Configure pooled capacity

The Citrix ADC pooled capacity allows you to share bandwidth or instance licenses across different ADC form factors. For virtual CPU subscription based instances, you can share virtual CPU license across instances. Use this pooled capacity for the instances that are in the data center or public clouds. When an instance no longer requires the resources, it checks the allocated capacity back into the common pool. Reuse the released capacity to other ADC instances that need resources.

You can use pooled licensing to maximize the bandwidth utilization by ensuring the necessary bandwidth allocation to an instance and not more than its need. Increase or decrease the bandwidth allocated to an instance at run time without affecting the traffic. With the pooled capacity licenses, you can automate the instance provisioning.

To use ADC pooled capacity, ensure to attach an Citrix ADM agent to an ADC instance. ADC instances check in and check out licenses from Citrix ADM through an agent.

You can also use pooled capacity licenses for ADC FIPS instances. You can perform the following tasks in Citrix ADM:

1. Upload the pooled capacity license files (bandwidth pool or instance Pool) to the license server.

2. Allocate licenses from the license pool to ADC instances on demand.

   • Check out the licenses from ADC instances (MPX-Z /SDX-Z/VPX/CPX/BLX) based on the minimum and maximum capacity of the instance.

ADC pooled capacity issues

The pooled capacity states indicate the license requirement on an ADC instance. The ADC instances configured with pooled capacity display one of the following states:

• Optimum: Instance is running with proper license capacity.

• Capacity mismatch: Instance is running with a capacity less than the user configured.

• Grace: Instance is running on a grace license.

• Grace & Mismatch: Instance is running on grace but with a capacity less than the user configured.

• Not available: Instance is not registered with Citrix ADM for management, or NITRO communication from Citrix ADM to the instances is not working.

• Not allocated: License is not allocated in the instance.

Before you begin

Ensure the following before you configure pooled capacity:

• Install and register an agent in Citrix ADM. To install and register an agent, see Getting started.

• Ensure that all registered agents are in UP state for pooled licensing to work properly. If agents are in DOWN state but not yet decommissioned or terminated, bring them to UP state. If DOWN agents are decommissioned or terminated or not in use anymore, delete them from Citrix ADM.

• The 27000 and 7279 ports are available to check out licenses from Citrix ADM to an instance. See, System Requirements

Step 1 - Apply licenses in Citrix ADM

1. In Citrix ADM, navigate to Infrastructure > Pooled Licensing.

2. In the License Files section, select Add License File and select one of the following options:

   • Upload license files from a local computer. If a license file is already present on your local computer, you can upload it to Citrix ADM.

   • Use license access code. Specify the license access code for the license that you have purchased from Citrix. Then, select Get Licenses. Then select Finish.

   Note

   At any time, you can add more licenses to Citrix ADM from License Settings.

3. Click Finish.

   The license files are added to Citrix ADM. The License Expiry Information tab lists the licenses present in the Citrix ADM and the remaining days to expiry.

4. In License Files, select a license file that you want to apply and click Apply licenses.

   This action enables ADC instances to use the selected license as a pooled capacity.

Step 2 - Register the Citrix ADM as a license server

You can register the Citrix ADM as a license server to a Citrix ADC instance using an agent.

Use one of the following procedures to register the Citrix ADM as a license server:

• Use GUI
• Use CLI

Use GUI to register an Citrix ADM agent

In the Citrix ADM GUI, register the Citrix ADM agent associated with an ADC instance.

1. Log in to Citrix ADC GUI.

2. Navigate to System > Licenses > Manage Licenses.

3. Click Add New License.

4. Select Use remote licensing and select the remote licensing mode from the list.

5. In the Server Name/IP address field, specify the associated Citrix ADM agent’s IP address that is registered with the Citrix ADM.

6. Select Register with Citrix ADM.

7. Enter your Citrix ADM agent credentials to register an instance with Citrix ADM and click Continue. In Citrix ADM, one of the agents is the license server.

   

8. In Allocate licenses, select the license edition and specify the required bandwidth.

   For the first time, allocate licenses in Citrix ADC. You can later change or release the license allocation from the Citrix ADM GUI.

   

9. Click Get Licenses.

   Important

   Warm restart the instance if you change the license edition. The configuration changes do not take effect until you restart the instance.

