Symptom
The Last Synchronized date on the Firepower Management Center (FMC, Secure Firewall Management Center) > Settings > Smart Licenses page does not always show the date of the last successful synchronization with the licensing server.
For example, in the case of connectivity problems between the FMC and the licensing server, Last Synchronized date actually is the date of Last Communication Attempt.
The "Last Synchronized" field in this case is misleading, as it means successful synchronization between the FMC and the licensing server despite the possible connectivity problems between the two.
One option is to rename this field into "Last Communication Attempt". Another option is to introduce a separate status for "Last Communication Attempt" in the case of connectivity problems. In the case of a successful connection the "Last Synchronized" is used, while "Last Communication Attempt" can be used for failed connection attempts.
Conditions
A known condition:
- FMC was initially registered to a licensing server. Later FMC fails to synchronize to the server due to connectivity problems.
Workaround
Check the actual last communication status in /var/log/sam.log:
...
Smart Licensing Status
======================
Smart Licensing is ENABLED
Registration:
Status: REGISTERED
Smart Account: smartaccount1
Virtual Account: virtualaccount1
Export-Controlled Functionality: ALLOWED
Initial Registration: SUCCEEDED on Aug 30 2022 15:05:15 UTC
Last Renewal Attempt: SUCCEEDED on Aug 30 2022 21:14:24 UTC
Next Renewal Attempt: Feb 26 2023 21:14:22 UTC
Registration Expires: Aug 30 2023 21:09:20 UTC
License Authorization:
Status: OUT OF COMPLIANCE on Aug 30 2022 15:06:12 UTC
Last Communication Attempt: FAILED on Aug 31 2022 12:10:29 UTC <---------------
Failure reason: ERROR 9 : Fail to send out Call Home HTTP message. <---------------
Next Communication Attempt: Aug 31 2022 12:10:59 UTC
Communication Deadline: Nov 28 2022 21:09:18 UTC
...
