1. VMware vCenter Server Licensing
Product Support Engineering
VMware Confidential

2. Module 1-4 Lessons Lesson 1 – vSphere Upgrade
Lesson 2 – ESX 4.0 Install
Lesson 3 – vCenter Server 4.0
Lesson 4 – vSphere 4.0 Licensing
Lesson 5 – Remote CLI
Agenda Overview
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3. Module 1-5 Lessons Lesson 1 – Overview of ESX 4.0 Licensing
Lesson 2 – License Management for Legacy hosts
Lesson 3 – Configure Licensing for Legacy Hosts
Lesson 4 – Managing VC 4.0 Licenses
Lesson 5 – Troubleshooting Licenses
Agenda Overview
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4. Serial Number Breakdown
Type
Product
VMODL Key
Features (VMODL Key)
Limitations
ESX
ESX Enterprise
esxEnterprise
nas, vsmp, san, iscsi, backup, esxHost, das, drs, vmotion, ft,mpio, hotplug, hostprofile, dvs, vmsafe, dvfilter, svmotion, hostcluster
maxVcpusPerVm=8
ESX Standard
esxFull
nas, vsmp, san, iscsi, backup, esxHost, das, hotplug, vmsafe, dvfilter
ESX Foundation
esxExpress
nas, vsmp, san, iscsi, backup, esxHost, hotplug, vmsafe, dvfilter
ESX Standalone
esxBasic
nas, vsmp, san, iscsi
maxVcpusPerVm=2
ESX VDI
esxVdi
nas, vsmp, san, iscsi, backup, esxHost, das, drs, vmotion, ft, mpio, hotplug, hostprofile, dvs, vmsafe, dvfilter, svmotion, hostcluster VC
VirtualCenter Server vc
federation, woe
VirtualCenter Foundation Server
vcExpress
maxHOST=3
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5. Serial Number Breakdown
Product
Feature
Description
ESX
nas
NAS
vsmp
VSMP
san
SAN
iscsi
ISCSI
backup
Consolidated Backup
esxHost
VC Agent for ESX Server
das HA
drs
DRS
vmotion
VMotion ft
Fault Tolerance
memplus
Memory Overcommit
mpio
MPIO / Third-Party Multi-Pathing
hotplug
Hot-Pluggable Virtual HW
hostprofile
Host Profiles
dvs
Distributed Virtual Switch
vmsafe
VMsafe
dvfilter
DVfilter
svmotion
Storage VMotion
storemon
Storage Utilization Monitoring
hostcluster
Host Cluster Features VC
federation
VC Federation
woe
Workflow Orchestration Engine
Edition
Addon1
Addon2
Addon3
Addon4
Addon5
ESX Enterprise
ESX Standard
vmotion
svmotion
drs ft
hostprofile
ESX Foundation
das
ESX Standalone
esxHost
backup
vmsafe
dvfilter
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6. Managing vSphere Licenses
In vCenter Server 4.0, license reporting and management are centralized
You no longer need a license server or host license files if you have upgraded all your ESX hosts to 4.0
All product and feature licenses are encapsulated in 25 character license keys that you can manage and monitor from vCenter Server 4.0
Each ESX/ESXi host requires one license key.
Each vCenter Server instance requires one license key.
Two Editions - Foundation and Enterprise.
The Enterprise edition includes VMware DRS, VMware HA, and VMotion.
In a vCenter Server system, the Home > Licensing screen includes a Manage vSphere Licenses wizard that guides you through these tasks:
Adding license keys to the inventory
Assigning licenses to assets
Unassigning licenses
Removing license keys from the inventory
Asset is either VC or ESX
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7. Evaluation Mode for ESX
ESX 4.0 can be installed and run in Evaluation Mode
Evaluation mode is intended for demonstration and evaluation purposes
Full functionality of ESX 4.0 for 60 days from the time you install
During the evaluation period, the software notifies you of the time remaining until the evaluation expires
ESX Enterprise evaluation mode allows you to use VMware VMotion, VMware High Availability, VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler
60-day evaluation period begins to count down immediately after the first time you power on the ESX machine
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8. Configure ESX to Use Evaluation Mode
The three ESX/ESXi models have different default states:
ESX – If you do not enter a license key during installation, ESX is installed in evaluation mode.
ESXi Installable – The installer for ESXi Installable has no option to enter a license key. This means that ESXi Installable will definitely be in evaluation mode after installation.
