License Compliance and Expirations

In this topic:

Cloud Service Provider (CSP) License and Compliance

DataCore Intelligence Service (DcsTmy) for Cloud Service Provider (CSP) Licensing

Trial Mode

The number of days until trial mode expires is displayed at the top of the DataCore Management Console. When the 30-day trial has ended, the entire server group's configuration will expire. Most operations will be prohibited until new license keys are activated. The reminder will be displayed when there is at least one server in the group that is reaching the expiration date for trial mode.

Evaluation Licenses

The evaluation license key’s start date begins on the day the license is shipped, not when it is activated. The number of days until an evaluation license expires is displayed in the server group’s License tab in the DataCore Management Console. When the evaluation period has ended, only the servers with expired evaluation keys are affected. Most operations will be prohibited on these servers until new license keys are activated. Contact DataCore Technical Support for assistance in removing or replacing evaluation license keys.

Term Licenses

The number of days until a term license expires is displayed in the server group’s license tab in the DataCore Management Console. When a term license expires, all capacity assigned to that license will be removed from the calculation of the configuration’s current capacity allowance. If the reduced capacity allowance is now less than the configuration’s current capacity usage, the server or server group will display a ‘limits exceeded’ status in the console and most operations will be prohibited on these servers until new license keys are activated or enough physical storage is removed from one or more disk pools to bring the current usage below that of the capacity allowance.

As long as the reduced capacity allowance still exceeds the configuration’s current capacity usage, all operations can continue as normal.

Refer to the Production Use License Termination section in the End User License Agreement (EULA), which defines the legal terms of their license agreement.

When a License Expires

When a trial or evaluation license expires, or where a "limits exceeded" condition is reported, information is still visible in the DataCore Management Console and hosts can still access data through iSCSI and fibre channel front end ports, but the following actions will take effect:

The DataCore Web Console cannot be used.
New virtual disks (including VVOL) cannot be created. (Existing virtual disks will continue to function as normal.)
Adding a mirror to an existing virtual disk (including Dynamic Data Resiliency) will be prohibited.
Adding physical disks to disk pools will be prohibited.
Mirroring physical disks inside a disk pool will be prohibited.
Snapshot, snapshot group, and mapstore creation will be blocked. (Existing snapshots, snapshot groups, and mapstores will continue to function as normal.)
CDP cannot be enabled and rollbacks cannot be created. (Existing rollbacks and CDP-enabled virtual disks will continue to function as normal.)

When a specific capacity expires, only the storage capacity license is enforced, which pertains to creating pools and adding disks to pools. Details for specific license types are explained in the sections that follow.

To purchase a software license, additional storage capacity, contact DataCore Software or your DataCore Solution Provider.

Cloud Service Provider (CSP) License and Compliance

The Cloud Service Provider (CSP) license compliance verification in SANsymphony ensures adherence to licensing terms by actively monitoring the DataCore Intelligence Service (DcsTmy). If you have a CSP license, the system continuously checks the status of DcsTmy Service to ensure it is connected and transmitting data to the cloud. If the DcsTmy Service is disconnected or unable to transmit data, SANsymphony will issue notifications to alert you to potential compliance issues, helping you resolve any connectivity problems and avoid non-compliance risks.

Refer to DataCore Intelligence Service Status Notifications for more information on monitoring the DcsTmy Service status notifications in SANsymphony.

DataCore Intelligence Service (DcsTmy) for Cloud Service Provider (CSP) Licensing

By monitoring the DcsTmy service connection in SANsymphony under your CSP license, you will gain the following benefits:

