Rajesh, a seasoned IT administrator, was having a terrible day. He was responsible for managing the virtual infrastructure of his organization, which ran on VMware ESXi. As he was in the middle of planning a critical server migration, he received an email from his VMware account manager reminding him that his ESXi license was about to expire.
/usr/lib/vmware/rbd/hostEvaluationPeriodValidator/hostEvaluationPeriodValidator scan -u <vCenter_user@vsphere.local>
For commercial users, a "fixed" license key often refers to a permanent key that does not expire. Due to the Broadcom acquisition, new commercial keys are time-limited based on the subscription duration (e.g., 1-year or 3-year terms). However, if you have legacy perpetual licenses from the pre-Broadcom era, these 25-character keys remain valid and are not time-limited, effectively serving as fixed, permanent licenses as long as you remain on the version you're licensed for. vmware esxi license key fixed
It does not automatically scale up or down based on cluster usage.
: Users report that the hypervisor no longer starts in "Evaluation Mode" by default if downloaded through the official Broadcom portal, removing the need for manual key entry. Rajesh, a seasoned IT administrator, was having a
Managing VMware ESXi licenses doesn't have to be difficult. By understanding the difference between free and paid versions, keeping your license keys up to date, and using the Host Client to apply them correctly, you can ensure your virtual machines run without interruption.
If the UI fails, the CLI offers more robust debugging. Here is a step-by-step fix process: It does not automatically scale up or down
Where I say “ESXi host” this refers to VMware ESXi hypervisor versions in active support windows (procedures and UI details may vary by exact version; adapt steps to your version and environment).
Go to in the left sidebar, then select the Licensing tab. Click Assign License and paste your key. vCenter Server : Navigate to the host in the vSphere inventory. Click the Configure tab and select System > Licensing . Click Assign License to update the key. Command Line (CLI) :
For vCenter servers using a custom port configuration:
Fill in the required personal information to register for the ESXi license.