ESXi Embedded – ESXi Embedded comes from your hardware vendor preinstalled on an internal USB device. When you receive the ESXi Embedded host, it might be in evaluation mode or it might be prelicensed by your hardware vendor.
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9. Licensing ESX After the Evaluation Period Expires
After 60-day evaluation period expires
You are no longer able to perform most operations in ESX
You cannot power on virtual machines, add new hosts , or use advanced ESX features
Hosts are disconnected from the vCenter Server system if the evaluation period expires before you assign a license
NOTE Reinstalling the vCenter Server after the 60-day evaluation expires does not restart the evaluation period from the beginning.
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10. Configure VirtualCenter to Use Evaluation Mode
When you run VirtualCenter in evaluation mode, vCenter 4.0 behaves for 60 days as if it has a VirtualCenter Server edition license.
The VirtualCenter Server and evaluation editions of VirtualCenter allow you to manage an unlimited number of hosts and use Linked-Mode VirtualCenter.
To configure VirtualCenter to use evaluation mode
If you install VirtualCenter and do not enter a license key during the installation, VirtualCenter is installed in evaluation mode. When the install wizard prompts you for a license key, leave the license-key field blank.
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11. License Management for Legacy Hosts ( ESX 3.x )
FlexLM License Server is required to manage ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 hosts in vCenter Server 4.0
vCenter Server 4.0 must be configured with the FlexLM license server connection details
When you add an ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 host to the vCenter Server 4.0 inventory, vCenter Server checks out vCenter Server Agent licenses from the FlexLM license server.
The license server also manages VMware VMotion, VMware Distributed Resources, VMware High Availability, and VMware Consolidated Backup licenses for ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 hosts.
The FlexLM License Server can be installed from a VC 2.5 CD
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12. Configure a Legacy License Server for vCenter Server 4.0
Before you begin this procedure,
Make sure that vCenter Server is licensed by choosing Home > Licensing.
If vCenter Server is in evaluation mode or is unlicensed, click Manage vSphere Licenses and assign a license key to vCenter Server
Host-Based License Files for Legacy Hosts
If your ESX 3.x and ESXi 3.5 hosts have host-based license files, you can continue to use the license files. However, host-based license files are not a substitute for the license server that is required by vCenter Server 4.0 when vCenter Server is managing legacy hosts.
Screenshot describing this appears on the next slide.
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13. Configure a Legacy License Server for vCenter Server
From the VI Client, select Administration > vCenter Server Settings
Click Licensing in the list on the left.
Select a vCenter Server from the Current vCenter menu.
Under License Server, enter the fully qualified domain name or the IP address of the license server and, optionally, a port. If you do not specify a port, the default port, 27000, is used.
Select Reconfigure ESX 3 hosts using license servers to use this server if you want each ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.x host that you add to the vCenter Server inventory to use the same license server as this vCenter Server.
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14. License Reporting for vSphere 3
On the vCenter Server 4.0 Home > Licensing screen, you can monitor Virtual Infrastructure 3 license information.
Populating and displaying legacy host information requires polling of the license server
Displaying legacy host information might take more time than displaying ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0 host information
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15. Monitoring License Information
In vCenter Server 4.0, you can view Virtual Infrastructure 3 and vSphere 4 license inventory data by:
Product – A product is a license to use a vSphere software component or feature. For example:
vSphere 4 ESXi Enterprise (1-4 cores per CPU)
vSphere 4 vCenter Server Enterprise
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16. Monitoring License Information
License key – A license key is the serial number that corresponds to a product.
Asset – An asset is a ESX or vCenter on which a product is installed. For an asset to run certain software legally, the asset must be licensed to do so. The license report displays licensed assets only. The report does not display assets that are unlicensed. You can split some license keys by applying them to multiple assets. For example you can split a 4-CPU license by applying it to two 2-CPU hosts.
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17. Label a License Key
When you view licenses in the report, you can add an optional description of each license key or of a set of license keys. These labels appear and are editable in the license report. By default, the label field is empty.
To add or change a label
1 From a vSphere Client host that is connected to vCenter Server, click Home > Licensing.
2 Click View by Product or License key.
3 Select a license key. If you are viewing the report by product, click a product to expand the list of associated license keys and select a license key.
4 Click the label field and enter a new label.
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18. Export Report Data You can export license data to a file.
To export license inventory data
From a vSphere Client host that is connected to vCenter Server, click Home > Licensing.
