Esx to esxi license

In this case, you have to deactivate the old license key and apply the new one. If you upgrade the ESXi version that starts with the same number, you can continue to use the assigned license. For example, if you upgrade ESXi 6. If you upgrade a major ESXi version to a higher version that starts with a different number, the ESXi host starts a new day evaluation period. License keys for vSphere 5. If you assign a license on an ESXi host and then connect this host to vCenter, the license for this ESXi host is displayed in vCenter licensing settings automatically.

VMware vCenter displays information about the utilized CPU capacity of the assigned license and the remaining number of unused processors that you can license on other ESXi hosts.

In this case, the license remains valid even after a reboot of the ESXi host. The workflow for ESXi 6 licensing in vCenter 6. In the navigation pane, click Manage and go to the Licensing tab. Information about the current license is displayed on this page.

On the following screenshot, see information about the day Evaluation license used after installing ESXi. The key for the Evaluation license is The expiration date and the set of available features for the current license are displayed. The Assign license window opens in the web interface. Enter your license key and click Check license to check whether the license key is valid. If the license key is valid, the green icon is displayed, and the Check license button transforms into the Assign license button.

Click Assign license to apply this license for this ESXi host. Now you can see updated information about your new license for the ESXi host in the Licensing tab.

On the following screenshot, you can see that the VMware vSphere 7 Standard license is assigned on this ESXi 7 host, and the appropriate list of supported features is listed for this license. Now the ESXi host is licensed for an unlimited time.

Click the Configuration tab to check information about the current license for the selected ESXi host, including supported features, license name, license key, expiration date, and the number of used CPUs.

If you ever upgrade your license to a paid product like ESXi Essentials, you can just come back to this page, add the new license and remove the old one. Founder of The Back Room Tech and managing editor. He began blogging in and quit his job in to blog full-time. He has over 15 years of industry experience in IT and holds several technical certifications.

You will need to register with VMware in order to view the license key, but if you already downloaded ESXi, then you should already have an account setup. You should also see a message stating that you are using the software in evaluation mode and that it will expire in 60 days.

Click on the Licensing tab and then click on the Assign license link. In the popup dialog, go ahead and copy and paste the license key into the textbox and then click on Check license.