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1. License Pool Overview
A license pool is a shared quota pool. After an administrator uploads a consolidated license package to activate the license pool, the licensing method of ZStack ZSphere Enterprise environments can be switched from Local License to Shared License. The environments then consume quota from the pool on demand, allowing quota to be reallocated across environments.
- Local License: each environment uses its own independent license, and quotas are not shared.
- Shared License: the environment joins the license pool and consumes quota from the shared pool, allowing quota to be reallocated across environments.
The License Pool Management page covers three tasks: import license packages (replenish quota) → add / remove environments (switch the licensing method) → view quota usage.
Scope: only ZStack ZSphere (ZSV) Enterprise environments; the only supported license type is CPU Socket.
The license pool currently supports only environments whose local license type is CPU Socket. Environments with other license types, such as Host, cannot join the pool yet.
License pool entry: ZCenter Management Platform Licensing > License Pool.
2. Overall Workflow
| Step | Operator | Location | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| ① Import a license package | Administrator | License pool page → Upload License Package | The pool obtains its total quota |
| ② Add environments | Administrator | License pool page → Add Environment | Environments switch to Shared License |
| ③ View quota | Administrator | License pool page → Overview | View total / used / available quota and expiration |
| ④ Remove environments | Administrator | License pool page → Remove | Environments switch back to Local License and their quota is reclaimed |
3. Importing a License Package
Upload the consolidated license package issued by the sales team to activate the license pool. The first upload completes the activation.
Procedure:
- Click Upload License Package and select the license package file (drag and drop, or click to select).
- Click Confirm. After a successful upload, the dialog closes and the overview refreshes automatically to show the quota.
- If the file is invalid, the system reports an error and no accidental activation occurs.
- Multiple licenses stack automatically: a license pool can consist of multiple licenses (capacity expansion and renewals are added cumulatively), and the quotas are summed automatically.
- File validity is checked by the system: submitting a wrong file is allowed; the system returns an error message and no accidental activation occurs.
4. Adding Environments (Local to Shared)
Click Add Environment. The dialog lists the environments that have not joined the pool. Select the target environments and submit; the selected environments switch from Local License to Shared License.
On submission, the system validates the following conditions before execution. If any condition is not met, the join fails with the specific reason.
| # | Condition | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The environment is ZSphere and in a normal state | It must be a ZStack ZSphere (ZSV) environment with a normal connection state |
| 2 | The main license type matches and the quota is sufficient | The environment's main license type matches the license pool, and the pool's available quota is greater than or equal to the environment's used quota |
| 3 | The local license type is CPU Socket | The license pool currently supports only environments whose local license type is CPU Socket |
5. Quota Overview
The page consists of two sections from top to bottom: License Pool Information shows information about the licenses themselves, and Usage Overview shows quota usage.
License Pool Information:
| Item | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Status | Valid / Expired |
| Issue Date | The issue date of the earliest license |
| Expiration Date | "The last batch of quota expires on YYYY-MM-DD", that is, the expiration date of the latest license. When a batch of quota is less than 7 days from expiration, an additional line "X quota expires on YYYY-MM-DD" is displayed here |
Usage Overview: the CPU Socket usage progress bar and three quota metrics.
| Item | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Total Quota | The sum of the license quotas in the pool |
| Used Quota | The sum of the quota used by all shared environments |
| Available Quota | Total quota minus used quota; 0 is displayed when the result is negative |
| Usage progress bar | Blue below 60%, orange at 60% or above, red at 85% or above |
Mid-Term Expiration
A license pool is stacked from multiple licenses, each with its own expiration date. After a license expires, its corresponding quota is frozen and the available quota decreases accordingly.
For example: the pool's total quota is 2000, and one license carries 300 quota. After that license expires, the 300 quota is frozen and the available quota decreases by 300.
Top banner reminder 7 days in advance: when a batch of quota is less than 7 days from expiration, a banner appears at the top of the page: "X quota will expire on YYYY-MM-DD. Once expired, X CPU Socket of shared quota will be frozen. Please handle this promptly." Complete the renewal or expansion before expiration, or remove some environments to reduce usage.
Expiration reduces the total and available quota (the supply side) and does not target specific environments. As long as the total quota still covers the used amount after expiration, environments are not affected; otherwise, renew and expand the quota or remove some environments.
