1 Introduction

SPLA partners are usually hosting providers that provide end-users with their IT infrastructure requirements using Virtual Machines hosted on the SPLA partner server farms. These SPLA partners hold pools of ready-to-go Kemp LoadMaster instances which can be licensed and unlicensed on demand. The SPLA partner is then billed for the usage of the LoadMasters.

SPLA builds are used where the LoadMaster is being deployed under a Service Provider Licensing Agreement (SPLA) or a Metered Licensing Agreement. SPLA builds will only license successfully against a Kemp ID that has been explicitly enabled by Kemp for SPLA or Metered Licensing.

1.1 Document Purpose

There are some differences between SPLA-licensed LoadMasters and regular LoadMasters. This document describes these differences.

1.2 Intended Audience

This document is intended to be read by anyone who is interested in learning more about SPLA-licensed LoadMasters.

2 Differences with SPLA Licenses

As SPLA customers already have a contract with Kemp, they can use a simplified method of licensing. Some differences that the SPLA process has to the regular one are listed below:

• There is a specific build for SPLA customers. If you are an SPLA customer, please contact Kemp for access to your build. Only SPLA Kemp IDs can be used to license SPLA LoadMaster builds.

To get a Kemp ID changed to an SPLA Kemp ID, please contact a Kemp representative.

• Features specific to customers who enroll past 20th March 2017 and are using LoadMaster firmware version 7.2.36 or above are:

- Any SPLA license type (for example, VLM-2000 or VLM-5000) can be chosen when entering into a contract agreement.

- A single SPLA Kemp ID can license unlimited SPLA instances.

- The same SPLA Kemp ID can be used to license any other Kemp producs, such as trial/permanent Virtual LoadMaster, hardware LoadMaster, bare metal instances and/or cloud instances.

• For SPLA licenses provisioned before 20th March 2017 - the SPLA Kemp ID for a LoadMaster can be changed to another SPLA Kemp ID (and therefore one SPLA license type can be changed to another SPLA license type), if needed, by using the Update License feature and using the "new" SPLA Kemp ID. Kemp recommends rebooting after updating the license.
• SPLA downloads are sent to the associated Kemp IDs as per the information provided in Appendix A of the Service Provider License Agreement document.

• Online licensing and Kemp 360 Central Licensing are the only available options to license an SPLA LoadMaster. Offline and legacy licensing is not available. After initially installing an SPLA LoadMaster, you will be asked to select the license method to proceed. For step-by-step instructions on how to license initially, refer to the relevant document, depending on the chosen licensing method:

- Online Licensing: Licensing, Feature Description. However, keep in mind that online licensing is the only available licensing method in this document which is relevant for an SPLA LoadMaster.

- ASL licensing: Kemp 360 Central Feature Description

It is not yet possible to select the license to use when using ASL licensing. This functionality will be available in the future.

• The screen asking to enable the LoadMaster to check for firmware updates is not displayed and this function is enabled automatically. It is not possible to disable these checks in an SPLA LoadMaster.
• SPLA details such as the license type, support type, licenses allocated and maximum licenses allowed can vary. To check or change these details, please contact a Kemp representative.
• A LoadMaster will automatically receive a permanent license if licensed with an SPLA Kemp ID.
• A licensed SPLA unit can be killed when it is no longer required. This can be done in the System Configuration > System Administration > Update License or System Configuration > Miscellaneous Options > Activation Server screen of the LoadMaster Web User Interface (WUI), depending on the initial licensing method.

The LoadMaster automatically reboots after the license is killed.

Kemp can remotely kill a licensed SPLA LoadMaster for various reasons. The SPLA LoadMaster will stop functioning within 24 hours of the kill being initiated by Kemp.

• On a regular basis, Kemp will count the active units per SPLA Kemp ID. This is the number of licenses that Kemp will use for invoicing.
• The support for SPLA LoadMasters is unlimited, as the customer is in support as long as their agreement remains active with Kemp.
• RESTful API is enabled from the start with SPLA LoadMasters. There are some RESTful API commands that are available only to SPLA customers. Refer to the RESTful API Commands for SPLA LoadMasters section for more information.

