R77.30 to R80.10 upgrade - licensing question

[Ruan_Kotze]

We are upgrading to R80.10 following the "Advanced Upgrade with Database Migration" methodology as prescribed by CheckPoint.  Due to the limitations on the Smart-1 205/210 appliances (Cannot run SmartEvent with Management) we are migrating our management appliance to a VM running on VMware.

So, this means that:

- The management server is being migrated from a physical Smart-1 205 appliance to a Virtual Appliance

- The virtual appliance has the *same* IP address and hostname as the physical appliance

- The virtual appliance has a *different* MAC address

The actual migration runs fine (migrate import / export etc.) however the new virtual appliance comes up as unlicensed

- According to p. 78 of the "CP_R80.10_Installation_and_Upgrade_Guide" the license should work as long as the IP address stays the same

- TAC confirmed (can provide SR if necessary) that there should be no issue with licensing as long as we keep the same IP

I can see in the R80.10 Gaia portal that the licenses are transferred over, but they are not active.  If I look at the actual .lic file I can see a reference to the MAC address of the physical appliance.

What do I need to do get my virtual appliance licensed and up and running.  I have a case open with TAC at this moment, but response has been less than stellar.

Thanks,

Ruan

[PhoneBoy · Accepted solution]

Licenses that come with an appliance are only valid on the hardware they were purchased with and are non-transferable. 

You will need to purchase a new license in this case.

The Smart-1 appliance does have some trade-in value, so keep that in mind when working with your Check Point account manager or reseller.

[Ruan_Kotze]

Thanks Dameon, I really appreciate the response.  I had a look at the Smart-1 datasheets and that confirms what you wrote.

I have another question, if I may.  Seeing as SmartEvent & Log Indexing is not supported on the Smart-1 205/210 appliances when running R80.10, is it within the allowed to spin up a seperate SmartEvent / Logging server and have the upgraded Smart-1 appliance just do management?

[PhoneBoy]

Smart-1 25b, 205, and 210 appliances can run Security Management OR Log Server OR SmartEvent.

Assuming your Smart-1 205/210 is licensed for Security Management, yes.

If your Smart-1 205/210 is licensed for SmartEvent only, no.

You would still need another license to run SmartEvent in a separate VM, of course.

[_Val_]

Technically it will work, but you will be in violation of a licensing agreement. Dameon has already mentioned the proper way to migrate