Only certain OS licenses are eligible to be appended, removed, or replaced. License changes are supported for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), RHEL for SAP, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES), SLES for SAP, Ubuntu, Ubuntu Pro, and Windows Server for the following use cases:
- Changing between BYOS and PAYG billing models for RHEL, RHEL for SAP, SLES, and SLES for SAP
- Changing a Windows Server BYOL instance to use PAYG billing
- In-place upgrades from Ubuntu to Ubuntu Pro
- Adding or removing RHEL ELS add-on licenses
The license owner can change valid license changes for a given license. Before you change a license, confirm that the target license change is valid. This guide outlines how to find the current valid license changes for a particular license. It also outlines any restrictions that apply to changing that license.
Before you begin
-
If you haven't already, set up authentication.
Authentication verifies your identity for access to Google Cloud services and APIs. To run
code or samples from a local development environment, you can authenticate to
Compute Engine by selecting one of the following options:
Select the tab for how you plan to use the samples on this page:
Console
When you use the Google Cloud console to access Google Cloud services and APIs, you don't need to set up authentication.
gcloud
-
Install the Google Cloud CLI. After installation, initialize the Google Cloud CLI by running the following command:
gcloud initIf you're using an external identity provider (IdP), you must first sign in to the gcloud CLI with your federated identity.
- Set a default region and zone.
-
Prepare to update a disk's license
To update the disk's license while the disk is attached to a running instance, first either stop the instance or detach the disk.
- Stop the instance. Temporarily shuts down the instance before updating the disk's license.
- Detach the disk. This detaches the disk from the instance before updating the disk's license.
Review license information
In Cloud Shell, run the following command. Replace LICENSE_URL with the license that you want to investigate. For a list of common license URLs, see the Valid licenses table.
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" -H "Content-Type: application/json" LICENSE_URL
For example, to examine the RHEL 7 PAYG License:
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $(gcloud auth print-access-token)" -H "Content-Type: application/json" https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-7-server
The output is similar to the following:
{
"kind": "compute#license",
"name": "rhel-7-server",
"chargesUseFee": true,
"id": "6080198135500386054",
"licenseCode": "1000006",
"creationTimestamp": "2013-08-19T17:17:57.000-07:00",
"description": "RedHat Enterprise Linux 7",
"transferable": true,
"selfLink": "https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-7-server",
"selfLinkWithId": "https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/6080198135500386054",
"appendableToDisk": true,
"removableFromDisk": false,
"allowedReplacementLicenses": [
"1492188837615955530",
"8475125252192923229",
"601259152637613565",
"489291035512960571",
"1270685562947480748"
],
"osLicense": false,
"soleTenantOnly": false,
"multiTenantOnly": false,
"minimumRetention": {
"seconds": "0",
"nanos": 0
},
"updateTimestamp": ""
}
The response outlines the following key fields:
removableFromDisk: iftrue, the license can be removed from the disk. Iffalse, the license cannot be removed without replacing it with a valid license.allowedReplacementLicenses: this is a list of license codes for licenses that can serve as valid replacements. To find out which license code corresponds to which license, see valid licenses.minimumRetention: the minimum amount of time that the license needs to be present on the VM before another license change can be applied.
Example: Replace RHEL 7 PAYG with RHEL 8 PAYG
To replace a RHEL 7 PAYG license with a RHEL 8 PAYG license, use the following information to find the license code and license URL for RHEL 8 PAYG:
| License Name | License Code | License URL |
|---|---|---|
| RHEL 8 PAYG | 601259152637613565 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-8-server |
Since the license code for RHEL 8 PAYG (601259152637613565) was listed under
allowedReplacementLicenses for RHEL 7 PAYG, this indicates that a valid
license replacement is possible.
To perform the license replacement, use the following command:
gcloud compute disks update DISK_NAME
--replace-license=projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-7-server,projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-8-server
--zone=DISK_ZONE
Valid licenses
Valid licenses for RHEL, SLES, Ubuntu, and Ubuntu Pro are listed in the following tables.
