Overview of licensing introduced to the agents
With the introduction of Snare version 5 Agents we're introducing a new licensing model. With the new model, Agent can be licensed in one of two ways:
1) via our new product, Snare Agent Manager (SAM). SAM enables Agents running on a network to be licensed from a central location. Better yet, SAM doesn't even require an internet connection, so that means that even air-gapped environments receive the benefits. By choosing SAM as your Snare licensing tool, you'll not only be able to easily license manage all your networked Agents but you'll be primed to take advantage of exciting new Agent management features that we're already developing.
2) or, directly via the Agents web management or command line interface.
For those that have some Agents on a network and some that are individually air-gapped, don't worry. You're able to mix and match your SAM and standalone licenses to match your operating environment.
What needs a license?
All Snare Enterprise Agents from version 5 onwards require a licensed issued by Intersect Alliance. Evaluation licenses can be obtained via intersectalliance.com or your Snare License and Download Manager account.
Snare Enterprise Agents can be licensed by SAM or by the installation of a standalone license.
Snare Agent Manager requires a minimum of two licenses to be installed:
1) Integrity key License - This provides the SAM with a set of unique keys that used to ensure the integrity of all licenses issues by SAM to Agents.
2) Agent Feature Licenses - This provides SAM with the ability to license Agents with a given feature such as Standard Audit / Epilog Logging, MSSQL Logging etc up to the amount requested during the evaluation or purchase application process.
What about Agents before version 5?
You may have noticed that some Agent families have skipped a few major versions! We've deliberately made things as simple as possible and with this in mind we've bumped all Agent major version numbers to version 5.
It's important to note that earlier version of Agents do continue to count towards overall feature allowance however we've implemented a system that provides you with advanced notice that you maybe over your allocated allowance without the immediate disabling of Agent functionality.
Quotas and Allowances
Using Snare Agent Manager
Each SAM feature license issued provides you with an install allowance for each feature included covered by the license. Let's say that you have ordered a license that allows Standard Logging (Audit / Epilog) for 20 Agents. You'll be able to use SAM to distribute this allowance across all version 5 Agents and pre-version 5 Agents. It's important to note that all pre-version 5 Agents that support the given feature will be counted towards to the allowance. Opensource Agents are not counted towards your allowance.
Pre-version 5 Agent Features
| Agent | Feature | Feature Key |
|---|---|---|
| Snare Enterprise Agent | Standard Logging | IA_LOG |
| Snare Enterprise Epilog | Standard Logging | IA_LOG |
| Snare Enterprise MSSQL | MSSQL Logging | IA_LOG_MSSQL_HOST |
Example 1:
Let's say you have an allowance for 20 Standard Logging (IA_LOG) Agents. Your network consists of 10 version 5 qualifying Agents and 7 pre-version 5 qualifying Agents. This will result in you having used 17 of the available 20 slots for the Standard Logging Agents feature. At any point in time you're able to add three further Agents to bring you up to your allowance allocation.
Example 2:
Let's stay with the allowance for 20 Standard Logging (IA_LOG) Agents. This time however, you've setup SAM and found that you have 30 pre-version 5 Agents installed on the network. At this point, SAM will update the features status to OVERLIMIT. At the point that the feature first becomes OVERLIMIT, SAM will start warning you via messages on the Dashboard and via the Notification Center that the feature is OVERLIMIT. SAM will also commence a 60 day countdown, in which you'll need to either remove enough agents to come down to the allocated allowance or install a secondary or superseding license that allocates the feature a higher allowance to cover the difference in usage.
In this scenario, should feature usage have not been adjusted to meet the allowance or the allowance not increased to meet the usage, after 60 days all version 5 Agents using the feature would become unlicensed. With these Agents unlicensed, their logging functionality would have ceased.
License Feature Statuses
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| AVAILABLE | License feature allowance has available slots. |
| EXHAUSTED | License feature allowance has been met but not exceeded. |
| OVERLIMIT | License feature allowance has been exceeded. Notifications will be generated on the Dashboard and in the Notification Center. If after 60 days the feature status has now been lowered to AVAILABLE or EXHAUSTED, all licensed version 5 Agents will be unlicensed. |
Using Standalone Agents
Providing a standalone license to a version 5 or newer agent can be performed via the Web Management Interface or via the Command Line Interface. All standalone licenses provide a one-to-one relationship for the licensing of an Agent. This means that each (full) standalone
Licensing from an end users perspective consists of two different pathways.