• SPLA LoadMasters have a mandatory call home feature. With this feature, the LoadMaster connects to the Kemp licensing server to get available license updates and to provide system status information to Kemp.

2.1 RESTful API Commands for SPLA LoadMasters

There are some RESTful API commands relating to SPLA LoadMasters. These are described in the sections below.

For further information on RESTful API in general, refer to the RESTful API, Interface Description.

2.1.1 License an SPLA LoadMaster

There are two ways to license an SPLA LoadMaster - using the online licensing method or using Kemp 360 Central Licensing. Refer to the relevant section below, depending on the chosen licensing method.

2.1.1.1 Online Licensing

It is possible to license an SPLA LoadMaster using the following cURL RESTful API command:

curl -o "license.log" -k -silent -u "bal":"<password>" "https://<LoadMasterIPAddress>/access/spla_license?name=<KempID>&passwd=<KempIDPassword>"

Name	Type	Description	Mandatory
kempid	String	The email address used when registering for a Kemp ID.	Yes
password	String	The Kemp ID account password.	Yes
http_proxy	String	Specify the HTTP(S) proxy server and port, in the format <ProxyAddress>:<Port>.	No

2.1.1.2 Kemp 360 Central Licensing

It is possible to license a LoadMaster using Kemp 360 Central with the following API command:

https://<LoadMasterIPAddress>/access/aslactivate?aslname=<Kemp360CentralHostname>

Name	Type	Description	Mandatory
aslipaddr	String	The IP address of the Kemp 360 Central machine to be used for activation.	No
aslname	String	The hostname of the Kemp 360 Central machine to be used for activation.	No
aslport	String	The port to contact Kemp 360 Central on.	No

2.1.2 Initially Set the WUI Password

It is possible to set the WUI password for an SPLA LoadMaster using a RESTful API command if the WUI password has not yet been set. The command to set the WUI password for the first time, is as follows:

curl -o "set_spla_passwd.log" -k -silent -u "bal":"1fourall" "https://<LoadMasterIPAddress>/access/set_initial_passwd?passwd=<password>"

The default username and password is bal and 1fourall.

Parameter	Parameter Type	Parameter Description
passwd	String	New password to access the WUI.
user	String	The Kemp ID (email address).
apassw	String	The Kemp ID password.

2.1.3 Kill License

It is possible to kill an SPLA license using a RESTful API command. When a license is killed, the Current Licenses Allocated value is decremented by one, freeing up a license to be used elsewhere.

Kemp can remotely kill a licensed SPLA LoadMaster for various reasons. The SPLA LoadMaster will stop functioning within 24 hours of the kill being initiated by Kemp.

There are two commands to kill a LoadMaster license, depending on the way the LoadMaster was initially licensed. Only one of these commands will work. Please refer to the relevant section below.

2.1.3.1 Killing a LoadMaster which was Licensed using Online Licensing

The command to kill a license is as follows:

curl -o "kill_spla_instance.log" -k -silent -u "bal":"<password>" https://<LoadMasterIPAddress>/access/kill_spla_instance?name=<KempID>&passwd=<KempIDPassword>&kill=1

2.1.3.2 Killing a LoadMaster which was Licensed using Kemp 360 Central Licensing

The command to kill a license is as follows:

https://<LoadMasterIPAddress>/access/killaslinstance

The LoadMaster automatically reboots after the license is killed.

2.1.4 Retrieve the License Details

To retrieve details about the LoadMaster license, run the licenseinfo command:

https://<LoadMasterIPAddress>/access/licenseinfo

 

3 References

Unless otherwise specified, the following documents can be found at http://kemptechnologies.com/documentation.

RESTful API, Interface Description

Licensing, Feature Description

Kemp360 Central Feature Description

 

Last Updated Date

This document was last updated on 21 June 2022.