Smarts IP/SAM 9.1 and later: How does Wireless licensing work? Receiving "LowOnWapCountLicense" notifications after upgrading to Smarts IP 9.1 or later; Can we suppress these?

Products

• VMware Smart Assurance

Environment

VMware Smart Assurance - SMARTS

Resolution

This article explains how Wireless licensing works in Smarts IP and Smarts SAM 9.1 and later versions, why LowOnWapCountLicense notifications are generated after upgrade/migration to Smarts IP/SAM 9.1 or later, and whether these notifications can be suppressed.



If your Smarts IP license 9.1 or later environment does not have the wireless features mentioned in the following section, any LowOnWapLicenseCount notifications received can safely be ignored. This alarm cannot be suppressed in the current Smarts IP application design. The following section describes how wireless licensing works in Smarts IP 9.1 and later environments.

Supported features of Wireless LAN in Smarts IP 9.1 and later
Smarts IP 9.1 provides support for wireless LAN network for two vendors, Cisco and Aruba. The certification of the two vendors can be found in the EMC Smarts IP Certification Matrix. Smarts IP 9.1 and later versions support for wireless LAN discovery and monitoring WirelessControllers, Wireless Access Points, Wireless Clients and Stations. As part of this feature, the following classes have been added in the Smarts IP topology:

• WirelessAccessPoint
• WirelessClient
• WirelessController
• SSID

Wireless LAN management is a licensed feature in Smarts IP 9.1 and later. The Smarts IP wireless license determines the discovery of wireless network components, Wireless Controller and Wireless Access Points. 

Smarts IP wireless feature license keys - Before and after Smarts IP 9.1
In versions earlier than Smarts IP 9.1, the license count/limit for the total number of discovery of UCS is controlled by single system volume license (AP_SYSTEM_VOLUME). The Smarts IP wireless license keys in Smarts IP 9.1 and later are the following:

• The basic wireless feature is enabled by the license key AP_WIFI
• WirelessAccessPoint count key AP_AP_CNT
• WirelessController count key AP_CTL_CNT

Smarts IP 9.1 and later versions wireless controller/wireless access point license counts should be counted from AP_AP_CNT or AP_CTL_CNT license volume counts. The discovery of WirelessClient is not controlled by license counts. If you do not have a Smarts IP wireless license, you can only discover Wireless Controllers and Thick Wireless Access Points with older Smarts IP certification. Discovery will not include Thin Wireless Access Points and Wireless Clients.

If the license count is exceeded
If the license count for System volume, WirelessAccessPoint or WirelessController exceeds the available licenses, new licenses need to be obtained and the domain server needs to be restarted.

Bypassing wireless feature license keys
If your Smarts IP 9.1 or later environment does not Smarts IP wireless license features to be monitored on wireless devices, they can be configured to use the normal licenses, where wireless devices are counted under feature AP_SYSTEM_VOLUME for license checkout.