Select the view that you want to export: Product, License key, or Asset.
From the report screen, click Export.
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19. Export Report Data
In the save-as dialog box, select a folder, a file name, and a format for the exported license data and click Save.
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20. Managing Licenses Centrally
You can manage all of your vSphere 4 licenses from a single location using vCenter Server. In vCenter Server, the licensing administration page includes a Manage vSphere Licenses wizard that guides you through these tasks:
Adding license keys to the license inventory
Assigning licenses to assets
Unassigning licenses
Removing license keys from the license inventory
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21. Add License Keys
The Manage Licenses wizard allows you to add multiple license keys in a single procedure or add one license key at a time.
To add license keys
From a vSphere Client host that is connected to vCenter Server, click Home > Licensing.
Click Manage vSphere Licenses.
In the Add License Keys text area, enter license keys one per line.
Type a brief description of the key or keys.
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22. Add License Keys
Click Add License Keys. The wizard validates the keys. If any of the keys are invalid, an error message lists the invalid keys according to the invalid condition, which can be:
Existing keys – The license key already exists in the vCenter Server inventory.
Expired keys – The license key is valid but expired.
Invalid keys – The license key is missing characters, has too many characters, or its characters are ordered improperly.
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23. Add License Keys
Assign license keys to assets Select ESX or vCenter and in the Product window select an appropriate license key
Click Next through the remaining wizard screens and click Finish to save your changes.
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24. You can search for assets that you want to apply licenses to.
You can search based on the following criteria:
Asset name
License key
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25. Search for Assets To narrow the list of selectable assets
From a vSphere Client host that is connected to vCenter Server, click Home > Licensing.
Click Manage vSphere Licenses.
To skip the Add License Keys screen, click Next.
Type search terms into the Search for assets text area and press the Enter key.
Each asset with matching criteria appears in the list of selectable assets.
Click the ESX or vCenter Server tab to display the available assets that match your search term.
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26. View the Current Status of an Asset
To view the status of an asset
From a vSphere Client host that is connected to vCenter Server, click Home > Licensing.
Click Manage vSphere Licenses.
To skip the Add License Keys screen, click Next.
Click the ESX or vCenter tab to display the available assets.
Rest your mouse cursor over an asset to view the current status.
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27. Unlicense an Asset To unlicense an asset
From a vSphere Client host that is connected to vCenter Server, click Home > Licensing.
Click Manage vSphere Licenses.
On the Assign Licenses screen, select an asset.
Click the ESX and vCenter tabs to display the asset types.
In the Product window, click Unlicensed and click Next.
Click Next to skip the Remove License screen. If you retain the license, you can assign it to another asset.
Click Finish to save your changes.
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28. Remove License Keys Reasons to remove a license include:
You can remove license keys that are not assigned to any assets from the vCenter Server inventory.
Reasons to remove a license include:
The license key has expired.
You have used the licensing portal to combine the capacities of multiple fragmented licenses and you need to remove the zero-capacity licenses.
You have upgraded your licenses and you need to remove the legacy licenses.
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29. Remove License Keys
From a vSphere Client host that is connected to vCenter Server, click Home > Licensing.
Click Manage vSphere Licenses.
Click Next twice to go to the Remove License Keys screen.
Select the license to remove it from the inventory and click Next. By default, this screen displays only license keys that are not assigned to any assets.
Click Finish
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30. Managing Licenses Individually
1. From the vSphere Client, select the host in the inventory.
2. Click the Configuration tab.
3. Under Software, click Licensed Features.
4. Click Edit.
5. Select Assign a new license key to this host, click Enter Key, and enter a license key and an optional label for the license key.
6. Click OK.
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31. Serial Number Breakdown
Serial Number Licensing
In vSphere we completely removed the FLEX licensing system (except as noted below)
vSphere uses serial numbers to license both VC and ESX
Each ESX system is licensed using one serial number
Each instance of VC is licensed using one VC serial number
VC can also manage ESX serial numbers and can license ESX systems by pushing down the serial number
VC becomes the license manager replacing the FLEX license server
Note: If the vSphere environment also includes ESX 3.5 hosts, a FLEX License Server is still required
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32. Serial Number Breakdown
Serial Number Licensing (continued)
Serial number licensing relies on two components:
Serial number
Dormant license file (DLF)
The customer enters the serial number into the product
This unlocks the dormant license file to which the serial number maps
The serial number describes customer specific information:
CPU count, support-level, expiration date, etc.