DcsTmy Service Connection Monitoring: SANsymphony tracks the DcsTmy connection to ensure compliance with your CSP license terms.
Alerts Notifications:
- Warning Alerts: If the DcsTmy service connection status is disconnected for 5 consecutive days, the system will send a warning alert notification. For example, the image below shows that when the DcsTmy service status was disconnected for 7 consecutive days, the system generated a warning alert with a message indicating that 23 days remain in the grace period before reaching non-compliance.
- Critical Alerts: If the DcsTmy service connection status remains disconnected for 15 consecutive days, the system will send a critical alert notification. You must take immediate action to avoid potential compliance issues if you are a CSP license holder.
30-Day Grace Period: If you have a CSP license, you have 30 days to resolve connectivity issues. During this period, the system will send alerts that gradually escalate, starting from warnings and progressing to critical messages if the issue remains unresolved state. If the DcsTmy service connection status remains disconnected beyond the 30-day grace period, the system will generate an alert message indicating non-compliance.

Service Reconnection: If the DcsTmy service reconnects and shows a "Connected" status, the grace period counter will reset. The system will return to compliance as soon as the DcsTmy Service status reports as “Connected”.
Managing Alerts: You can view alerts in the System Health tool or in the Alerts/Log Messages section of the DataCore Management Console (DMC). These alerts help you understand the risk to your license compliance based on changes in the DcsTmy service connection status.

DcsTmy Service Alerts and Compliance with CSP License Integration

The DcsTmy Service regularly transmits telemetry data from SANsymphony to DataCore's cloud services. The DcsTmy Service status is actively monitored within SANsymphony to ensure compliance with CSP license terms.

DcsTmy Service status notifications are enabled by default in DMC for CSP license holders. If you have a non-CSP license, these notifications are disabled by default.
The Transmit Machine Data setting checkbox is selected by default for CSP license holders. Attempting to uncheck this option triggers the following error: "Transmit Machine Data must be enabled to comply with CSP license terms. If you are not operating under a CSP license and have received this error, please contact DataCore Support for assistance." For non-CSP licenses, the setting can be unchecked without impacting system compliance.
If Transmit Machine Data setting is disabled before applying the CSP license, the system will automatically re-enable it during license verification. This ensures continuous data transmission, which is required to maintain compliance with CSP license terms.

License Switching:
- When switching from a non-CSP license to a CSP license, DcsTmy Service status alerts are automatically enabled.
- When switching from a CSP license to a non-CSP license, DcsTmy Service alerts remain unchanged unless manually adjusted.
If you have a CSP license, you can manage the DcsTmy Service alert notifications using DataCore cmdlets according to your preferences. Refer to the Managing DataCore Intelligence Service Status Notifications in SANsymphony documentation for more information.
If the DcsTmy Service connection is disconnected for an extended period, SANsymphony will send additional alerts to resolve these issues promptly to avoid non-compliance.

CSP License Compliance Alerts Breakdown

The following table provides a breakdown of CSP License Compliance Status and Alert Types based on DcsTmy Service connectivity status and data transmission, with examples of alert messages and system health messages.

Days in Disconnected state	Alert Type	Alert Message	System Health Message
0-5	No alerts will be generated.	No alerts will be generated.	N/A
5-15	Warning alerts issued every other day.	Your CSP license will be out of compliance in 17 days. The server group 'My Server Group' with ID "0a00aa0a-00a0-0a00-0a00-0c0000aa0000" will be disabled soon. Please resolve any issues with the DcsTmy Service.	CSP license nearing non-compliance in 17 days.
15-30	Critical alerts triggered daily.	Your CSP license will be out of compliance in 8 days. The server group 'My Server Group' with ID "0a00aa0a-00a0-0a00-0a00-0c0000aa0000" will be disabled soon. Please resolve any issues with the DcsTmy Service.	CSP license nearing non-compliance in 8 days.
After 30 Days	Non-compliance detected.	CSP license non-compliance detected. The server group 'My Server Group' with ID ''0a00aa0a-00a0-0a00-0a00-0c0000aa0000" will be disabled until compliance is restored.	CSP license non-compliance detected.
After Compliance Restored	Informational log message.	Your CSP license is now back in compliance with the data transmission terms.	N/A

It may take up to one hour for the connected status to be updated in SANsymphony after the DcsTmy Service reconnects.