RHEL license information
| License Name | License Code | License URL |
|---|---|---|
| RHEL 6 PAYG | 1000002 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-6-server |
| RHEL 7 PAYG | 1000006 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-7-server |
| RHEL 7 ELS | 4646774207868449156 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-7-els |
| RHEL 8 PAYG | 601259152637613565 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-8-server |
| RHEL 9 PAYG | 7883559014960410759 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-9-server |
| RHEL 6 BYOS | 4720191914037931587 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-6-byos |
| RHEL 7 BYOS | 1492188837615955530 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-7-byos |
| RHEL 8 BYOS | 8475125252192923229 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-8-byos |
| RHEL 9 BYOS | 3837518230911135854 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-9-byos |
| RHEL 8 for SAP PAYG | 1270685562947480748 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-8-sap |
| RHEL 9 for SAP PAYG | 8291906032809750558 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-9-sap |
| RHEL 8 for SAP BYOS | 489291035512960571 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-8-sap-byos |
| RHEL 9 for SAP BYOS | 6753525580035552782 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/rhel-sap-cloud/global/licenses/rhel-9-sap-byos |
SLES license information
| License Name | License Code | License URL |
|---|---|---|
| SLES 11 PAYG | 1000004 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-cloud/global/licenses/sles-11 |
| SLES 12 PAYG | 1000008 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-cloud/global/licenses/sles-12 |
| SLES 15 PAYG | 5422776498422280384 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-cloud/global/licenses/sles-15 |
| SLES 11 BYOS | 3562683225507985416 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-byos-cloud/global/licenses/sles-11-byos |
| SLES 12 BYOS | 5995918435054614609 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-byos-cloud/global/licenses/sles-12-byos |
| SLES 15 BYOS | 7429287564402499183 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-byos-cloud/global/licenses/sles-15-byos |
| SLES 12 for SAP PAYG | 4079932016749305610 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-sap-cloud/global/licenses/sles-sap-12 |
| SLES 15 for SAP PAYG | 4764125400812555962 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-sap-cloud/global/licenses/sles-sap-15 |
| SLES 12 for SAP BYOS | 7194268483061119118 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-byos-cloud/global/licenses/sles-sap-12-byos |
| SLES 15 for SAP BYOS | 6035015651111738499 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/suse-byos-cloud/global/licenses/sles-sap-15-byos |
Ubuntu and Ubuntu Pro license information
| License Name | License Code | License URL |
|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 16.04 (Xenial Xerus) | 1000201 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/ubuntu-os-cloud/global/licenses/ubuntu-1604-xenial |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 (Xenial Xerus) | 8045211386737108299 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/ubuntu-os-pro-cloud/global/licenses/ubuntu-pro-1604-lts |
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver) | 5926592092274602096 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/ubuntu-os-cloud/global/licenses/ubuntu-1804-lts |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS (Bionic Beaver) | 6022427724719891830 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/ubuntu-os-pro-cloud/global/licenses/ubuntu-pro-1804-lts |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa) | 2211838267635035815 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/ubuntu-os-cloud/global/licenses/ubuntu-2004-lts |
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS (Focal Fossa) | 599959289349842382 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/ubuntu-os-pro-cloud/global/licenses/ubuntu-pro-2004-lts |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish) | 5511465778777431107 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/ubuntu-os-cloud/global/licenses/ubuntu-2204-lts |
| Ubuntu Pro 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish) | 2592866803419978320 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/ubuntu-os-pro-cloud/global/licenses/ubuntu-pro-2204-lts |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat) | 3242930272766215801 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/ubuntu-os-cloud/global/licenses/ubuntu-2404-lts |
| Ubuntu Pro 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat) | 2176054482269786025 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/ubuntu-os-pro-cloud/global/licenses/ubuntu-pro-2404-lts |
Windows Server license information
| License Name | License Code | License URL |
|---|---|---|
| Windows Server 2008 R2 BYOL | 4551215591257167608 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2008-r2-byol |
| Windows Server 2008 R2 PAYG | 1000000 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2008-r2-dc |
| Windows Server 2012 BYOL | 5559842820536817947 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2012-byol |
| Windows Server 2012 PAYG | 1000015 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2012-dc |
| Windows Server 2012 R2 BYOL | 6738952703547430631 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2012-r2-byol |
| Windows Server 2012 R2 PAYG | 1000017 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2012-r2-dc |
| Windows Server 2016 BYOL | 4322823184804632846 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2016-byol |
| Windows Server 2016 PAYG | 1000213 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2016-dc |
| Windows Server 2019 BYOL | 6532438499690676691 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2019-byol |
| Windows Server 2019 PAYG | 3389558045860892917 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2019-dc |
| Windows Server 2022 BYOL | 2808834792899686364 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2022-byol |
| Windows Server 2022 PAYG | 4079807029871201927 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2022-dc |
| Windows Server 2025 BYOL | 6621875542391421291 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2025-byol |
| Windows Server 2025 PAYG | 7142647615590922601 | https://www.googleapis.com/compute/v1/projects/windows-cloud/global/licenses/windows-server-2025-dc |