On the BigIP device under /config --> you can see a file
called bigip.license. This file is typically your license file which has
information like what modules are provisioned, list out any additional licenses
that were added, platform id. Serial number etc.
Now before upgrading your F5 device its always recommended that
admin should reactivate the license. What happens during this process is that
the service check date would get updated in bigip.license file which will then
allow you to upgrade to the latest and greatest firmware. This is based on your
active support contract.
If the license is not Re-Activated and the Service check date is
earlier than license check date then the config will not load. You will get an error saying - Config failed to load....
Fail - Service check date is 1/1/2016 and License date is
3/18/2016 (this is just as an example)
Pass - Service check date is 4/1/2016 and License date is
3/18/2016
Service check date - is updated each time when you re-activate
the license based on your active support contract.
License check date - is a static date corresponding to the
software version.
The above F5 link provides the license dates for different
versions.
