United States
Q
What are Cisco Firepower licenses?
A
Cisco Firepower licenses are subscription-based entitlements that enable security features—such as intrusion prevention, URL filtering, advanced malware protection, and unified threat defense—on Firepower hardware or virtual devices.
Q
What license tiers are available for Cisco Firepower?
A
Cisco Firepower offers three primary tiers—Essentials, Professional, and Advanced—each unlocking progressively broader security modules, threat intelligence, sandboxing, and higher throughput capacities.
Q
How do I choose the right Cisco Firepower license tier?
A
Select a tier based on your network size, required security features, and throughput needs: Essentials for basic firewall and IPS, Professional for URL and malware protection, and Advanced for sandboxing and advanced analytics.
Q
How is Smart Licensing different from traditional licensing?
A
Smart Licensing centralizes entitlements in Cisco’s cloud portal for automated tracking, compliance, and renewals, while traditional licensing relies on local activation keys and manual record-keeping.
Q
How do I activate a Cisco Firepower license?
A
Register your device in the Cisco Smart Software Manager, allocate the purchased license to its device ID, then synchronize your Firepower Management Center to retrieve and apply the entitlements.
Q
Can I transfer a Cisco Firepower license between devices?
A
Yes. In Cisco Smart Software Manager, deactivate the license on the original device and reassign it to the target device, then sync the new device to apply the license.
Q
Do Cisco Firepower licenses expire?
A
Yes. All Cisco Firepower licenses are time-based subscriptions that expire at the end of their term; you must renew before expiration to avoid service interruption.
Q
How do I renew Cisco Firepower licenses?
A
Purchase a renewal term via Cisco Smart Software Manager or your Cisco reseller, allocate the new subscription to your device, and synchronize the Firepower Management Center to extend service.
Q
How can I verify my Cisco Firepower license status?
A
In Firepower Management Center, go to System > Licenses to view active subscriptions, expiration dates, feature entitlements, and usage details.
Q
Can I run multiple license levels on one Firepower device?
A
No. Each Firepower device enforces a single license tier at a time; choose the highest tier required to enable all desired security features.
Q
Are licenses required per interface or per device?
A
Licenses are assigned per device chassis or virtual instance and cover all interfaces on that device, not on a per-interface basis.
Q
What happens if my Cisco Firepower license expires?
A
Upon expiration, licensed features are disabled, traffic may be blocked or downgraded, and the device reverts to basic firewall functionality until renewal.
Q
Can I mix licensing models in one Firepower deployment?
A
Yes. You can deploy both Smart Licensing and traditional licenses across different devices, but each device must use only one licensing model at a time.
Q
How does licensing affect Firepower device performance?
A
License tiers dictate supported throughput, connection rates, and concurrent sessions; higher tiers deliver greater capacity and advanced processing for optimal performance.
Q
What is the Cisco Firepower Threat Defense (FTD) license?
A
The FTD license unifies firewall, IPS, URL filtering, malware defense, and threat analytics in a single software image for comprehensive, multi-layer protection.
Q
How do I purchase Cisco Firepower licenses?
A
Purchase through an authorized Cisco reseller or Cisco Commerce Workspace by specifying your Firepower model, desired license tier, throughput requirements, and subscription term.
