License Requirements for Threat Defense Devices in a High Availability Pair

Both threat defense units in a high availability configuration must have the same licenses.

High availability configurations require two license entitlements: one for each device in the pair.

Before high availability is established, it does not matter which licenses are assigned to the secondary/standby device. During high availability configuration, the management center releases any unnecessary licenses assigned to the standby unit and replaces them with identical licenses assigned to the primary/active unit. For example, if the active unit has a Essentials license and a IPS license, and the standby unit has only a Essentials license, the management center communicates with the Smart Software Manager to obtain an available IPS license from your account for the standby unit. If your license account does not include enough purchased entitlements, your account becomes Out-of-Compliance until you purchase the correct number of licenses.