Tenable Nessus Licensing Requirements

The following topic provides Tenable Nessus licensing information. To learn how to use Tenable Nessus, see the Tenable Nessus User Guide.

Licensing Tenable Nessus

You can manage Tenable Nessus in Tenable Vulnerability Management or Tenable Security Center or run it as a standalone subscription product. To purchase a subscription and receive an activation code, go to the Tenable website or work with a Tenable partner.

Tenable Nessus Activation Code

Tenable Nessus requires a plugin feed activation code to operate in subscription mode. This code identifies which version of Tenable Nessus that Tenable licensed you to install and use, and if applicable, how many IP addresses you can scan, how many remote scanners you can link to Tenable Nessus, and how many Nessus Agents you can link to Tenable Nessus Manager. Tenable Nessus Manager licenses are specific to your deployment size, especially for large deployments or deployments with multiple Tenable Nessus Manager instances. Discuss your requirements with your Tenable Customer Success Manager.

Your activation code:

  • is a one-time code, unless your license or subscription changes, at which point Tenable issues you a new activation code. Alternatively, you can transfer an existing activation code to a different system. For more information, see Transfer Activation Code in the Tenable Nessus User Guide.
  • must be used with the Tenable Nessus installation within 24 hours.
  • cannot be shared between scanners.
  • is not case-sensitive.

  • is required to manage Tenable Nessus offline.

    Note: For more information about managing Tenable Nessus offline, see Manage Tenable Nessus Offline.

Note: See the Obtain an activation code page for instructions on how to obtain and use an activation code.

Manage Tenable Nessus with Tenable Vulnerability Management

If you are using Tenable Vulnerability Management to manage your Tenable Nessus scanners, the plugin and software updates are managed from Tenable Vulnerability Management. For more information, see Tenable Nessus Plugin and Software Updates in the Tenable Nessus User Guide.

Tenable Vulnerability Management includes the ability to link unlimited Tenable Nessus scanners as a default component.

For more information about Tenable Vulnerability Management licensing, see Tenable Vulnerability Management Licensing in the Tenable Licensing Guide.

Manage Tenable Nessus with Tenable Security Center

If you are using Tenable Security Center to manage your Tenable Nessus scanners, the activation code and plugin updates are managed from Tenable Security Center. For more information, see Tenable Nessus Plugin and Software Updates in the Tenable Nessus User Guide.

You must start Tenable Nessus before it communicates with Tenable Security Center, which it normally does not do without a valid activation code and plugins. To have Tenable Nessus ignore this requirement and start (so that it can get the information from Tenable Security Center), when you register your scanner, select Managed by SecurityCenter.

For more information about Tenable Security Center licensing, see Tenable Security Center Licensing in the Tenable Licensing Guide.