Do we need to restart any service while install new license keys

[Zahid_Haseeb]

Environment

Operating system version = Linux Redhat 6.2

Storage Foundation version = 6.0 with RP1

Problem

I have setup Veritas Volume replicator successfully with keyless and its working fine. I want to install new license keys to the existing scenario. Does adding the new license keys need to restart any vvr/armin or etc service or need any downtime ?

[Gaurav_S · Accepted solution]

No, you don't need to restart any service ...  once you have installed license using "vxlicinst"

do a

# vxdctl license init   

this should populate information of new license in kernel ..  No outage needed

G

[Zahid_Haseeb]

Thanks for your kind words. Just do correct what I do

Step-1

#cd /opt/VRTS/bin

./vxlicinst -k XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXX

Step-2
# vxdctl license init  

Marking your post as solution ;)

Ref link #

https://sort.symantec.com/public/documents/sf/5.1/aix/html/vcs_admin/ch_admin_vcs_from_cli11.html

[mikebounds]

Prior to keyless licencing (5.0 and before), licences were checked when the service started, so at boot time for VxVM/VVR or if you restarted service, so in particular, restarting VCS.  This meant for a customer running on eval keys who forgot to enter real licences, they would be ok until they rebooted and then they could be quite upset when they had a long outage whilst they tried to figure out what when wrong and find and enter license keys as there was little or no warning their licence key had expired.

Now, with eval keyless license, the sevice will never not start or stop, it will just warn you and the frequency of warning messages increases the longer you leave it.

So if you are just entering VVR licences, then I would THINK this should be seamless, but this is not at all clear from the install guide - this says:

If you want to remove keyless licensing and enter a key, you must clear the keyless licenses. Use the NONE keyword to clear all keys from the system.

Warning: Clearing the keys disables the Veritas products until you install a new

key or set a new product level.

This suggests you can't enter a key UNTIL you clear keyless licencing and clearing keyless keys disables the product.  I would hope that you can enter key before clearing keys so that you don't disable product, but on saying this - it depends on what "disables the Veritas products" means - it could mean:

1. Products are disabled immediately
2. Products are disabled next time server boots
3. Products are disabled next time license is checked and since you can be warned several times a day you are on eval licenses, this would mean, potentially the product is disabled soon after you clear the keyless licencing.

Man page of "vxdctl license init" suggests that 2 or 3 happens above and as you have to run this command to recognise new licenses.

So I think clarifiction is needed from Symantec, or from someone who has done this, as I would not want to risk what happens from the information in the manuals.
 

Gaurav - have you ever done this, or are you assuming what happens, or found some other info that says this will works seamlessly.

Mike

[Zahid_Haseeb]

@ Mike

Why do we clear first ?

Is not possible that we may add new keys then CLEAR the old one/keyless ?

[mikebounds]

Install guide says:

If you want to remove keyless licensing and enter a key, you must clear the keyless licenses

If this is a technical reason in that you can't have keyless and keyed licences - then you would need to remove keyless first as otherwise, for a brief period you would have the 2 methods, but as you have added keys and this has worked, then I guess this sentence reflects what is allowed from a "Symantec legal license" point of view.

I would guess you can now remove keyless licensing, as you have now entered key and hope the code doesn't do something stupid, like disable products before it checks you have a real key!  Logic would dictate this should not happen, but then what does warning mean when it says:

Warning: Clearing the keys disables the Veritas products until you install a new

key or set a new product level.

Mike

[Zahid_Haseeb]

""Good concern regarding the Warning message""

before it checks you have a real key!

Means that product will wait and verify the new keys , if the new keys will invalid then product will be disable ? if yes then I have a question how much time the product will wait to be disable ?

[Gaurav_S]

From history, I reckon, product will keep working until it is restarted .. however will keep generating the messages in /var/adm/messages ... so for vxvm, unless vxconfigd is restarted, it should still keep working generating license expired messages ..

For the logic also, probably the recommendation to remove the keyless license would be to avoid confusion of keyed license vs demo license ... worst case scenario it shouldn't happen that old (keyless demo) license is read & some features get disabled ..

Gaurav

[Zahid_Haseeb]

From history, I reckon, product will keep working until it is restarted

Hmm Ok but strange :)