The dormant license file describes product specific information:
Edition, vSMP support (max vCPUs/VM), licensed features (VMotion, iSCSI, DRS etc.) etc.
DLF is a reference file for decryptng the license key.
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33. Serial Number Breakdown
Serial Number Licensing (continued)
Each serial number maps to one and only one dormant license file
Each DLF can have multiple matching serial numbers
When licensing capabilities are updated in the dormant license file (either in a minor release or a patch) the serial number does not change
A customer upgrading to the latest release will automatically get the new dormant license files and the new licensing definitions
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34. Serial Number Breakdown
Dormant License File Details
On ESX dormant license files reside in:
/usr/lib/vmware/licenses/site/
On VC dormant license files for VC & ESX reside in:
C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VirtualCenter Server\licenses\site\
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35. Serial Number Breakdown
ESX 1
VirtualCenter Server
VC Serial Number
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
VC DLF
ESX 2
VI (ESX) Serial Number
yyyy-yyyyy-yyyyy-yyyyy-yyyyy
ESX DLF
ESX 3
DLF – Dormant Licence File
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36. Serial Number Breakdown
Additional vSphere Changes
Add-on Licenses
In vSphere, licensing capabilities are associated with an edition, not broken down into feature-based licenses as it was with FLEX
Each serial number maps to a dormant license file that describes the capabilities of the edition
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37. Serial Number Breakdown
Additional vSphere Changes (continued)
Add-on Licenses (continued)
vSphere also calls for the ability to buy an edition and then add features (e.g. Foundation + VMotion) all using the same serial number
Add-on features are encoded in the serial number using the 5 “reserved” bits
The licensed capabilities are therefore:
The features granted by the edition
Plus
All add-on features encoded in the serial number
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38. Serial Number Breakdown
Additional vSphere Changes (continued)
Per-VM Licensing
In addition to licenses by CPU sockets, the serial number can also license quantities of VMs
Customers can purchase any edition they wish and then:
Add features in the per-VM licensing model Or
Add features in the per-CPU socket licensing model
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39. Serial Number Breakdown
Additional vSphere Changes (continued)
Per-VM Licensing (continued)
The dormant license files will encode a capacityType attribute
This describes the cost unit for the count
Normally (for per-CPU socket licenses, and as is the case for VI30 & VI35):
capacityType=cpuPackage
For per-VM licensing this will be set to:
capacityType=vm
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40. Serial Number Breakdown
Serial Number Details
Serial number format:
xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Examples:
Serial Number for vSphere 4 Enterprise Beta:
U5415-N628H-H UK-14N20
Serial Number for VMware Virtual Center 4- Beta:
M001Q-J90EK-H803V-030UM-0NN24
Data fields in a serial number…
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41. Serial Number Breakdown
Field
Bits
Description
Range
Licensing API
version 5
version of serial number
0 - 31
LicenseAttr->serialVersion
batch id 15
vendor id + part of identifier
LicenseAttr->batch
unit id 25
remaining part of identifier
LicenseAttr->unit
issue date 12
# of days from epoch date
(~ 11 year 2 month)
LicenseAttr->issueDate
expiration 2
# of 30 day increment from issue date
0 - 3 (90 days)
LicenseAttr->expiration
subscription 3
# of year from issue date
0 - 7 year
LicenseAttr->subscription
support
support level
0 - 3 (none, platinum, gold, silver)
LicenseAttr->support
CPU/VM 16
count field for the license
LicenseAttr->maxCPUs
addon1 1
add-on feature 1
0 | 1
LicenseAttr->addon[0]
addon2
add-on feature 2
LicenseAttr->addon[1]
addon3
add-on feature 3
LicenseAttr->addon[2]
addon4
add-on feature 4
LicenseAttr->addon[3]
addon5
add-on feature 5
LicenseAttr->addon[4]
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42. Serial Number Breakdown
Example ESX DLF
# VMware software license
StartFields = "Cpt, ProductID, LicenseVersion, LicenseType, LicenseEdition, Option, Epoch"
Cpt = "COPYRIGHT (c) VMware, Inc "
ProductID = "VMware ESX Server"
LicenseVersion = "4.0"
LicenseType = "Site"
Epoch = " "
LicenseEdition = "esxEnterprise"
Option = "7"
Data = "capacityType=cpuPackage:6core;enable=nas,vsmp:8,san,iscsi,backup,vmotion,das,drs,esxHost,ft,mpio,hotplug,hostprofile,dvs,vmsafe,dvfilter,svmotion;desc=vSphere Enterprise"
DataHash = "a0301bd7-24ca5857-3dcf9a37-c77ab7c0-f930f835"
Hash = "509ffd42-c589afc5-de de1a b7e"
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43. Serial Number Breakdown
Example VC DLF
# VMware software license
StartFields = "Cpt, ProductID, LicenseVersion, LicenseType, LicenseEdition, Option, Epoch"