- Standalone licensing
Standalone licenses can be issued for either Agents, Snare Server or SAM. In standalone mode the agent will not talk to a Snare Agent Management Console to obtain its license. It will however still talk to it to provide details to a SAM about its ip, license class etc.
A standalone license is identified by the License-Type being either: EVALUATION, FULL. - SAM based licensing
In SAM Based licensing, SAM provides the licenses to the agents.
Licenses are provided to an agent are identified by the License-Type being either: CONTROLLER-EVALUATION or CONTROLLER-FULL.
Snare Agent Manager
SAM needs to be licensed first before can allocate a license to Snare agents. For permanent license strings Intersect Alliance need the KeyiD's from the SAM under the Licenses tab to provide a license to the SAM.
This license for SAM will also use a IA_SAM=1 feature reference.
Then there is a feature license for your agents:
IA_LOG = nn
IA_MSSQL_LOG = nn
IA_MSSQL_LOG_HOST = nn
SAM automatically sends a license (generated by itself) once a day to the agents, so the agents are perpetually license for another 30 days,so if network is down the agents will log for another 30-days.
If after network outage is resolved the SAM will resend a license of internal (todays date) plus another 30 days.
THEREFORE agents will keep on logging for 30 days after they last communicated with SAM.
(Last Seen is the last time the agent contacted SAM, or if did a scan that SAM saw the agent)
The Snare Agent Manager controls the licenses that are required for the Snare enterprise agents to function.
The Snare Agent Manager license is generated by Intersect Alliance based on the Key Ids where it is installed. When a new license is required ensure these Key Ids are provided by copying them to clipboard.
Snare Enterprise Agent
The Snare Enterprise Agent will display the details of the active licenses registered to your organization. You may license your agent depending on your network set up.
- If your agent is installed on a network then you also have Snare Agent Manager (SAM) installed that may push out all the licenses to your installed agents.
- If you have a standalone agent, installed on your desktop or device, then you will require to submit your Key IDs via the Snare License and Download Manager (SLDM), and add that license to your agent.
If SAM licenses the agent, then you can see the status on the Licenses page and it will be referenced as LICENSE-TYPE= full or evaluation, so it will be easy to see when SAM does the licensing or not at the agent level.
Warnings can occur when it is detected that your organization has more legacy enterprise agents than the new version 5 license allows. You have a 60 day grace period to contact your Snare Sales representative to update your license.
If your organization is oversubscribed, extra evaluation licenses maybe supplied until fully migrated to version 5.
For existing customers, Licenses will be downloadable from the Intersect Alliance site Snare License and Download Manager (SLDM) based on your current purchase of software.
Example: Customer A was evaluating Snare Ent Agents utilizing SAM, in which they received 2 licenses - both for SAM (1 Integrity Key and 1 feature license). Cust A has purchased Snare, what the happens with the licenses/what do you need?
Once the PO phase gone through to completed - and the customer has supplied the KEY IDS from their production SAM - the full licenses will be auto generated and will expire within purchased time span as required. During the PO submission a user will have the ability to download evals for the full license allotment of the PO (for default 30 days or more depending on their purchasing arrangements) - once the payment has been received the customer will get their full licenses.
if more evaluations are required then they can be added to SAM to cover the additional agent features.
if additional licenses are purchased they can be added to the existing install or obsolete the existing license and provide a new total.
Obsolete Licenses
An Obsolete license can be used when (and if staying at same usage count) the customer is renewing licenses in advance (ie on 12 month support and renewing), we will issue them with new licenses for duration of the 14 months but obsolete existing licenses that they have but will have a 2 month window where their support period is extended.
If the customer is changing their usage count and upping the feature quantities then a new license can be allocated to obsolete the existing features and provide new feature totals.
Networks & License
Deleting a network doesn't delete the agents on that network. SAM still knows about these agents and as a result all enterprise agents will continue to count towards license usage.