End of Life Bulletin: Cisco to Discontinue the Call Home Transport Option for Cisco Smart Licensing

Dear Customer,

Cisco announces the End-of-Life for the Call Home transport option in Cisco Smart Licensing. Call Home transport is one of two ways Cisco Smart Licensing can communicate with the Cisco Smart Software Manager (CSSM) server used to manage and track licenses. Cisco is moving to Smart Transport as the preferred way to communicate with CSSM. The end of life for Call Home transport will occur on a product-by-product basis. Each product or product family affected will announce its own transition schedule in a separate notification. Not all products will follow the same schedule.

Why is Cisco doing this?

Call Home transport is based on legacy technology that has higher latency and is less reliable than the more modern Smart Transport method. Call Home transport also includes some components that have limited support and are reaching end of life. Some customers using Call Home transport have reported problems with Smart Licensing:

Devices connected to Cisco SSM On-Prem via Call Home experience sync failures with CSSM
Devices configured for Call Home sometimes encounter Smart Licensing validation failures

Cisco is committed to providing you with secure, reliable, and efficient device connectivity for Smart Licensing. During this transition, Call Home transport will continue to be supported per the End-of-Life schedule announced for each individual product family. However, to enhance your Smart Licensing experience, we strongly encourage you to proactively migrate from the legacy Call Home transport to Smart Transport. Most current Cisco products already support this more modern transport method.

What are the advantages of switching to Smart Transport?

Improved User Experience: Smart Transport is designed for seamless activation and validation of your Smart Licenses
Enhanced Security and Reliability: Built on a robust, secure platform, Smart Transport offers greater performance and scalability than Call Home
Ongoing Support: Cisco will continue to support Smart Transport, while Call Home is a legacy transport with performance and scale limitations

Which products are affected by Call Home End of Life?

Go to Cisco Software Central, log into Smart Software Manager.
Consult the Product Details file and reference the First Smart Transport Version column and the Transport Method column to see which transport(s) each product supports.

[Description of visual: A screenshot of the Cisco Software Central portal, specifically the Smart Software Licensing section, showing tabs for Alerts, Inventory, Convert to Smart Licensing, Reports, Preferences, On-Prem, Accounts, Activity, and Commercial Consumption.]

Products with Call Home transport listed are affected by this notice.
Note: Some legacy or End-of-Life products may not support Smart Transport. Please verify compatibility in your product documentation if the Smart Transport option does not appear in the table for your product.

Action Required:

If Smart Transport is available for your product, please refer to your product documentation for instructions on how to enable Smart Transport. Additional instructions will be provided in the individual product family field notices for each affected product.
Sign up in Cisco My Notifications to receive notification of new field notices and product bulletins for your affected products. Additional information on End-of-Life schedules and migration instructions will be provided via those notices.

Thank you for your attention to this important update and for choosing Cisco for your licensing needs.

Sincerely,
Cisco Licensing Operations

	Cisco ISE Licenses: A Comprehensive Guide to Licensing Options This document provides a detailed overview of Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) licensing, covering both Smart Licensing and Traditional Licensing models. It explains how to activate, register, manage, and troubleshoot license configurations, including different license packages like Base, Plus, Apex, and Device Administration. The guide also addresses licensing for air-gapped networks and license consumption logic.
	How to Run Reports on Smart Licenses and Subscriptions in Cisco Smart License Manager (SSM) A step-by-step guide for Cisco customers and partners on how to generate reports for smart licenses and subscriptions using the Smart License Manager (SSM) portal. Learn to access Cisco Software Central, navigate to reports, and export data.
	Cisco IOS XR Software Flexible Consumption Model Data Sheet Explore the Cisco IOS XR Software Flexible Consumption Model, a flexible and cost-effective approach to acquiring and managing Cisco IOS XR software licenses. This data sheet details the Essentials and Advantage software suites, ordering information, and benefits of this consumption model.
	Cisco UCS Central Troubleshooting Reference Guide A comprehensive guide to troubleshooting issues encountered with Cisco UCS Central, covering general troubleshooting, installation, registration, authentication, certificates, global policies, and high availability.
	Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series: Understanding and Configuring Licenses A comprehensive guide to managing licenses for Cisco Catalyst 9300 Series Switches, including Network Essentials, Network Advantage, DNA Essentials, DNA Advantage, and the HSECK9 export control key. Learn about installation, configuration, and best practices.
	Cisco 1000 Series Software Configuration Guide, Cisco IOS XE 17 A comprehensive guide to configuring Cisco IOS XE software on Cisco 1000 Series Integrated Services Routers, covering setup, management, and advanced features.
	Cisco ISE 3.0 Upgrade Guide: Overview Comprehensive guide to upgrading Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) to version 3.0, covering upgrade paths, licensing changes, smart licensing for air-gapped networks, and VM license categories. Includes procedures for configuring SSM On-Prem and understanding Permanent License Reservation.
	Introduction to Cisco ASAv: Features, Licensing, and Guidelines An overview of the Cisco Adaptive Security Virtual Appliance (ASAv), covering its features, hypervisor support, licensing models, guidelines, limitations, and virtual network interface configurations.