7. Handling Disconnected Environments
Disconnected means the environment has lost contact with the license server (network interruption, machine shutdown, or the environment has been destroyed). The quota occupied by a disconnected environment is frozen and temporarily unavailable to other environments.
The page proactively indicates disconnections:
| Location | Content |
|---|---|
| Top banner | "N environment(s) are disconnected. Please handle them promptly." with a Handle Now link that jumps to the environment list; the banner appears whenever any environment is disconnected |
| Status column of the environment list | "Disconnected" |
The disconnection reminder is independent of the expiration reminder described in Mid-Term Expiration. When both conditions are met, the two banners appear at the top of the page at the same time.
Removing a Disconnected Environment
An administrator can remove a disconnected environment directly at any time. After removal, its occupied quota is immediately reclaimed into the pool, and the associated accounts can be cleaned up normally.
When removing a disconnected environment, a confirmation dialog explains that its occupied quota will be reclaimed and that the environment must rejoin the license pool after its connection recovers. The removal executes after confirmation.
About Quota Safety
The license pool tracks only the total quota purchased by the customer, and the accounting revolves around this total. The platform does not interfere with the actual local license usage of each environment — the total quota is what the customer purchased, and the purchased amount is authoritative.
- Validation on join, no overselling: when an environment joins, the system validates that its used quota fits within the pool's available quota. It joins only if the quota is sufficient; otherwise the join fails. Therefore "used ≤ total" always holds for the pool.
- Immediate reclamation: when an environment (including a disconnected one) is removed, its occupied quota is immediately reclaimed into the pool, increasing the available quota. Re-granting the reclaimed quota to another environment goes through the same join validation, which is equivalent to a normal join, so the accounting stays safe.
One caveat: if an environment that is still running (only network-isolated) is mistakenly removed as disconnected, it continues to run on its local license until the offline license expires, and then stops automatically. This does not affect the license pool accounting. This is why removing a disconnected environment requires a confirmation step.
8. Environment States
Each environment has two dimensions that need to be distinguished:
| | Local License | Shared License | |--|---------------|----------------| | Online | Uses its own license, normal | Consumes quota from the shared pool, normal | | Disconnected | Unrelated to the license pool, not counted | Its quota is frozen; it can be removed directly to reclaim the quota |
Only environments that are both shared and disconnected are counted in the top disconnection banner. The disconnection of a Local License environment is unrelated to the license pool.
9. FAQ
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Which environments can join the license pool | Only ZStack ZSphere (ZSV) Enterprise environments; the pool currently supports only environments whose local license type is CPU Socket |
| What happens if a wrong file is uploaded | The system returns an error message and no accidental activation occurs |
| Can one license pool contain multiple licenses | Yes. Multiple licenses stack automatically and their quotas are summed (capacity expansion and renewals are added cumulatively) |
| Why does joining fail | ① The environment is not ZSphere or is in an abnormal state; ② the main license type does not match the pool, or the available quota is less than the environment's used quota; ③ the environment's local license type is not CPU Socket |
| What if the available quota is negative | Negative values are not displayed; 0 is shown when the quota is exceeded |
| When is the quota reclaimed after removing an environment | Immediately; the "Available Quota" in the overview increases accordingly |
| How long must I wait before removing a disconnected environment | No waiting. It can be removed directly at any time (a confirmation dialog appears and the quota is reclaimed) |
| What happens after a license expires | Its corresponding quota is frozen and the total quota decreases accordingly. As long as the remaining quota covers the used amount, environments are not affected; otherwise, renew the license or remove some environments |
Appendix: Glossary
| Term | Description |
|---|---|
| License pool / license server | The shared quota pool that holds the total quota |
| ZStack ZSphere Enterprise (ZSV) | The enterprise edition of the virtualization platform, the only environment type that can join the license pool; "environment" in this document refers to it |
| Local License | The environment uses its own license and does not occupy the shared pool |
| Shared License | The environment consumes quota from the shared pool (that is, it has joined the license pool) |
| Quota | The licensing unit of measure, in CPU Sockets |
| Disconnected | The environment has lost contact with the license server, and its occupied quota is frozen |
| Overprovisioned / over quota | The environment's usage exceeds its licensed quota |