> Source: [sk62685](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk62685)

# sk62685 - What is the difference between the central and local licensing schemes?

| Property | Value |
|----------|-------|
| Solution ID | sk62685 |
| Date Created | 2011-04-27 |
| Last Modified | 2023-06-25 |
| Technical Level | General |
| Products | Licensing |
| Versions | Not Version-Specific |

## Solution

### Central Licensing

Central licensing allows licenses for Security Gateways to be associated with the IP address of the Management Server.

The benefits are:

1. Central management of all licenses in one place - SmartConsole (R81 and higher) / SmartUpdate (R80.40 and lower).
2. The new license remains valid when the IP address of a Security Gateway changes.  
   There is no need to re-create and re-install a new license.
3. Only one IP address is needed for all licenses.
4. A license can be detached from one Security Gateway and attached to another.

### Local Licensing

Local licensing is associated with the IP address of the Security Gateway, to which the license will be applied. Each time the IP address of the Security Gateway changes, a new license must be generated and installed.

### Notes

* You must generate licenses for the main IP address of the corresponding object in SmartConsole.
* You can install a Central license on a Security Gateway only from SmartConsole (R81 and higher) / SmartUpdate (R80.40 and lower).
* You can install a Central license on a Management Server from SmartConsole (R81 and higher) / SmartUpdate (R80.40 and lower) / Gaia Portal / CLI Expert mode (the "`cplic put`" command).
* You can install a Local license on a Security Gateway from Gaia Portal or CLI Expert mode (the "`cplic put`" command).
* If a Security Gateway is connected to the Internet, and your User Center Account contains a Local license generated for the Security Gateway's IP address, then the Security Gateway downloads this license automatically.

### Documentation

* See the [Security Management Administration Guide](https://support.checkpoint.com/product/184) for your version
* See the [Gaia Administration Guide](https://support.checkpoint.com/product/73) for your version

---

# Agent Instructions

This content is from the Check Point Support Center (https://support.checkpoint.com), the official knowledge base for Check Point cybersecurity products.

## Navigating This Knowledge Base

- **Complete index**: [llms.txt](https://support.checkpoint.com/llms.txt)
- **All SK articles**: [SecureKnowledge Sitemap](https://support.checkpoint.com/sitemaps/secureknowledge-sitemap-index.xml)
- **SK article URL pattern**: `https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/{skId}`
- **Markdown responses**: AI bot User-Agents automatically receive `text/markdown` content