SBC License Usage Test

The License Key determines the licensed features (e.g., Test Call and voice coders) and various capacity figures (e.g., number of Test Calls and SBC call sessions) that you have ordered for your device. The local License Key, which is installed on the device through ini file (locally or through the Automatic Update mechanism), contains all the licenses for the ordered features and capacity. However, for capacity licenses for WebRTC, SIPREC and SBC sessions (regular sessions, transcoding sessions, and registered far- end users), AudioCodes OVOC management tool is used to provide and manage them. Exceeding the licensed capacity, unauthorized usage, licensing expiration, or any other configuration issues may impact the functionality or security of the system. Therefore, it is important to address these issues promptly to ensure the proper operation and compliance of the SBC.

This test monitors the license key usage of the target appliance and reports the percentage usage of different licenses. This way, you can promptly identify and address the licensing issues to ensure compliance with licensing agreements and to avoid any disruptions in service.

Target of the test : An SBC AudioCodes appliance

Agent deploying the test : An external agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for the target SBC AudioCodes being monitored.

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameters	Description
Test period	How often should the test be executed
Host	The IP address of the host for which this test is to be configured.
SNMPPort	The port at which the monitored target exposes its SNMP MIB; the default is 161.
SNMPVersion	By default, the eG agent supports SNMP version 1. Accordingly, the default selection in the SNMPversion list is v1. However, if a different SNMP framework is in use in your environment, say SNMP v2 or v3, then select the corresponding option from this list.
SNMPCommunity	The SNMP community name that the test uses to communicate with the firewall. This parameter is specific to SNMP v1 and v2 only. Therefore, if the SNMPVersion chosen is v3, then this parameter will not appear.
Username	This parameter appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPversion. SNMP version 3 (SNMPv3) is an extensible SNMP Framework which supplements the SNMPv2 Framework, by additionally supporting message security, access control, and remote SNMP configuration capabilities. To extract performance statistics from the MIB using the highly secure SNMP v3 protocol, the eG agent has to be configured with the required access privileges – in other words, the eG agent should connect to the MIB using the credentials of a user with access permissions to be MIB. Therefore, specify the name of such a user against this parameter.
Context	This parameter appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPVERSION. An SNMP context is a collection of management information accessible by an SNMP entity. An item of management information may exist in more than one context and an SNMP entity potentially has access to many contexts. A context is identified by the SNMPEngineID value of the entity hosting the management information (also called a contextEngineID) and a context name that identifies the specific context (also called a contextName). If the Username provided is associated with a context name, then the eG agent will be able to poll the MIB and collect metrics only if it is configured with the context name as well. In such cases therefore, specify the context name of the Username in the Context text box. By default, this parameter is set to none.
AuthPass	Specify the password that corresponds to the above-mentioned Username. This parameter once again appears only if the SNMPversion selected is v3.
Confirm Password	Confirm the AuthPass by retyping it here.
AuthType	This parameter too appears only if v3 is selected as the SNMPversion. From the AuthType list box, choose the authentication algorithm using which SNMP v3 converts the specified username and password into a 32-bit format to ensure security of SNMP transactions. You can choose between the following options: MD5 - Message Digest Algorithm SHA - Secure Hash Algorithm SHA224 - Secure Hash Algorithm 224 bit SHA256 - Secure Hash Algorithm 256 bit SHA384 - Secure Hash Algorithm 384 bit SHA512 - Secure Hash Algorithm 512 bit
EncryptFlag	This flag appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPversion. By default, the eG agent does not encrypt SNMP requests. Accordingly, the this flag is set to No by default. To ensure that SNMP requests sent by the eG agent are encrypted, select the Yes option.
EncryptType	If the EncryptFlag is set to Yes, then you will have to mention the encryption type by selecting an option from the EncryptType list. SNMP v3 supports the following encryption types: DES - Data Encryption Standard 3DES - Triple Data Encryption Standard AES - Advanced Encryption Standard AES128 - Advanced Encryption Standard 128 bit AES192 - Advanced Encryption Standard 192 bit AES256 - Advanced Encryption Standard 256 bit
EncryptPassword	Specify the encryption password here.
Confirm Password	Confirm the encryption password by retyping it here.
Timeout	Specify the duration (in seconds) within which the SNMP query executed by this test should time out in this text box. The default is 10 seconds.
Data Over TCP	By default, in an IT environment, all data transmission occurs over UDP. Some environments however, may be specifically configured to offload a fraction of the data traffic – for instance, certain types of data traffic or traffic pertaining to specific components – to other protocols like TCP, so as to prevent UDP overloads. In such environments, you can instruct the eG agent to conduct the SNMP data traffic related to the monitored target over TCP (and not UDP). For this, set this flag to Yes. By default, this flag is set to No.
EngineID	This parameter appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPVersion. Sometimes, the test may not report metrics when AES192 or AES256 is chosen as the Encryption type. To ensure that the test report metrics consistently, administrators need to set this flag to Yes. By default, this parameter is set to No.

Measurements made by the test
Measurement	Description	Measurement Unit	Interpretation
SIP-REC license	Indicates the percentage usage of SIP-REC license key.	Percent	A high value for this measure could be due to : Exceeding the allowed number of concurrent SIP-REC sessions. Expired or invalid license key for the SIP-REC feature. Configuration issues with the SIP-REC license. Network connectivity problems affecting the SIP-REC functionality.
CODER-TRANSCODING license	Indicates the percentage usage of CODER-TRANSCODING license key.	Percent	Abnormally high value for this measure indicates that the number of concurrent transcoding sessions allowed by the license has been exceeded.
SBC-MEDIA license	Indicates the percentage usage of SBC-MEDIA license key.	Percent	An abnormal value for this measure denotes that license usage for media-related functionalities on the SBC exceeds the allocated limit or if there is a problem with the license validation.. This could happen if too many users are simultaneously accessing media services or if there is a problem with the license key itself.
SBC-SIGNALING license	Indicates the percentage usage of SBC-SIGNALING license key.	Percent	Some possible reasons for high value for this measure are: The signaling license limit has been reached, causing a shortage of available licenses for handling inbound and outbound signaling traffic. The signaling license has expired or is invalid, preventing the SBC from properly processing signaling messages. There may be a configuration error or issue with the licensing server that is preventing the SBC from properly validating and using the signaling license.
FEU license	Indicates the percentage usage of FEU license key.	Percent
WebRTC license	Indicates the percentage usage of WebRTC license key.	Percent	A high value could be due to the license usage exceeding the allocated limit. This could be caused by an increase in the number of users or devices using the WebRTC feature, leading to a higher demand for resources and licenses.