Install the license key

When you first install Tanzu Salt, it contains a 14-day trial license. To continue using Tanzu Salt beyond the 14-day trial, contact a sales representative to purchase a license and then install the key.

Before you start

Installing your license key is the first post-installation step in a series of several steps. Before installing your license key, complete one of the installation scenarios, then install your license key.

Which license do you need?

See Required Tanzu Salt dependencies for more information about licensing.

Tanzu Salt supports multiple license keys, which means you can add any number of license key numbers to your Tanzu Salt installation. As long as a license key has not yet expired, Tanzu Salt activates any features allowed by that license key.

Installing the key

Tanzu Salt supports the legacy method of installing the license key by adding a RaaS license key file to the RaaS node.

To install the license key:

1. Get your license key number from My VMware (Customer Connect) or contact your sales representative for the license key number. Record this key number for use in later steps.

2. Create a file with a filename ending in _license, such as vra_license or saltstack-config_license.

   Note:
   If you have multiple license key numbers, create a separate file for each license. Each license filename must end in _license to be recognized as a valid license file by RaaS.

3. Edit the file and add your license key number. Save the file.

4. Copy the file to the /etc/raas/ file directory on the RaaS node using the following commands (replacing the placeholder filename with your license filename):

   chown raas:raas yourfilename_license
   mv yourfilename_license /etc/raas
   

   Note:
   If you have multiple license key numbers, repeat the previous steps to create a separate license file for each key number and then upload the files to the RaaS node.

5. OPTIONAL: If you want RaaS to recognize the new license file immediately, restart the RaaS service:

   systemctl restart raas
   

   If you don’t restart the RaaS service, RaaS automatically refreshes and detects the new license file regularly within a one hour time frame.

What to do next

After installing your license key, you must complete additional post-installation steps. The next step is to install and configure the Master Plugin. To continue the post-installation process, see Install and configure the Master Plugin.