172 lines
8.2 KiB
Markdown
172 lines
8.2 KiB
Markdown
---
|
|
stage: Growth
|
|
group: Conversion
|
|
info: To determine the technical writer assigned to the Stage/Group associated with this page, see https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/engineering/ux/technical-writing/#assignments
|
|
type: howto
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
# Activating GitLab EE
|
|
|
|
To enable features of GitLab Enterprise Edition (EE), you need to activate your instance. Ensure you are running an enterprise edition. To verify, sign in to GitLab and browse to `/help`. The GitLab edition and version are listed at the top of the **Help** page.
|
|
|
|
If you are running GitLab Community Edition (CE), upgrade your installation to GitLab Enterprise Edition (EE). For more details, see [Upgrading between editions](../../update/index.md#upgrading-between-editions). If you have questions or need assistance upgrading from GitLab CE to EE please [contact GitLab Support](https://about.gitlab.com/support/#contact-support).
|
|
|
|
As of GitLab Enterprise Edition 9.4.0, a newly-installed instance without an
|
|
uploaded license only has the Free features active. A trial license activates all Ultimate features, but after [the trial expires](#what-happens-when-your-license-expires), some functionality
|
|
is locked.
|
|
|
|
## Activate GitLab EE with an Activation Code **(PREMIUM SELF)**
|
|
|
|
As of GitLab Enterprise Edition 14.1, you need an activation code to activate your instance. You can obtain an activation code by [purchasing a license](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/) or by signing up for a [free trial](https://about.gitlab.com/free-trial/). This activation code is a 24-character alphanumeric string you receive in a confirmation email. You can also sign in to the [Customers Portal](https://customers.gitlab.com/customers/sign_in) to copy the activation code to your clipboard.
|
|
|
|
To begin the activation process with your activation code:
|
|
|
|
1. Sign in to your GitLab self-managed instance.
|
|
1. From the top menu, select the Admin Area **{admin}**.
|
|
1. From the left sidebar, select **Subscription**.
|
|
1. Paste the activation code onto the input field.
|
|
1. Read and accept the terms of service.
|
|
1. Select **Activate**.
|
|
|
|
## Activate GitLab EE with a License File **(PREMIUM SELF)**
|
|
|
|
If you receive a license file from GitLab (for example a new trial), you can upload it by signing into your GitLab instance as an admin or adding it during installation. The license is a base64-encoded ASCII text file with a `.gitlab-license` extension.
|
|
|
|
## Uploading your license
|
|
|
|
The first time you visit your GitLab EE installation signed in as an administrator,
|
|
you should see a note urging you to upload a license with a link that takes you
|
|
to the **Subscription** area.
|
|
|
|
Otherwise, to manually go to the **Subscription** area:
|
|
|
|
1. Sign in to your GitLab self-managed instance.
|
|
1. From the top menu, select the Admin Area **{admin}**.
|
|
1. From the left sidebar, select **Subscription**, and select **Upload a license file**.
|
|
|
|
- *If you've received a `.gitlab-license` file:*
|
|
1. Download the license file to your local machine.
|
|
1. Select **Upload `.gitlab-license` file**.
|
|
1. Select **Choose file** and select the license file.
|
|
In this example the license file is named `GitLab.gitlab-license`.
|
|
1. Select the **Terms of Service** checkbox.
|
|
1. Select **Upload License**.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- *If you've received your license as plain text:*
|
|
1. Select **Enter license key**.
|
|
1. Copy the license and paste it into the **License key** field.
|
|
1. Select the **Terms of Service** checkbox.
|
|
1. Select **Upload License**.
|
|
|
|
## Add your license at install time
|
|
|
|
A license can be automatically imported at install time by placing a file named
|
|
`Gitlab.gitlab-license` in `/etc/gitlab/` for Omnibus GitLab, or `config/` for source installations.
|
|
|
|
You can also specify a custom location and filename for the license:
|
|
|
|
- Source installations should set the `GITLAB_LICENSE_FILE` environment
|
|
variable with the path to a valid GitLab Enterprise Edition license.
