Advanced Security, and Secure SD-WAN Plus, which are described in the Meraki MX Security and SD-WAN Licensing document. The virtual appliance (vMX) has three tiers: Small, Medium, and Large.
Meraki Insight (MI) has five tiers: X-Small, Small, Medium, Large, and X-Large. Details can be found in the Meraki Insight Introduction document.
How does licensing vary between different Meraki product lines, e.g., wireless, switches, and security appliances?
The primary difference is that for all wireless access points (MR series) and camera lines (MV series), the license is the same for all hardware models with the respective product line. In contrast, for the switches (MS series) and security appliance line (MX series), each hardware model has a different license.
Example: the LIC-ENT-1YR (1-year Enterprise MR license) applies to any of the MR access points. The LIC-MS220-24-1YR (1-year Enterprise MS220-24 license) applies to the MS220-24 model. The LIC-ENT-MX64-1YR (1-year Enterprise MX64 license) applies to the MX64.
MI has a sizing model depending on how much throughput is needed to be monitored and also dependent on the MX; the details can be found in the MI Web App Health document.
The licensing for vMX is also based on a sizing model depending on throughput monitoring needs.
SM is licensed based on the number of devices that are enrolled in your SM networks.
Is Advanced Security or Secure SD-WAN Plus licensing available for Z-Series devices? vMX?
Advanced Security and Secure SD-WAN Plus licensing and features are currently only available on MX devices and not on Z-Series, vMX or any other Meraki series of devices.
Can I have an MX with Advanced Security and an MX with Enterprise in a single organization?
No. An organization has to either consist of all Secure SD-WAN Plus or Advanced Security or Enterprise licenses (MX) edition.
How does support relate to licensing?
A Meraki license includes enterprise-class support.
How does the hardware warranty relate to licensing?
The hardware warranty is tied to the hardware unit, not the license. Hardware that has a lifetime warranty (e.g., the MR24) is warranted for the life of the hardware. Hardware with a fixed-term warranty, (e.g., 1 year), has a 1-year warranty, regardless of the license. See this document for more information.
Can I upgrade my organization from Enterprise to Advanced Security or Secure SD-WAN Plus (MX only)?
Yes, this can be done one of two ways:
- You can opt for Advanced Security or Secure SD-WAN Plus licensing when you extend or renew your organization.
- You can also contact the Cisco Meraki Licensing Support team via phone or email, requesting that they assess if your organization can be upgraded to Advanced Security or Secure SD-WAN Plus without purchasing additional licensing.
- Any MX keys will be adjusted to account for cost weight between Enterprise and Advanced Security or Secure SD-WAN Plus
- Please note that if going through Cisco Meraki Support, the process is irreversible
Note: If the incorrect license key edition was purchased within the past 30 days, the Cisco Meraki team will not upgrade/downgrade the key. The key must be returned and the correct key reordered.
Note: MX licenses under the per-device licensing model cannot be upgraded to SD-WAN+ by Meraki Support at this time.
Can my organization be downgraded from Secure SD-WAN Plus or Advanced Security to Enterprise?
Yes, you can purchase and apply an Enterprise renewal key that covers all devices in your organization, which will revert your organization to an Enterprise state. You can also contact Cisco Meraki Licensing Support via phone or email and have your organization downgraded. Please note that if the organization is downgraded, you will not receive any additional time from the downgraded license keys. This process is irreversible.
Can I purchase a new license for a used piece of hardware purchased on the secondary market?
Yes, however, please reference our policies on second-hand devices.
Do I need duplicate licenses to cover my security appliance in a warm spare configuration?
No, security appliances (MX) in a warm spare/HA configuration require only one license for the two devices. The only additional cost of a warm spare configuration is the redundant hardware. For more information, please navigate to the related document.
Do I need duplicate licenses to cover my switches in a warm spare configuration?
Yes, switches (MX) in warm spare/HA will require two individual licenses. For more information, please navigate to the related document.
Co-Termination Licensing FAQs
Can I move licenses between organizations?
Yes.
With the co-termination licensing model, licenses that have been applied to an organization within the last seven (7) days can be reapplied to another organization. Please read Removing and Undoing License Claims article for more details.
Organization administrators may also either request Meraki Support transfer a license or perform a license transfer themselves.
What happens if I add devices in the middle of my license term?
Meraki sells 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10-year licenses, but does not sell prorated licenses. When you add a license to an existing account, we calculate the amount of extra time in your account and extend the co-terminating renewal date for all your devices accordingly.
Let’s say you originally purchased a 10 AP, 1-year license. 4 months into the license term you decide to add a 6 AP, 1-year license. You have extra credit of 4*6=24 AP-months. We automatically apply those 24 AP-months for your new 16 AP network. This gives you an additional 24/16 = 1.5 months.
In this way, an account only has a single co-terminating renewal date, avoiding the confusion associated with multiple renewal dates. To anticipate how new licenses will affect your co-termination date, please reference our License Calculator.
Show me an example of a co-termination organization’s license state.
