/mcpData sheet Cisco public © 2025 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Licensing packaging The Cisco Catalyst 9000 family of switches introduces a new and simplified licensing package in the form of base and add-on licenses. • The perpetual licensing package includes the Network Essentials and Network Advantage licensing options that are tied to the hardware. Between them, the base licensing packages cover switching fundamentals, management automation, troubleshooting, and advanced switching features. These network licenses are perpetual. The subscription licensing package includes the Cisco Catalyst and Cisco DNA Essentials, Cisco Catalyst and Cisco DNA Advantage, and Meraki Advanced and Enterprise options. In addition to on-box capabilities, the features available with this package provide Cisco innovations on the switch, as well as on Cisco Catalyst Center. and Meraki dashboard. For Catalyst 9300 models ordered with a Network Essentials and Network Advantage license, a Cisco Catalyst or Cisco DNA subscription license is mandatory at the time of configuration. For Catalyst 9300 models ordered with a Meraki SKU, the term license is ordered separately but is required for the switch to be recognized in Meraki dashboard. With Cisco Catalyst and Cisco DNA software licenses, customers receive embedded SWSS, which covers 24x7x365 Cisco Technical Assistance Center (TAC) support, software release updates, advanced support analytics, and designated service management. This is valid only for the Cisco Catalyst and Cisco DNA Software subscription stacks (Cisco Catalyst and Cisco DNA Essentials or Advantage). Note: For full hardware support, including the perpetual network stack, customers will require Cisco Smart Net Total Care® for 24x7x365 Cisco TAC support, proactive security and product alerts, and product lifecycle management. An additional option for hardware support is Solution Support for your multivendor Cisco solution environment. License consumption is easily determined by the package itself. While Network Essentials and Network Advantage perpetual licenses are always permanent and without an expiration date, subscription licenses have to be purchased for a 3-, 5-, or 7-year term (and hence are also known as term-based licenses). Table 14 shows the combinations of network perpetual and Cisco Catalyst and Cisco DNA Software subscription licenses that must be purchased. Table 14. Cisco Catalyst, Cisco DNA, and network licensing combinations Cisco Catalyst and Cisco DNA Essentials Cisco Catalyst and Cisco DNA Advantage Network Essentials Yes** Yes** Network Advantage No* Yes