|
|
|
|
```shell
|
|
export GITLAB_LICENSE_FILE="/path/to/license/file"
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
- Omnibus GitLab installations should add this entry to `gitlab.rb`:
|
|
|
|
```ruby
|
|
gitlab_rails['initial_license_file'] = "/path/to/license/file"
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
WARNING:
|
|
These methods only add a license at the time of installation. Use the
|
|
**{admin}** **Admin Area** in the web user interface to renew or upgrade licenses.
|
|
|
|
---
|
|
|
|
After the license is uploaded, all GitLab Enterprise Edition functionality
|
|
is active until the end of the license period. When that period ends, the
|
|
instance will [fall back](#what-happens-when-your-license-expires) to Free-only
|
|
functionality.
|
|
|
|
You can review the license details at any time by going to **Admin Area > Subscription**.
|
|
|
|
## Notification before the license expires
|
|
|
|
One month before the license expires, a message informing about the expiration
|
|
date is displayed to GitLab administrators. Make sure that you update your
|
|
license, otherwise you miss all the paid features if your license expires.
|
|
|
|
## What happens when your license expires
|
|
|
|
When your license expires, GitLab locks down features, like Git pushes
|
|
and issue creation. Then, your instance becomes read-only and
|
|
an expiration message is displayed to all administrators.
|
|
|
|
For GitLab self-managed instances, you have a 14-day grace period
|
|
before this occurs.
|
|
|
|
- To resume functionality, upload a new license.
|
|
- To fall back to Free features, delete all expired licenses.
|
|
|
|
### Remove a license file
|
|
|
|
To remove a license file from a self-managed instance:
|
|
|
|
1. From the top menu, select the Admin Area **{admin}**.
|
|
1. From the left sidebar, select **Subscription**
|
|
1. Select **Remove license**.
|
|
|
|
These steps may need to be repeated to completely remove all licenses, including those applied in the past.
|
|
|
|
## License history
|
|
|
|
You can upload and view more than one license, but only the latest license in the current date
|
|
range is used as the active license. When you upload a future-dated license, it
|
|
doesn't take effect until its applicable date.
|
|
|
|
NOTE:
|
|
In GitLab 13.6 and earlier, a notification banner about an expiring license may continue to be displayed even after a new license has been uploaded.
|
|
This happens when the newly uploaded license's start date is in the future and the expiring one is still active.
|
|
The banner disappears after the new license becomes active.
|
|
|
|
## Troubleshooting
|
|
|
|
### There is no Subscription tab in the Admin Area
|
|
|
|
If you originally installed Community Edition rather than Enterprise Edition you must
|
|
[upgrade to Enterprise Edition](../../update/index.md#community-to-enterprise-edition)
|
|
before uploading your license.
|
|
|
|
GitLab.com users can't upload and use a self-managed license. If you
|
|
want to use paid features on GitLab.com, you can
|
|
[purchase a separate subscription](../../subscriptions/gitlab_com/index.md).
|
|
|
|
### Users exceed license limit upon renewal
|
|
|
|
If you've added new users to your GitLab instance prior to renewal, you may need to
|
|
purchase additional seats to cover those users. If this is the case, and a license
|
|
without enough users is uploaded, GitLab displays a message prompting you to purchase
|
|
additional users. More information on how to determine the required number of users
|
|
and how to add additional seats can be found in the
|
|
[licensing FAQ](https://about.gitlab.com/pricing/licensing-faq/).
|
|
|
|
In GitLab 14.2 and later, for instances that use a license file, you can exceed the number of purchased users and still activate your license.
|
|
|
|
- If the users over license are less than or equal to 10% of the users in the subscription,
|
|
the license is applied and the overage is paid in the next true-up.
|
|
- If the users over license are more than 10% of the users in the subscription,
|
|
you cannot apply the license without purchasing more users.
|
|
|
|
For example, if you purchased a license for 100 users, you can have 110 users when you activate
|
|
your license. However, if you have 111, you must purchase more users before you can activate.
|
|
|
|
### There is a connectivity issue
|
|
|
|
In GitLab 14.1 and later, to activate your subscription, your GitLab instance must be connected to the internet.
|
|
|
|
If you have an offline or airgapped environment, you can [upload a license file](license.md#activate-gitlab-ee-with-a-license-file) instead.
|
|
|
|
If you have questions or need assistance activating your instance, please [contact GitLab Support](https://about.gitlab.com/support/#contact-support).
|