Hi all,
My message concerns a "VMware Cluster" of several "vSphere ESX 4.0 Update 1" hosts / nodes. The majority of the hosts already have definitive / permanent licenses, but two of the hosts still have temporary / expiring licenses. Let's call those two hosts "host5" and "host6".
I'm using "vSphere Client" (version 4.0.0 Build 208111) to connect to a vCenter Server (that runs the same version - "version 4.0.0 Build 208111") that "manages" those ESX hosts .
In the "Hosts and Clusters" view in the "vSphere Client", if I click on "Vmware Cluster" and then click on the first host that has a temporary license ("host5"), the following alert box appears at the top of the "Summary" tab:
-
Configuration Issues
Your host license will expire in 12 days. The host will be disconnected from VC when its license expires.
-
For "host6", a similar alert box appears, but it says "13 days" instead of 12 days.
However, if I go to the "Licensing" view (available at "Home" -> "Administration" -> "Licensing"), the "License Key" that is assigned to these two hosts has the information, in the "Expires" column, that it will expire only in 31-Oct-2010 (so, by my calculations, that would be in 44 days, NOT in 12 / 13 days).
Is this a bug? In what information should I trust? I have read the "Licensing" section of the "Release Notes" (both for "Known Issues" and "Resolved Issues") for the several "vSphere 4.0 ESX" / "vCenter Server" releases (including "Update 1" and "Update 2") but I couldn't find any information related to this issue. Namely, I consulted the following pages:
VMware vSphere 4.0 Release Notes - ESX Edition
http://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere4/doc/vsp_esx40_vc40_rel_notes.html
VMware vSphere 4.0 Update 1 ESX Release Notes
http://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere4/doc/vsp_esx40_u1_rel_notes.html
VMware vSphere ESX 4.0 Update 2 Release Notes
http://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere4/doc/vsp_esx40_vc40_rel_notes.html
VMware vCenter Server 4.0 Update 1 Release Notes
http://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere4/doc/vsp_vc40_u1_rel_notes.html
VMware vCenter Server 4.0 Update 2 Release Notes
http://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere4/doc/vsp_esx40_u2_rel_notes.html
Does anyone have any information, tips or comments regarding this?
Cheers,
Ricardo Dias Marques
Maybe I'm wrong, but today is the 17th, thus ~12-13 days until the end of the month! Please take a look at the date/time set on the host and make sure it's not set to "October", 17th!
André
Also when do you stand up the server - you only have 60 days total -
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Hi André,
You wrote:
Maybe I'm wrong, but today is the 17th, thus ~12-13 days
until the end of the month! Please take a look at the date/time
set on the host and make sure it's not set to "October", 17th!
Thanks for the tip. However, I just checked the current date in the several ESX hosts - logging in through SSH ("Secure Shell"), and issuing the "date" command - and also in the vCenter server (that's installed on a physical machine running "Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition") - by using a "Remote Desktop" connection, and checking the current date in the Windows "Taskbar". The ESX hosts and the vCenter server all have the current (and correct) date set up (17-Sep-2010).
I said, in my previous post, that the "Expires" column (in "Home" -> "Administration" -> "Licensing") read "31-Oct-2010". Actually, it reads "31-10-2010" (although that should mean the same date, obviously).
I now noticed something in the vSphere Client, regarding the vCenter Server, that I don't know if it's related or not to this "inconsistent licensing deadlines" problem. What I noticed is that, if I go to "Home" -> "Administration" -> "vCenter Service Status", I get the following error message:
vCenter Service Status
Communication problem with the Server!
As that seems to be a problem more related to "vCenter Server", I'll create a new discussion for that other problem, in the "VMware vCenter" community - http://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/mgmt
So, I guess that the problem that I described in my original post remains. Anyway, thanks for trying to help, André!
If anyone has additional info / comments / questions regarding my problem, please tell.
Cheers,
Ricardo Dias Marques
Hi weinstein5,
weinstein5 wrote:
Also when do you stand up the server - you only have 60 days total
Good question. Actually, this temporary license (it's the same license for the 2 ESX hosts) was installed by a colleague of mine in 17-Aug-2010. He received the license from a VMware representative, that granted us the license because our purchase process of the permanent license for the 2 hosts is under way, but not yet concluded (like I said before, all our other VMware ESX hosts - from a previous purchase process - are already paid for and, as such, have permanent licenses).
I now see that my colleague sent me an e-mail, on the same day that he installed this temporary license for the 2 hosts (17-Aug-2010), with the "screenshot" of the "Licensing" screen in "vSphere" client (under "Home" -> "Administration"-> "Licensing"). The funny thing is that, in that "screenshot", the "Expires" column for this "License Key" read "30-09-2010". I don't know why it now reads "30-10-2010", for the same "License Key".
Anyway, thanks for asking a relevant question, weinstein5!
Cheers,
Ricardo Dias Marques
No problem, I try to keep my questions relavent - what you received are licenses generated by VMware primarily for their professional services organization but can be given to customers and potential customers - they are real licenses but have fixed life with a defined expiration date - using 90 days from creation - if you can go back to the VMware SE who gave your colleague those licenses should be able to provide you the updated set-
The license key file is actually a text file and can be edited but what sets the licenses and expiration is encoded in the 25 character license string - h
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