You are here: CSP Developer’s Guide: Overview > 2 Licensing Overview > General Licensing Information
Product licensing lets you start with a more affordable set of core features. As your revenues and requirements grow, you can purchase licenses for additional hardware and software modules.
You can license features per Excel CSP or in smaller units. Some licenses are installed on the host computer and remain on the host computer. Other licenses are downloaded from the host computer to the CSP using the Excel API.
Licenses Installed on the Host Computer
• SwitchKit
Refer SwitchKit Software Licensing in the SwitchKit Installation and Maintenance Guide.
• IN and Wireless protocol stacks
Refer to Licesning of IN Wireless Protocols in the IN Wireless Protocols Overview.
Licenses Downloaded to the CSP
• System Software per chassis
• DSP Resources per chassis
• SS7 User Part Licenses:
• SCCP/TCAP per chassis and active SS7 card
• ISUP per chassis
• TUP per chassis
• IUP per chassis
• M3UA per chassis
• Number of links on an SS7 card
• SS7 Virtual Channels per chassis (2,000 - 10,000 channels in 2,000 channel increments)
• QSIG per chassis
• V5.2 per chassis
• IP Network Interface Series 2 channels
• SIP per chassis
• RFC2833 per chassis
• Call Agent with IP Virtual Channels per chassis
• Number of spans on an E-ONE or T-ONE card
Downloading License Keys to the CSP
When you register with Excel, we provide you with the product licenses that you purchased for specific hardware and software modules. To activate an additional licensed feature, you must buy a Product License Key. The key is unique and encrypted. You can purchase hardware and software Product License Keys to enable spans, links, protocols, DSP resources, and software modules. To request a Product License Key, you must provide Excel with the serial number from the chassis for a software license, or the serial number from the card for a hardware license.
The license key is provided as a text file: usually LICENSE.CFG or SERIALNO.CFG. For example, the file named 3452.CFG indicates that this license file can only be downloaded to the Matrix Controller Series 3 card in chassis serial number 3452.
Send the Product License Key in the Product License ICB (0x24), within the Product License Download message (0x0079). This message identifies both the key type and the license authorization code associated with a specific feature. The CSP verifies the key, then activates the feature.
The Product License Download message resets the configuration tags for cards. Please refer to the Tag Configuration message in the API Reference.
Important! You must download the license key each time new system software is downloaded or when you cycle the power.
The system software keeps track of which features are enabled and reports them to the host in the Product License Query (0x007A) message. The message uses the Product License ICB.
Reporting and Querying Card Status
The CSP system software can allocate hardware resources only if they are installed and reported in the Card Status Report message. The host monitors Card Status Report messages so that it can allocate available resources when it starts the configuration.
The number of spans enabled on the T-ONE, E-ONE, and J-ONE cards is reported in the last byte of the 16-byte Hardware Configuration field in both the Card Status Query and Card Status Report messages.
The number of links enabled on the SS7 card is reported in Byte 19 in both the Card Status Query and the Card Status Report messages.
Errors are reported during download of a product license for the following reasons:
• The product license code is typed incorrectly.
• A key is requested for the wrong card in the system.
• The card serial number is not currently running on the system.
• The key type specified in the API message is invalid or does not match the Product License ICB.
• There are insufficient licensed resources
• There is insufficient hardware