Add a License

Learn how to license NGINX Management Suite using a JWT or S/MIME license, explore the features accessible in licensed and unlicensed modes, and troubleshoot common issues associated with license upload and entitlement retrieval.

Overview

NGINX Management Suite offers several features that do not require a license; however, most features require a valid license to use. The License Comparison section below provides more details about the included features and their license requirements.

Trial licenses, subscription licenses, and licenses under the Flexible Consumption Program (FCP) are available through MyF5.

There are two types of license files available for NGINX Management Suite: JSON Web Token (JWT) and S/MIME. We recommend using the JSON Web Token (JWT) for most use cases.

JWT License

When licensing NGINX Management Suite, we recommend using the JSON Web Token (JWT) license that’s provided. A JSON Web Token (JWT) is a secure and self-contained data format used to transmit information between parties as a JSON object. JWTs are commonly employed for authentication and authorization in web applications.

The JWT license offers the following advantages:

  • Automatic Updates: With the JWT, entitlements can be automatically updated without the need to apply a separate license; for example, when renewing a license, extending the expiration date, or amending a license to increase capacity or add new modules.

  • Reporting for Flexible Consumption Program customers: FCP customers can conveniently fulfill their reporting requirements by directly submitting usage reports to F5 from NGINX Management Suite.

NGINX Management Suite must be able to communicate with the F5 licensing servers for initial licensing, updates, and reporting.

S/MIME License

Alternatively, you can use an S/MIME license in cases when NGINX Management Suite cannot connect to the F5 licensing servers. There are, however, some limitations with using the S/MIME license:

  • Limited Updates: Updates to your subscription, such as renewals and amendments, will require applying a new S/MIME license file to ensure that the changes are reflected in the product.

Download a License

Trial License

Trial periods

  • JWT trial licenses expire 30 days after being applied to NGINX Management Suite.
  • S/MIME trial licenses expire 30 days after they are issued.

To download a trial license for NGINX Management Suite:

  1. Sign in to the MyF5 Customer Portal.
  2. From the top menu, select My Products & Plans > Trials.
  3. In the My Trials list, select your NGINX Management Suite trial.
  4. Select the Downloads and Licenses link.
  5. On the Downloads and licenses panel, select Download License. The license file is saved to your system.

Subscription and Flexible Consumption Program

To download a subscription or Flexible Consumption Program license for NGINX Management Suite:

  1. Sign in to the MyF5 Customer Portal.
  2. From the top menu, select My Products & Plans > Subscriptions.
  3. In the Subscriptions list, select your subscription that includes NGINX Management Suite.
  4. On the Subscriptions Details form, select the License link for NGINX Management Suite. The license file is saved to your system.

Apply License

How to Apply a JWT License

Important:

To retrieve your entitlements, make sure to allow inbound and outbound access on port 443 to the following URLs:

To upload and apply a JWT license for NGINX Management Suite:

  1. In a web browser, go to the FQDN for your NGINX Management Suite host and log in.
  2. Select the Settings gear icon.
  3. On the Settings menu, select Licenses.
  4. Select Get Started.
  5. Select Browse to upload the license, or you can simply drag and drop the license onto the form.
  6. Select Add. NGINX Management Suite will automatically retrieve your product entitlements from F5’s licensing servers.
  7. (Optional) To send telemetry data to F5 NGINX, select the Enable Continuous Connection option. For detailed information about the data being transmitted and its purpose, refer to the topic Configure Telemetry.

Your NGINX entitlements will now be visible on the Licenses page, along with information about your product usage relative to your entitled capacity.

You can return to this page at any time to cancel the license. Simply select Terminate and then confirm the action. This action will notify F5 that the license has been terminated.

How to Apply an S/MIME License

To upload and apply an S/MIME license for NGINX Management Suite:

  1. In a web browser, go to the FQDN for your NGINX Management Suite host and log in.
  2. Select the Settings gear icon.
  3. On the Settings menu, select Licenses.
  4. Select Get Started.
  5. Select Browse to upload the license, or you can simply drag and drop the license onto the form.
  6. Select Add.
  7. Select Done.
  8. (Optional) To send telemetry data to F5 NGINX, select the Enable Continuous Connection option. For detailed information about the data being transmitted and its purpose, refer to the topic Configure Telemetry.

Your NGINX entitlements will now be visible on the Licenses page.

You can return to this page at any time to cancel the license. Simply select Terminate and then confirm the action.

License Comparison

The following tables show which features are available when NGINX Management Suite is licensed or unlicensed.

Unlicensed Mode Features

The NGINX Management Suite features listed in the table below are available without a license.

Feature Description Access Type
Licensing View and manage licenses. CRUD
NGINX Plus Counting View the number of registered NGINX Plus instances and track Kubernetes usage. CRUD
Scan Permits scanning for NGINX instances. READ
User Management Create, configure, and manage roles, users, and user groups. CRUD

Licensed Mode Features

When you license an NGINX Management Suite module, you gain access to the full range of platform features as well as the module-specific features. See the tables below to learn what features each module offers.

Manage feature access with RBAC
You can control access to features in NGINX Management Suite with role-based access control (RBAC). For details, see Getting Started with RBAC.

NGINX Management Suite Platform

The NGINX Management Suite platform includes the following features:

Feature Description
NGINX Plus Counting View the number of registered NGINX Plus instances and track Kubernetes usage.
Licensing View and manage licenses.
Resource Groups Create, configure, and manage resource groups
User Management Create, configure, and manage roles, users, and user groups.

Instance Manager

Instance Manager includes the following features:

Feature Resource Objects Description
Analytics Not Applicable Grants access to analytics endpoints, including metrics, catalogs, and events.
Certificates Certs, Systems, Resource Groups, Instance Groups View and manage certificates for NGINX instances.
Instance Groups Instance Groups Create, configure, and manage NGINX instance groups.
Instance Management Systems, Resource Groups View and manage NGINX instances.
Scan Not Applicable Permits scanning for NGINX instances.
Security Policies Not Applicable View and manage security policies for NGINX instances. Dependent on Instance Management and Instance Groups for publishing.
Staged Configurations Systems, Resource Groups, Instance Groups Create, configure, and manage staged NGINX configurations.

API Connectivity Manager

API Connectivity Manager includes the following features:

Feature Description
API Docs View and manage API documentation published to a Dev Portal.
Dev Portal Setup Set up and manage Dev Portals.
Environments Create, configure, and manage environments.
Hostname View and manage hostnames for deploying proxies.
Infra Workspace Customize and manage Infrastructure workspaces.
Job History View job history for workspaces and Dev Portals.
Proxy Clusters Create, configure, and manage proxy clusters.
Proxy Config Create and manage proxies.
Service Workspace Customize and manage Service workspaces.

App Delivery Manager

App Delivery Manager includes following features:

Feature Description
Environments Create, configure, and manage environments.
Apps Create, configure, and manage apps.
Gateways Create, configure, and manage gateways.
Sites Create, configure, and manage sites.
TCP-UDP Components Create, configure, and manage TCP/UDP components.
Web Components Create, configure, and manage web components.

Security Monitoring

Security Monitoring includes the following features:

Feature Description
Security Monitoring Grants access to the Security Monitoring dashboard and APIs.

Troubleshooting

Can’t Upload a License

If you have issues uploading a license, make sure you’re using the newest version of these supported web browsers: