Technical Note

Legacy Host Licensing with vCenter Server 4.x

ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 and vCenter Server 4.x
WhenyouusevCenterServer4.xtomanageESX3.x/ESXi3.5hosts,youhaveseveralmutuallyexclusive choicesinregardstolicenseserverconfiguration:

UseasinglelicenseserverforvCenterServer4.xandtheESX3.x/ESXi3.5hosts. UseonelicenseserverforvCenterServer4.x,anduseanotherlicenseserverfortheESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5hosts. UsealicenseserverforvCenterServer4.x,andusehostbasedlicensingfortheESX3.x/ESXi3.5hosts. Donotusealicenseserver.UpgradeallofyourhoststoESX4.0/ESXi4.0.Thisallowsyoutomanageall ofyourhostlicensesbyusingthevCenterServer 4.xlicensemanagementandreportingtools.

Considerthefollowingscenarios:

SupposeyouhaveanESXi3.5hostthatiscurrentlynotmanagedbyvCenterServerbecauseithasa StandaloneESXihostlicense.YouwanttomanagethishostinvCenterServer4.x.Todothis,Youmust decidewhethertousecentralizedorhostbasedlicensingandthenupgradetheESXihostlicenseto StandardorEnterprise.Youmustusethelicenseportaltogetthecentralizedorhostbasedlicensefile. YoumightneedtodownloadandinstallalicenseserverbecausevCenterServer4.xrequiresalicense servertomanageESX 3.x/ESXi3.5hosts.Finally,youmustloadthehostlicensefileontothelicenseserver. Ifyoudecidetousehostbasedlicensing,youmustloadthehostlicensefileontothehostaswell. SupposeyouhaveanESX3.5hostwithahostbasedlicensefile.Youwanttomanagethishostin vCenter Server 4.x.Ifyoudonothavealicenseserverinstalled,youneedtodownloadandinstallthe VMwarelicenseserver,usetheportaltogetacentralizedversionofthelicensefile,anduploadthelicense filetothelicenseserver.

NOTEIfyouperformedaninplaceupgradetovCenterServer,thevCenterServersystemwilllikelyalready bepointingtoalicenseserver.Inthiscase,youdonotneedtoinstallanewlicenseserver.

Copyright 2009 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved.

Legacy Host Licensing with vCenter Server 4.x

vCenter Server License Server Requirements

TomanageESX 3.x/ESXi3.5hosts,vCenterServer4.xmusthaveaconnectiontoalicenseserver.Thelicense servercanbethirdparty,oritcanbetheVMwareLicenseServer.Thepurposeofthelicenseserveristoallow vCenterServertocheckoutVCAgentlicenses,whichallowyoutoaddESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5hoststo vCenter Server.Thelicenseserveralsomanageshostfeatures,suchasVMwarevMotionand VMware High Availability. ThelicenseserverrequirementdoesnotapplywhenvCenterServer4.xisrunninginevaluationmodeorwhen vCenterServerismanagingonlyESX4.x/ESXi4.xhosts.WhenyouupgradeyourhoststoESX4.0/ESXi4.0, younolongerneedalicenseserver. VMwarerecommendsthatyourlicenseserverresidesonthevCenterServer4.xhost.Youcandownloadthe VMwareLicenseServerattheVMwareWebsite.

Connect vCenter Server 4.x to a License Server

vCenterServerrequiresalicenseserverconnectionwhenitismanagingESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5hosts. Beforeyoubeginthisprocedure,makesurethatvCenterServerislicensedbychoosingHome>Licensing. If vCenterServerisinevaluationmodeorisunlicensed,clickManageVI4Licensesandassignalicensekey tovCenterServer. To connect vCenter Server to a license server 1 2 3 4 FromthevSphereClient,selectAdministration>vCenterServerSettings. ClickLicensinginthelistontheleft. SelectavCenterServerinstancefromtheCurrentvCenterServermenu. UnderLicenseServer,enterthefullyqualifieddomainnameortheIPaddressofthelicenseserverand, optionally,aport. Forexample,yourentrymightlooklikethis:
27000@license.vmware.com

Ifyoudonotspecifyaport,thedefaultport,27000isused. IfyoudonotusethefullyqualifieddomainnameortheIPaddressofthelicenseserver,legacyhosts cannotresolvethelicenseserverhostname. 5 (Optional)SelectReconfigureESX3hostsusinglicenseserverstousethisserverifyouwanteach ESX 3.x/ESXi3.xhostthatyouaddtotheinventorytousethesamelicenseserverasthisvCenterServer system. Ifyouselectthisoption,vCenterServeraltersthehostsettingswhenyouaddthehosttothe vCenter ServerinventoryorwhenyouchangethelicenseserverconfigurationinvCenterServer.Ifyou leavethisoptionunselected,youcaneitherconfigureanotherlicenseserverforthehostsorconfigurethe hoststousehostbasedlicensefiles. 6 ClickOK.

SelectHome>Licensingtoviewthetotalnumberoflicensesusedandavailableonthelicenseserver. Forinformationaboutsettingupalicenseserverandconfiguringhostbasedlicensing,seethe VMware Infrastructure3documentation.

Copyright 2009 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved.

Legacy Host Licensing with vCenter Server 4.x

Connect ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.x Hosts to a Separate License Server

FollowthisprocedureifyouwantyourESX 3.x/ESXi3.xhoststoconnecttoadifferentlicenseserverthanthe onethatvCenterServer4.xisconnectedto. To configure a license server for an ESX/ESXi host 1 2 3 4 5 UsetheVIClient2.5toconnecttotheESX/ESXihost. FromtheVIClient2.5,selectthehostintheinventory. ClicktheConfigurationtab. UnderSoftware,clickLicensedFeatures. Configurethelicenseserverconnection: a b ClickEdittotherightofLicenseSources. ClickUseLicenseServer. Thisisthedefaultconfiguration. c EntertheportnumberandlicenseservermachinenameintheAddressfield,asinport@host. Forexample,yourentrymightlooklikethis:
27000@license-1.vmware.com

d 6

ClickOK.

SettheESXedition: a b ClickEdittotherightofESXLicenseType. Specifytheeditionforthehost,orselectUnlicensedtoreleasethishostslicensesbacktothelicense server.TheESXLicenseTypedialogboxdisplaysonlythoseeditionsthatareavailabletoyourESX host. ClickOK.

c 7

Configureaddonlicenses: a b ClickEdittotherightofAddOns. SelecttheaddonproductstouseandclickOK.

TheHome>Licensingscreensummarizesthetotalnumberoflicensesusedandavailableonthelicense server. Forinformationaboutsettingupalicenseserverandconfiguringhostbasedlicensing,seethe VMware Infrastructure3documentation.

Host-Based License Files for Legacy ESX Hosts

IfyourESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5hostshavehostbasedlicensefiles,youcancontinuetousethelicensefiles.However, hostbasedlicensefilesarenotasubstituteforthelicenseserverthatisrequiredbyvCenterServer4.xwhen vCenterServerismanaginglegacyhosts.

Monitor License Information

LicensemonitoringenablesyoutoensurethatyourvSpheredeploymentremainsincompliance.Tomonitor ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5licensesinvCenterServer4.x,selectHome>Licensing.Forlargedeployments,displaying ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5hostinformationmighttakemoretimebecausethelicenseservermustbepolled.

Copyright 2009 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved.

Legacy Host Licensing with vCenter Server 4.x

About License Management

vCenterServer4.xhasaManagevSphereLicenseswizardthatallowsyoutoadd,assign,unassign,and removelicensekeysfromthecentralizedlicenseinventory.ThiswizarddoesnotsupportESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5or VirtualCenter2.xlicenses.Instead,youmustperformthesetasksinyourlicenseserver.

Troubleshooting License Management for ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 Hosts

IfvCenterServerismanagingESX3.x/ESXi3.5hosts,vCenterServermustcheckoutvCenterServerAgent licensesfromthelicenseserver.IfvCenterServerishavingtroublecommunicatingwithyourlicenseserver, dothefollowing:

CheckthatthelicenseserverWindowsserviceisrunning. Checkthatthelicenseserverislistening. Checkthelicenseserverstatus.

Check that the License Server Windows Service Is Running

LicensemanagementfailsifthelicenseserverWindowsserviceisnotrunning. To check that the license server Windows service is running 1 2 3 Onthemachineonwhichthelicenseserverisinstalled,selectStart>ControlPanel> Administrative Tools>ServicestodisplaytheServicescontrolpanel. VerifythattheStatuscolumnfortheVMwareLicenseServerentryreadsStarted. IftheVMwareLicenseServerisnotstarted,rightclicktheserviceandselectStart.

Check That the License Server Is Listening

Thisprocedureallowsyoutoverifythatthelicenseserverisinstalledandisstarted. To check that the license server is listening 1 2 3 Onthemachineonwhichthelicenseserverisinstalled,selectStart>CommandPrompt. Typenetstat -abatthecommandline. Verifythatthelmgrd.exeprocessislisteningonport27000andthattheVMWARELM.exeprocessis listeningonport27010. Ifnot,thelicenseservermightnotbeinstalledormightnotbestarted.

Copyright 2009 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved.

Legacy Host Licensing with vCenter Server 4.x

Check the License Server Status

Totroubleshootlicensesthatarenotapplied,youmightneedtolaunchtheVMwareLicenseServerToolsand performaserverstatusenquiry. To check the license server status 1 2 3 Onthemachineonwhichthelicenseserverisinstalled,selectStart>Programs>VMware>VMware LicenseServer>VMwareLicenseServerToolstolaunchtheLMTOOLSutility. ClicktheServerStatustabtodisplaytheServerStatuspage. ClickPerformStatusInquiry. Licenseserverinformation,includingthelocationofthelicensefile,appearsatthebottomofthepage.

Check the License File

Ifyourlicenseserverisoperatingproperlyorifyourlegacyhostsareusingsinglehostlicensingbutyou cannotuselicensedfeatures,youmighthaveaproblemwithyourlicensefile.Checkthefollowing:

Validateyourlicensefileathttp://www.vmware.com/checklicense. Ensurethatyouareusingthecorrecttypeoflicensefile.Ifyouareusingalicenseserver,useacentralized file.Ifyouareusingsinglehostlicensing,makesurethatyouareusingasinglehostlicensefileoneach host. Centralizedfilescontainablockofheadertextatthetop,andthestring VENDOR_STRING=licenseType=Serverappearsineachlicensekeyinthefile.Singlehostlicensefiles havenoheadertext,andthestringVENDOR_STRING=licenseType=Hostappearsineachlicensekeyin thefile.

Ifyouareusingacentralizedlicensefile,checkthatthelicensetypeheaderinformationappearsonlyonce andatthetopofthefile. Ifyoueditedthelicensefile,checkthatyoudidnotmixcentralizedandsinglehostkeysinasinglefile. Checkthatthelicensefilecontainsthecorrectkeysforthefeaturesthatyouwanttouse.Table 11liststhe availablelicensekeys. Table 1-1. License Keys
Feature Name ESXFoundationedition ESXStandardedition ESXEnterpriseedition ConsolidatedBackup vCenterServerAgent VMwareServerVMotion VMwareStorageVMotion VMwareDRS VMwareDPM VMware HA VC_DAS Centralized License File Key PROD_ESX_STARTER PROD_ESX_FULL ESX_FULL_BACKUP VC_ESXHOST VC_VMOTION VC_DRS License Type Available Centralizedorsinglehost Centralizedorsinglehost Centralizedorsinglehost Centralized Centralized Centralized

Check License Configuration for ESX 3.x/ESX 3.5 Hosts

Ifyourlicenseserverisworkingcorrectly,andyourlicensefileiscorrect,checkthatyoucorrectlyconfigured centralizedorsinglehostlicensing,asappropriatetoyourenvironment.Forconfigurationinstructions,see theInstallationGuideortheSetupGuideforVMwareInfrastructure3.

Copyright 2009 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved.

Legacy Host Licensing with vCenter Server 4.x

If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to: docfeedback@vmware.com VMware, Inc. 3401 Hillview Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94304 www.vmware.com Copyright 2009 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property laws. VMware products are covered by one or more patents listed at http://www.vmware.com/go/patents. VMware, the VMware boxes logo and design, Virtual SMP, and VMotion are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.