Understanding VMware ESXi 6.0 Licensing

When it comes to licensing your VMware ESXi hosts, understanding the ins and outs of the process can be crucial in ensuring that you are properly covered. In this article, we will explore the principles of VMware ESXi licensing and provide guidance on how to install licenses for your ESXi hosts.

CPU Licensing

One key aspect of ESXi hosting is CPU licensing. If a CPU has more than 32 cores, an additional CPU license must be applied. A multicore CPU is counted as one CPU if the number of physical CPU cores does not exceed 32. This provides flexibility in terms of licensing multiple ESXi hosts.

vSphere Licenses

ESXi hosts are licensed with VMware vSphere licenses on a per-processor basis. License keys contain encrypted information about the purchased product edition and are not tied to hardware. These licenses are 25-character strings that contain letters and digits, divided into 5-character blocks with the '–' symbol.

vCenter Server Licensing

In addition to ESXi hosts, VMware vCenter Server requires a separate license installed on your vCenter Server. This allows you to manage ESXi hosts, create data centers, create clusters, migrate virtual machines between hosts, and more.

Choosing the Right License

When deciding which license to buy for your ESXi host, it's essential to understand the CPU capacity of each license. A vSphere license has a certain CPU capacity and can be used for an ESXi host whose CPU number does not exceed the capacity of the license. This provides flexibility in terms of licensing multiple ESXi hosts.

Managing Multiple ESXi Hosts

If you have multiple ESXi hosts, managing them centrally is recommended. In this case, installing vCenter Server is a good option. This allows you to manage your ESXi hosts more efficiently and provides additional features such as data center creation and virtual machine migration.

In conclusion, understanding VMware ESXi licensing is crucial in ensuring that you are properly covered when using VMware vSphere to run virtual machines on ESXi hosts. By following the guidelines outlined above, you can choose the right license for your needs and ensure a smooth installation process.

Vmware esxi 6.0 key