A: The screenshot below shows a customer with different Meraki products. They have applied three different licenses on different dates for three different products. There is one expiration date.
What happens when I reach my co-termination date?
Immediately after reaching your co-termination date, you will receive a 30-day grace period. You can purchase a renewal through an authorized Meraki partner. If you chose not to renew before the end of the 30-day grace period, the organization will be "shut down". You will no longer be able to manage your devices via the Meraki cloud and your Meraki network devices will cease to function. This means that you will no longer be able to configure or make changes to your Meraki network equipment, and your Meraki network products will no longer allow traffic to pass to the Internet. With Systems Manager networks, you will no longer be able to enroll devices or change settings for currently enrolled devices.
How do I know which licenses to renew?
For organizations utilizing the co-termination licensing model, licenses are averaged together based on device type and licensing limits. In other words, your individual licenses don't expire because they are averaged into one expiration date. When an organization co-terminates, all active devices will need their licenses renewed at the same time.
How do I renew my licensing?
The recommended practice for applying a renewal is to purchase a single license key that covers every device currently in the organization for some number of years. Applying that license key as a renewal will then extend the organization’s licensing by that many years.
When a license key is applied as a renewal, the organization’s licensing state updates to match the device count of that license key. For example, if an organization with licensing for five APs were to have a license key for 2 AP licenses applied as a renewal, that organization would only be licensed for two APs. In this instance, three APs are over their license limit and therefore out of compliance.
Will I be notified before my license expires?
Yes, administrators listed on the account will be sent notifications outlining the steps for license extension 30 days prior to expiration. Another email will be sent three days prior to account expiration. In addition, an account expiration banner will be displayed in the Meraki dashboard during this time.
Will I be notified before my account is shut off if I am in excess of my device limits?
Yes, administrators listed on accounts that have more devices than cloud licenses will be sent notifications 30 days prior to account expiration outlining the steps for license purchase.
What does it mean to be "out of license"?
"Out of license" is a term that refers to an organization that is in one of the following two states: (1) cloud license has expired, or (2) the number of hardware devices exceeds the number of cloud licenses. If an organization is "out of license" it means it is out of compliance, and either license renewals or additional licenses are required for the Meraki products to function and for these products to be manageable using the Meraki cloud.
How long do I have to reactivate my account after it expires?
A: You can reactivate your account at any point in the future after it expires by adding the necessary number of valid licenses. Please note that once your account expires, your products will stop functioning after a 30-day grace period.
Per-Device Licensing FAQs
NOTE: We have recently changed our conversion to a Per-Device Licensing process. If you are interested in converting your current co-term license organization to the per-device model, please reach out to our Support team at licensing@meraki.com for assistance. They will be happy to guide you through the revised conversion process and answer any questions you may have. To learn more, please refer to the detailed document that explains the steps and requirements by clicking here : How to convert an org from Co-term to PDL
For more information on the new licensing model, refer to the Meraki Per-Device Licensing Overview document.
Can I move licenses between organizations?
Yes. When devices are moved between organizations, the licenses attached to those devices move with them.
Are there any limitations to who can convert to per-device licensing?
Organizations that have SM Free or SM Legacy are unable to convert to per-device licensing. If an organization has an active free trial, it can be converted, but the free trial will no longer be active after conversion.
What happens when my license runs out?
You can purchase a renewal through an authorized Meraki partner. If you choose not to renew, you will no longer be able to manage your device via the Meraki cloud, and your Meraki network device will cease to function. This means that you will no longer be able to configure or make changes to your Meraki network device, and your Meraki network product will no longer pass traffic.
With the Per-Device Licensing model, this only applies to the individual device that has expired. With Systems Manager networks, you will no longer be able to enroll devices or change settings for currently enrolled devices.
How do I know which licenses to renew?
With the Per-Device Licensing model, each device will expire individually instead of the entire organization having a single co-termination date. The expiration dates for all devices are listed on the Inventory/Device list page, as well as the device details page. You can also view a list of upcoming expiration dates and the associated devices. Using the dashboard, you can calculate which licenses you’ll need for a renewal and generate a Bill of Materials to provide to your authorized Meraki partner or reseller.
How do I renew my licensing?
To renew your licensing, you can purchase licenses and assign them to the device you want to renew. License renewals come in 1-day as well as 1, 3, 5, 7, and 10-year increments, depending on the product line.
Will I be notified before my license expires?
License warning emails will be sent at regular intervals. These emails will list all devices that are set to expire within the next 60 days, as well as any devices that are expired right now and in a dashboard network.
When does a license start to burn (start ticking)?
A license will start to burn in one of two cases:
- The customer associates the license to a device.
- It has been 90 days since the license was purchased and the license is unclaimed.
Will a device in inventory require a license?
No. Only active devices in networks require a license.
Can a faulty device still be RMAd after the license has been moved to a spare device?
Yes. Hardware warranty is separate from licensing.
Can you assign the license from one device to another?
Yes, if they are the same model and the device does not have any other license tied to it. You cannot stack a previously burning license on top of another burning license.