On the RUCKUS ICX 7550 platform, Layer 3 features are enabled through specific software licenses. The Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol - Extended (VRRP-E) is a fundamental Layer 3 high-availability feature. According to the RUCKUS FastIron software licensing model, VRRP-E is included in the Base Layer 3 license (L3-Base). This license is the minimum requirement to activate VRRP-E, along with other essential routing protocols like OSPFv2 and RIP. The Premium Layer 3 license also includes this feature, but it is not the minimum necessary license.

A. PoD (Ports on Demand) is a license used to activate additional physical network ports on the switch, not for enabling software features like routing protocols.

B. MACSec is a Layer 2 security feature license that enables hop-by-hop encryption and is unrelated to Layer 3 routing or redundancy protocols like VRRP-E.

D. L3-prem (Premium) is an advanced Layer 3 license that includes all Base features plus protocols like BGP and OSPFv3. While it enables VRRP-E, it is not the minimum required license.

1. RUCKUS FastIron Software Licensing Guide, 09.0.10, Page 16, Table 10: "ICX 7550 Feature Licenses". This table explicitly lists "VRRP/VRRP-E" as a feature enabled by the ICX7550-L3-BASE (Base Layer 3) license.

2. RUCKUS ICX 7550 Switch Datasheet, Page 4, "Software" section. The datasheet outlines that the ICX 7550 offers optional Layer 3 routing protocol support (OSPF, VRRP, PIM, BGP) with a software license upgrade, distinguishing between base and premium feature sets. The base set, which is sufficient for VRRP, is the first tier of this upgrade.