Zebra DNA Cloud Licensing

Zebra DNA Cloud 6.2

Overview

This section covers the acquisition, application and management of Zebra DNA Cloud (ZDNA) licenses acquired from Zebra or through a Zebra reseller. For Zebra MDNA products, please visit the Zebra MDNA Licensing Process page. Not yet ready to buy? Request an evaluation license.

Changes with ZDNA 6.2

DNA Cloud 6.2 introduces a Unified Licensing Management system* to eventually include all Zebra products.

  • Initially supports:
    • DNA Cloud
    • Enterprise Browser (term-based)
    • Identity Guardian
    • Wireless Insights (including eval. licenses)

No action is required at this time. Visibility in the DNA Cloud console of licensing information for the products above is implemented now.

Install Zebra License Manager 15.2 now or at any time to access these new features:

  • Centralized license de/allocation for all supported products (eliminates disparate processes)
  • Automatic and manual license claiming, selectable by software product ‡
  • Simplified onboarding with support for "CLS ID" and "Badge ID" license types
  • No need to recreate rules for groups, device models and serial numbers; supported automatically
  • Improved usage and availability reporting through enterprise-wide license-asset visibility
  • License allocation to offline devices

Learn more about the new features

* Requires Zebra License Manager 15.2 or later; earlier versions support only license visibilty in the DNA Cloud console.

‡ Auto-claim is always enabled for DNA Cloud licenses.

Changes with ZDNA 5.6

In June, 2025, Zebra engaged a new licensing service provider to better serve customers now and into the future. Zebra DNA Cloud is now fully integrated with the new licensing back-end beginning with ZDNA 5.6, and existing licenses for all customers have been transferred. While functionality and processes of the new system remains mostly unchanged, a few differences are worthy of note:

  • "CLS ID" is now called "Badge ID"
  • The 5% overage allotment for purchased licenses is eliminated
  • The 30-day grace period for license renewal is eliminated

Licensing Behavior

  • After licenses are acquired, all license allocations are managed in the ZDNA system.
  • Devices not connected at the time a license action is executed are updated the next time they come online.
  • If a device was licensed in ZDNA as a part of a group, disassociating the device from that group automatically reclaims the license and returns it to the pool of available licenses.
  • Removing a Group from the License Allocation screen automatically reclaims licenses from all devices in that Group and returns them to the pool.
  • License actions are executed immediately upon exiting the ZDNA Licensing section.
  • If the Zebra License Manager app is open on a device when a license is applied, the app must be closed and reopened for the license to be reflected.

Licensing issues? The ZDNA FAQ might have the answer.

Evaluation License

Zebra offers time-limited trial licenses to allow companies to evaluate the performance of Zebra solutions in their environment.

  • Customers, partners and distributors: Request through a Zebra account manager or sales engineer
  • Zebra employees: Submit requests using SFDC forms

I. Contact a Reseller

Zebra licenses are obtained through Zebra resellers or (in some cases) directly from Zebra.

To begin, select an option:

II. Locate Badge ID

After licensing ZDNA (through one of the contacts above), a confirmation email is containing the Badge ID along with purchase confirmation. A new Badge ID is issued with each purchase, and includes all product licenses acquired in that purchase.

image Click image to enlarge; ESC to exit.

For more information, please contact your company administrator, Zebra/reseller contact or other authority.

III. Add and Apply Licenses

NOTICE: Each Badge ID may be used by ONE Tenant in ONE Instance of ZDNA.
Applying licenses in any other way is a violation of your Zebra Licensing Agreement.

After logging into your Zebra DNA Cloud server:

1. In the Licensing section, Click "Add License(s)" button:
It might be necessary to click the "Refresh" button to fetch the most recent licensing transaction(s). image Click image to enlarge; ESC to exit.

2. Enter the "Badge ID" provided by Zebra via email following any license acquisition and click "Add" button: image Click image to enlarge; ESC to exit.

3. Licenses acquired under the Badge ID entered in Step 2 are displayed (as in the image below).
WARNING: Zebra License Manager 15.2 (or later) is required on target device(s). See Zebra License Manager section (below) to learn more.
After ZLM 15.2 (or later) is installed, select product(s) for which to claim licenses for management in DNA Cloud: image Click image to enlarge; ESC to exit.

4. All product licenses for the Badge ID are displayed. Make desired selections:
    a. Click "Allocate" in a product row to issue licenses for that product.
    If the Zebra License Manager app is open on a device when a license is applied, the app must be closed and reopened for the license to be reflected.
    b. Click "Claim" to move previously acquired licenses for that product to DNA Cloud for allocation. See CAUTION, below.
    c. Optional: Toggle "AUTO-CLAIM" to automatically claim product licenses purchased in the future. Learn more.
    CAUTION: Non-ZDNA licenses claimed here become unusable unless/until Zebra License Manager 15.2 is installed on target device(s). Learn more.

image Click image to enlarge; ESC to exit. It might be necessary to reduce browser magnification to see entire image.