Use CLI to add an Citrix ADM agent

If an ADC instance has no GUI, use the following CLI commands to add an Citrix ADM agent associated with an instance:

1. Log in to the Citrix ADC console.

2. Add the associated Citrix ADM agent’s IP address that is registered with the Citrix ADM:

   > add ns licenseserver <adm-agent-IP-address> -port <adm-agent-license-port-number>
   <!--NeedCopy-->
   

3. View the license bandwidth available in the license server:

   > sh ns licenseserverpool
   <!--NeedCopy-->
   

4. Allocate the license bandwidth from the required license edition:

   > set ns capacity -unit gbps -bandwidth <specify-license-bandwidth> edition <specify-license-edition>
   <!--NeedCopy-->
   

   The license edition can be Standard or Advanced or Premium.

   Important

   Warm restart the instance if you change the license edition.

   reboot -w

   The configuration changes does not take effect until you restart the instance.

Step 3 - Allocate pooled licenses to ADC instances

To allocate pooled capacity licenses from the Citrix ADM GUI:

1. Log in to Citrix ADM.

2. Navigate to Infrastructure > Pooled Licensing > Bandwidth Licenses > Pooled Capacity.

   The FIPS instance capacity appears only if you upload FIPS instance licenses to Citrix ADM.

3. Click the license pool that you want to manage.

   Note

   The Allocated Capacity field does not reflect the changed bandwidth immediately. The bandwidth change takes effect after the ADC warm restart.

   In Allocation Details, the Requested and Applied fields are updated when you change the instance’s bandwidth allocation.

4. Select an ADC instance from the list of available instances by clicking the > button.

   

   The License status column displays corresponding license allocation status messages.

   Note

   The Unmanaged Instances tab displays the instances that are discovered but not managed in Citrix ADM.

   

5. Click Change allocation or Release allocation to modify the license allocation.

6. A pop-up window with the available licenses in the License Server appears.

7. You can choose the bandwidth or instance allocation to the instance by setting the Allocate list options. After making your selections, click Allocate.

8. You can also change the allocated license edition from the list options in the Change License Allocation window.

   

   Note

   Warm restart an instance if you change the license edition.

Configure pooled capacity on ADC instances

You can configure pooled capacity licenses on the following ADC instances:

• ADC MPX-Z instances
• ADC VPX instances
• ADC high-availability pair

Citrix ADC MPX-Z instances

MPX-Z is the pooled-capacity enabled ADC MPX appliance. MPX-Z supports bandwidth pooling for Premium, Advanced, or Standard edition licenses.

MPX-Z requires platform licenses before it can connect to the License Server. You can install the MPX-Z platform license by either of the following:

• Uploading the license file from a local computer.
• Using the instance’s hardware serial number.
• The License Access Code from the System > Licenses section of the instance’s GUI.

If you remove the MPX-Z platform license, the pooled-capacity feature is disabled. The instance licenses are released to the license server.

You can dynamically modify the bandwidth of an MPX-Z instance without a restart. A restart is required only if you want to change the license edition.

Note

When you restart the instance, it automatically checks out the pooled licenses required for its configured capacity.

Citrix ADC VPX instances

A pooled-capacity enabled ADC VPX instance can check out licenses from a bandwidth pool (Premium/Advanced/Standard editions). You can use the ADC GUI to check out licenses from the License Server.

You can dynamically modify the bandwidth of a VPX instance without a restart. A restart is required only if you want to change the license edition.

Note

When you restart the instance, the configured pooled capacity licenses are automatically checked out from the Citrix ADM server.

Citrix ADC high-availability pair

Before you begin, ensure that the Citrix ADM server is configured as a license server. For more information, see Configure Citrix ADM as a license server.

When you allocate the bandwidth to an ADC HA pair, the Citrix ADM checks out the same bandwidth to primary and secondary instances. If you allocate 10 Mbps bandwidth to an ADC HA pair, Citrix ADM does the following:

1. Checks out 20 Mbps bandwidth to the HA pair.
2. Allocates 10 Mbps to each instance in the HA pair.

To allocate pool license to an ADC HA pair, see Allocate pooled licenses to ADC instances.

The Pooled Capacity page displays the instances and their allocated capacity separately. If you change or release the bandwidth of the primary instance, the secondary instance bandwidth automatically synchronizes with the primary instance. However, the synchronization does not happen if you change or release the secondary instance bandwidth.