Cpt = "COPYRIGHT (c) VMware, Inc "
ProductID = "VMware VirtualCenter Server"
LicenseVersion = "4.0"
LicenseType = "Site"
Epoch = " "
LicenseEdition = "vc"
Option = "7"
Data = "capacityType=server;enable=linkedvc,woe;desc=vCenter Server;mdate= "
DataHash = "bd0c5c d5-6fb55898-baf9fe4a-e "
Hash = "8c32ab91-fb dc3e5fc1-20c072f7-7ff8cd9e"
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44. Troubleshooting Licensing
This section provides guidelines for troubleshooting your license setup for environments with only vSphere 4 hosts and environments that have a mixture of vSphere 4 and legacy Virtual Infrastructure 3 hosts.
If you cannot resolve your problem using the information given in this section, contact VMware for support as follows:
If you have not received license activation codes for your purchase or have difficulties in using your license activation codes, send to
If you have difficulties in configuring licensed features, file a support request at
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45. Receiving License Activation Codes
VMware sends license activation codes and licensing information to the license administrator listed for a particular purchase.
If you need to change the license administrator for your order, contact
If you purchase vSphere 4 from an authorized VMware reseller, register your purchase using the partner activation code(s) supplied by the partner to generate your license files.
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46. Managing VMware Legacy Hosts (ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5)
The troubleshooting scenarios in this section apply to mixed environments, in which vCenter Server 4.0 is managing legacy ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 hosts.
Check the License Server
If vCenter Server is managing legacy hosts, vCenter Server must check out vCenter Server Agent licenses from the license server.
If vCenter Server is having trouble communicating with your license server, check the following:
Check that the license server Windows service is running.
Check that license server is listening.
Check the license server status.
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47. Managing VMware Legacy Hosts
To check that the license server Windows service is running
1 On the machine on which the license server is installed, select Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services to display the Services control panel.
2 Verify that the Status column for the VMware License Server entry reads Started.
3 If the VMware License Server is not started, right-click the service and select Start.
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48. Check That the License Server is Listening
To check that the license server is listening
On the machine on which the license server is installed, select Start > Command Prompt.
Type netstat -ab at the command line.
Verify that the lmgrd.exe process is listening on port and that the VMWARELM.exe process is listening on port
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49. Check the License Server Status
On the machine on which the license server is installed, select Start > Programs > VMware > VMware License Server > VMware License Server Tools to launch the LMTOOLS utility.
Click the Server Status tab to display the Server Status page.
Click Perform Status Inquiry. License server information, including the location of the license file, appears at the bottom of the page.
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50. Check the License File
If your license server is operating properly or if your legacy hosts are using single-host licensing, but you cannot use licensed features, you have a problem with your license file.
Validate your license file at
Ensure that you are using the correct type of license file. If you are using a license server, use a centralized file. If you are using single-host licensing, make sure that you are using a single-host license file on each host.
Centralized files contain a block of header text at the top, and the string ‘VENDOR_STRING=licenseType=Server’ appears in each license key in the file.
Single-host license files have no header text, and the string ‘VENDOR_STRING=licenseType=Host’ appears in each license key in the file.
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51. Check the License File
If you are using a centralized license file, check that the license type header information appears only once and at the top of the file.
If you edited the license file, check that you did not mix centralized and single-host keys in a single file.
Check that the license file contains the correct keys for the features you want to use.
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52. Lesson 1- 4 Summary Learn how to License Legacy hosts in VI 4.0
Learn how licensing works in VI 4.0
License VC 4.0 and ESX 4.0 Hosts
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53. Lesson 1- 4 - Lab 1 Lab 1 involves Licensing VC 4.0 and ESX 4.0 Hosts
Setting up License Server for Legacy Hosts
Licensing VC 4.0 and ESX 4.0 Hosts
License Reporting
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