6.0.1

The License Service in vSphere 6.0
In vSphere 6.0, the License Service is part of the Platform Services Controller and delivers centralized license
management and reporting functionality to vSphere and to products that integrate with vSphere.
You can use the License Service with newly installed vSphere 6.0 environments, or environments that are
upgraded from vSphere 5.x to vSphere 6.0 . For details about upgrading the license management in
vCenter Server 5.x to the License Service in vSphere 6.0, see the vSphere Upgrade guide.
The License Service provides an inventory of licenses in the vSphere environment, and manages the license
assignments for ESXi hosts, vCenter Server systems, and clusters with enabled Virtual SAN. The License
Service also manages the license assignments for products that integrate with vSphere, such as vRealize
Operations Manager, VMware Site Recovery Manager, and so on.
If your vSphere environment has several Platform Services Controllers that are joined through one vCenter
Single Sign-on domain, the licensing inventory is replicated across all Platform Services Controllers . This
way, the licensing data for each asset and all available licenses are replicated across all of the
Platform Services Controllers, and each individual Platform Services Controller contains a copy of that data
and licenses for all of the Platform Services Controllers.
N Licensing data is replicated across multiple Platform Services Controllers on a 10 minute interval.
For example, suppose that your environment consists of two Platform Services Controllers that are
connected to four vCenter Server systems each, and every vCenter Server system has 10 hosts connected to
it. The License Service stores information about the license assignments and usage for all eight
vCenter Server systems, and the 80 hosts that are connected to those systems. The License Service also lets
you manage the licensing for all eight vCenter Server systems and the 80 hosts that are connected to them
through the vSphere Web Client.
Licensing for Environments with vCenter Server Systems 6.0 and 5.5
If your vSphere 6.0 environment consists of vCenter Server 6.0 and 5.5 systems, you should consider the
dierences in the license management and reporting between vSphere 6.0 and vSphere 5.5.
The License Service in vSphere 6.0 manages the licensing data for all ESXi hosts, Virtual SAN clusters, and
solutions that are associated with the vCenter Server 6.0 systems in the vSphere environment. However,
every standalone vCenter Server 5.5 system manages the licensing data only for the hosts, solutions, and
Virtual SAN clusters that are associated with that system . Licensing data for linked vCenter Server 5.5
systems is replicated only for the vCenter Server 5.5 systems in the group.
Due to the architectural changes in vSphere 6.0, you can either manage the licensing data for all assets that
are associated with all vCenter Server 6.0 systems in vSphere, or manage the licensing data for individual
vCenter Server 5.5 systems or a group of linked vCenter Server 5.5 systems. The licensing interface in the
vSphere Web Client 6.0 lets you select between all vCenter Server 6.0 systems and vCenter Server 5.5
systems.
Chapter 9 License Management and Reporting
VMware, Inc. 93