I don't know that the License Service is required by any components of CPD, it is simply recommended in certain circumstances. Being a bit pedantic, the License Service Operator is installing the License Service itself.
The License Service, at least last I checked, does not use the API Key, that API Key is used to authenticate with IBM's container image repository to pull the container images needed and will prevent pulling unauthorized images.
I'm not aware of any capability of the License Service to connect back to IBM at this point, although folks keep talking about changing that. My understanding for now is that the License Service is the replacement for ILMT in OpenShift environments and provides the reporting you need to comply with a license audit quickly. It is a common component across all of the Cloud Paks providing a single API to generate a report of IBM License Usage across an OpenShift environment. It also is aware of the conversions and ratios to be able to measure the actual CPU Cores allocated/consumed and convert them into VPCs of entitlement required.
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Eric Walk
Director
O: 617-453-9983 | NASDAQ: PRFT | Perficient.com
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Original Message:
Sent: Tue March 29, 2022 10:53 AM
From: Hisham Ghanem
Subject: License Server Operator in CPD 4.0.x
Hi,
Is the License Server Operator required by all CPD services, or only Watson cartridges?
Installing IBM Cloud Pak foundational services
Also, How does the operator work with the API Key that we ask the customer to download using their IBM ID?
How does the License Server Operator control usage of CPD services on a customer cluster (in particular air-gapped cluster)?
Thanks
Hisham
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Hisham Ghanem
Architect
IBM
Vienna VA
571-4216350
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