5. Upon selecting "Allocate," select one of the following license assignment options:

  • "Auto assignment" allocates by device enrollment date; earliest first:
    Zebra recommends this option for an "automated" licensing experience; licenses (as available) are automatically allocated at enrollment. image Click image to enlarge; ESC to exit.
  • "By device model" allocates to one or more specified device models: image Click image to enlarge; ESC to exit.
  • "By device group" allocates to one or more device Groups created by your organization: image Click image to enlarge; ESC to exit.
  • "By device serial number" allocates to devices individually by device serial number:
    NOTE: Devices already licensed appear with a check mark. image Click image to enlarge; ESC to exit.

5. When finished making selection, Click "Allocate" to apply settings.

License actions are applied immediately and system is ready to use.

Unified Licensing

DNA Cloud 6.2 delivers the first phase of Unified License Management, which allows companies to manage licensing of multiple Zebra products from a single UI. Among the new features is license auto-claim, which eliminates the need to manually select and claim newly acquired licenses as they enter the system. All products managed in DNA Cloud support auto-claim as an option; for DNA Cloud licenses, the feature is always enabled.

Organizations that wish to continue using their existing non-ZDNA tools for managing licenses for one or more products may do so. For such companies, simply DO NOT click the "Claim" option for any product to be managed using existing methods. For all products, the counts, status and expiration dates of licenses remain visible from within DNA Cloud. To begin managing a product's licenses with DNA Cloud at any time in the future, simply click "Claim" for that product.

Licensing Notes

  • License claiming:
    • Licenses can be claimed either while adding a Badge ID or later, from the Licensing page.
    • Licenses must be claimed all at once for each given product and/or license acquisition.
    • Zebra recommends selecting "Auto-claim" for any product intended to be managed from within DNA Cloud.
    • If all licenses for a product are claimed outside ZDNA, the product's “Claim Outside ZDNA” action is disabled.
  • License de/allocation:
    • License allocation to online and offline devices all appear as "IN USE" instantaneously.
    • Device-based licenses (EB, IG, etc.) are assigned to online devices and reserved for offline devices.
    • Availability of de-allocated licenses is sometimes delayed.*
    • Selecting "Auto-assignment" allocates available licenses at enrollment on a "first-come, first served" basis.
    • If auto-assignment is not desired, a rule can be created for assignment by Group or manually by device serial number.
  • Known limitations:
    • Displays only the total number of licenses in use for a given product.
    • Does not differentiate between licenses in active use, and those reserved or released but not yet recaptured.
    • Does not track licenses applied to devices via StageNow, OEMConfig or other non-ZDNA methods.‡
    • DNA Cloud does not support license return, revocation or extension. Please contact Zebra Support for assistance.

* License availability is scanned and updated every five (5) minutes; licensing page refresh might be required for display of accurate counts.

‡ Admin is responsible for preventing duplicate license allocation if multiple licensing methods are used.

Auto-claim Licenses

CAUTION: Once claimed, non-ZDNA licenses become unusable unless/until Zebra License Manager 15.2 is installed on target device(s). See ZLM 15.2 section, below.

To enable Auto-claim:

  1. In the Licensing section, select the product toggle for which to enable Auto-claim: image Click image to enlarge; ESC to exit.

  2. Click "Enable" to acknowledge the warning and enable Auto-claim for the selected product: image Click image to enlarge; ESC to exit.

All newly acquired licenses for the product are now available for allocation according to existing rules.

Zebra License Manager 15.2

Management of non-ZDNA licenses with DNA Cloud requires Zebra License Manager 15.2 (or later) to be installed on all target devices. Until v15.2 is added to Zebra Collection apps, it must be downloaded manually from the Zebra Support Portal (link below) and installed using any preferred process for Android apps, including with DNA Cloud (described briefly here).

To download and install Zebra License Manager 15.2 using DNA Cloud:

  1. Download Zebra License Manager 15.2 (.apk) from the Zebra Support Portal.
  2. Add the downloaded .apk to "My Apps" collection (file name:ZLicenseMgr_v15.2.6.apk or later).
  3. Create a Profile and deploy to devices as usual.

For detailed instructions, see the Add Apps to Collection section of the Usage Guide.

Also See

  • Zebra MDNA Licensing Page | All Zebra licensed MDNA software, devices, requirements and processes
  • Setup Guide | Set up an organization and its devices to use ZDNA
  • Usage Guide | A complete guide to ZDNA administrative tasks
  • FAQ | Frequently asked questions about ZDNA