Axis licenses - Guide

Through AXIS License Manager you can handle different license types, such as subscription-based licenses and tied-to-hardware licenses. In AXIS License Manager, you can manage most Axis applications licenses except for AXIS Camera Station 5 licenses, ACAP licenses, and 2N licenses.

To read more about AXIS License Manager, go to axis.com/products/axis-license-manager.

Subscription licenses

A subscription license is a time-based license, providing continuously updated and supported applications. The license is valid for 1 or 5 years, depending on the application. The license isn’t tied to a specific unit or site so you can share it within the whole organization.

Tied-to-hardware licenses and tied-to-hardware expansion licenses

Tied-to-hardware licenses are tied to an Axis hardware, such as a server or a device. They are normally pre-loaded onto the hardware and you can purchase expansion licenses to increase your licenses. The license is valid for the lifetime of the hardware and can, in most cases, not be moved to another hardware in the organization.

Upgrade licenses

Special licenses valid for one-time upgrade of an existing license.

Before you can license your application, you must register it to an organization. 

An organization is a legal entity and the digital relationship between the user and Axis. The organization defines the ownership of applications, devices, and licenses. It’s the organization that owns the connected licenses. An organization can be a single site or a large multi-site installation with many geographical locations or anything in between. Users can create multiple organizations to meet their specific business need and structure, such as who manage and access the system, manage the licenses, and account for the expense.  

A new organization can be created in the software application or in the My Systems portal, see mysystems.axis.com.

After registration, the applications continuously report to AXIS License Manager how many units that the applications use. Depending on the application, a unit can for example be a device, a sensor, GB of data, or other. If the application is offline, a manual process updates the reported usage to AXIS License Manager. 

The required number of licenses is the same as the amount of units connected to the application in the organization.

Many applications offer a time-limited trial period that lets you try the application before you must purchase licenses. The trial period is normally 30-90 days, depending on the application.

All licenses are e-licenses. Once the order is processed, one or more license keys are created. Each license key can only hold one license type but can contain any number of licenses. The license key expires 5 years after it was created, if you don’t redeem it in AXIS License Manager.

When you register a hardware in an organization, it automatically activates the pre-loaded licenses. No more action is necessary if the number of licenses meet the requirement. 

You can order expansion licenses to receive a license key if you need more licenses. When you redeem the license key in AXIS License Manager, the licenses are added to the application wallet. To get licensed you have to allocate licenses from the wallet to the specific hardware.

After you start a subscription of an application in AXIS License Manager, you get a grace period of 30 days to order the licenses and get licensed. During the grace period you have full access to the application. 

When you redeem the license key in AXIS License Manager, the licenses are added to the application wallet. 

To license your application, allocate licenses from the wallet to the subscription year based on the reported usage in the whole organization. Specify when the licenses should become active by allocating licenses to a subscription year.

For a seamless subscription experience, it’s possible to allocate licenses several years in advance in AXIS License Manager.  

Example

If the application has ten devices, allocate 10x 1-year licenses for year 1, year 2, year 3, and year 4. In total, you must have 40 licenses in the wallet at the time of allocation. 

If you allocate licenses in advance, renewal doesn’t require any action. However, if the installation grows, you must order, redeem, and allocate new licenses. 

It’s possible to use both 1-year and 5-year licenses in different combinations. See the examples of how to mix time-based licenses if you add a device after the initial allocation with 3x 5-year licenses.

Example

Each year, there is an automatic annual review that audits the current license status and the reported usage. The annual review provides an order recommendation for the upcoming year and starts 60 days before the subscription year ends. AXIS License Manager automatically notifies 60, 30, seven, and one day before you have to renew. At renewal, you get a new grace period to allow time to order, redeem, and allocate new licenses. If enough licenses are allocated, the annual review notification states that you don’t have to take action for the next 12 months.

Axis subscription model allows you to add more units to the application throughout the subscription year, without having to immediately add more licenses. The annual growth allowance is 100% of the number of allocated licenses. The application stays licensed until the next annual renew. At the next annual review, licenses have to be allocated for all units going forward. 

If you grow more than 100% during a subscription year, you must allocate additional licenses within 30 days. Axis monitors misuse and notifies affected customers. All customer receives information and warnings before they become unlicensed.

If you plan growth during the subscription year, you can alter the current Reported usage number in AXIS License Manager before you allocate licenses. Enter the planned number of units in Current need value to decide the number of licenses to allocate.

It’s also possible to remove units. However, already allocated licenses stays active and can’t be placed back in the wallet.

To renew subscription licenses, place an order with a system integrator or distributor. 

It’s possible to order and redeem license keys, and allocate licenses anytime during the subscription year. At the latest, you must order a new license key during the 30-day grace period after the renewal date. The application becomes unlicensed if you don’t renew the license before the grace period ends.

All application licenses within an organization have the same renewal date. If you allocate a license during the subscription year it aligns to the organization’s renewal date. If the validity of the licenses overlap the renewal date, we compensate that overlapping time with new 1-year licenses that we add to your wallet. For 5-year licenses, we compensate you for the overlapping time of the last year.

To calculate the compensation we use the overlapping time and amount of newly allocated licenses.

Example

The 1-year licenses allocated to application A start in January. This date is the organization’s renewal date. In June you add a new application, application B. You allocate one 1-year license for application B that should end in June year 2.

Since the renewal day is in January, your license for application B should be valid for another 6 months. However, all licenses within an organization have the same renewal date and the license for application B is therefore renewed in January. To compensate for the overlapping 6 months after the renewal date, we add one 1-year license to your application wallet.

Example

The 1-year licenses allocated to application A start in January. This date is the organization’s renewal date. In June you add new application, application B. You allocate 10 5-year licenses for application B that should end in June year 6.

Since the renewal day is in January, the licenses for application A are renewed every year in January. In year 6, the licenses for both application A and B are renewed in January. However, the ten 5-year licenses should be valid for another 6 months. To compensate for the overlapping 6 months after the renewal date, we add 5 1-year licenses to your application wallet.

When an application becomes unlicensed, the functionality is limited to different degrees depending on the application.  

The application becomes unlicensed when one of the following events occur: 

• You activate a new application that doesn’t offer a trial, without starting a subscription. 

• The trial period expires. 

• The grace period expires and the application wasn’t licensed in time. 

• Renewal is overdue.