How to start and delete a trial/non production Elastic Enterprise (ECK) license
Introduction
If you want to test the advanced features without buying a full Enterprise license, you can use a 30 days trial license. This is a one-time trial, and cannot be repeated.
After the 30 days are passed, the license will expire and you will return to a “basic” license. You can then upgrade to a full Enterprise license to keep using the advanced features.
You can see the current license information by running the following command:
curl http://localhost:9200/_license\?accept_enterprise\=true
This will let you know which type of license you are currently using (basic, trial, enterprise) and the issue and expiry date of that license. The output will look something like this:
Starting a Trial/Non Production Elastic Enterprise (ECK) license
To start the 30 days trial license, run the following command:
start-es-trial-license
If you get a permission error, run the following command:
sudo chmod +x /usr/bin/start-es-trial-license
If you run the curl command again, you should see that your license type is now trial. You can now go to Kibana and discover the advanced features. You might need to wait a few minutes or reload the page to apply the changes.
Deleting a Trial/Non Production Elastic Enterprise (ECK) license
If the license provided to you by VQ is meant to be “non-production” or “temporary”, you will have to delete it from your system after the date specified by VQ as the expiry date.
If you don’t, you will be liable for the full purchase price of the software (12 months Enterprise License).
In order to delete the existing Enterprise license, run the following command:
kubectl delete secret -n elastic-system $(kubectl get secrets -n elastic-system --no-headers -o custom-columns=Name:metadata.name | grep eck-license)
The license status should now be updated to “basic”, which you can check with the following command:
curl http://localhost:9200/_license\?accept_enterprise\=true
You will have to send a screenshot of the two previous commands and their output to us as proof that you have deleted the Elastic license.
VQ Customer Support
If you need assistance with this, please contact our Customer Support Team who will be happy to assist you.