About Vsphere And Vcenter Server License Keys; About Using A License Server To Manage Esx 3.X/Esxi 3.5 Hosts; About The License Portal - VMware ESX 4.0 - INSTALLATION GUIDE UPDATE 1 Installation Manual

About vSphere and vCenter Server License Keys

The terms vSphere and vCenter Server are used for licenses. Solution licenses are listed under the product
name for the solution.
vSphere Licenses
vCenter Server Licenses
Solution Licenses

About Using a License Server to Manage ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 Hosts

vCenter Server 4.0 does not require a license server to manage ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0 hosts. vCenter Server 4.0
requires a license server to manage ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 hosts.
If you do not have a license server installed and you need one, download the VMware License Server from the
VMware Web site.
The License Server installation requires no downtime. No virtual machines, servers, hosts, or clients need to
be powered off for the installation of the license server.
Configure vCenter Server to Use a License Server
To manage ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 hosts, you must configure vCenter Server to use a license server.
Procedure
1 In vCenter Server, select Administration > vCenter Server Settings.
2 In the License Server text box, enter the port number and license server machine name, as in port@host.
For example: 27000@license-3.companyname.com
3 If you want the hosts and vCenter Server to use the same license server, select the Reconfigure ESX 3
hosts using license servers to use this server check box.
4 Click OK.

About the License Portal

Use the license portal to get upgraded license keys, downgrade license keys, combine the capacity of multiple
license keys, divide the capacity of a single license key, view the change history of your license keys, and find
lost license keys.
Getting Upgraded License Keys
If you have VMware Infrastructure 3 license keys and you have been provided upgrades to vSphere 4.0, use
the license portal to retrieve the new license keys and deactivate the old licenses. After you retrieve the license
keys, enter them into the vCenter Server license inventory.
Downgrading License Keys
If you have vSphere 4.0 license keys but you need to license VMware Infrastructure 3 assets, use the license
portal to downgrade the license keys. When you do this, your vSphere 4.0 license keys remain valid. When
you are ready to upgrade your assets, you can stop using the VMware Infrastructure licenses and start using
the vSphere 4.0 license keys by entering them into the vCenter Server license inventory and assigning them to
your upgraded assets.
VMware, Inc.
For ESX/ESXi.
For vCenter Server (formerly, VirtualCenter).
For solutions.
Chapter 16 Managing ESX/ESXi and vCenter Server Licenses
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