Specifications

Licensing ESXi Hosts and vCenter Server After Upgrade
Upgrading the ESXi or vCenter Server software may require changes in the licensing configuration of ESXi
hosts or vCenter Server.
When you apply a minor upgrade or patch to the ESXi or vCenter Server software, you do not need to replace
the existing license key with a new one. If you apply a major upgrade to ESXi or vCenter Server, you need to
apply a new license key. For example, if you upgrade an ESXi host from 4.x to 5.x, you need to license the host
with a vSphere 5.x license. Similarly, if you upgrade vCenter Server from 4.x to 5.x, you must assign a vCenter
Server 5.x license.
If you upgrade the edition of the license, for example, from vSphere Standard to vSphere Enterprise, you must
replace the existing license key on the assets with the upgraded license key.
ESX/ESXi 3.5 hosts require a license server to manage host-based license files. If you upgrade all your ESX/ESXi
3.5 hosts to 4.0 and later, you do not need a license server.
vCenter Server License Inventory
All license keys of ESXi hosts, vCenter Server and solutions are kept in the vCenter Server license inventory.
vCenter Server systems in Linked Mode share a common license inventory.
The license inventories in the vCenter Server systems maintain work slightly differently, depending on whether
you have Linked Mode groups or standalone systems.
These examples are specific to ESXi hosts and might not apply to solutions.
Example: Uninstallation Scenarios
1 You uninstall vCenter Server without first unlicensing and removing the hosts.
2 The hosts remain licensed.
3 You add the licensed hosts to another vCenter Server instance.
4 The license keys are transferred with the hosts.
A slightly different scenario:
1 You uninstall vCenter Server keeping all hosts licensed.
2 You reinstall vCenter Server and make it part of a different Linked Mode group.
3 The host license keys from the previous group are not transferred to the new group.
4 You add hosts that were licensed by the previous vCenter Server group to the new group.
5 The host license keys are transferred to the new group.
6 The host license keys now belong to two Linked Mode groups. If the total assignment of the key exceeds
the key's capacity, this scenario is not supported and causes your license usage to be out of compliance.
Example: Standalone Scenario
Each vCenter Server instance maintains its own license inventory. If you add an ESXi host to vCenter Server
and add the same host to another vCenter Server instance, the host license key moves from the first inventory
to the second inventory.
1 You have two vCenter Server instances that are standalone.
2 You assign a license to a host in one vCenter Server instance.
3 You add the host to another vCenter Server instance and retain the license when you add a host.
Chapter 7 License Management and Reporting
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