This article provides an overview of the self-service options available in the Broadcom Support Portal for VMware Products. Self-service options such as, Merge and Split License Keys, Upgrade and Downgrade License Keys and Manage License Folder Permissions.
In the License Keys page, all active licenses are in folders. The way you organize your license keys into folders is important because user permissions and access are determined at the folder level. Each of the site ID's you are associated to have its own Folder Structure which is customizable.
Note: Before you begin, If you do not have an account in the Broadcom software portal, refer to Register for an account on the Broadcom Support Portal and Communities For Basic users, To build your profile with a site ID and becoming an Enterprise user, refer to using your Broadcom Site ID(s) for full support portal access. If you are not aware of your site ID, refer to Find your Broadcom Support Site ID.
If you are an Enterprise user and require access to other site IDs, refer to Adding additional Broadcom Site IDs to an existing profile.
For more Information, See Creating and managing Licensing folders for VMware products
Split License: Split keys into multiple within quantity of the original key.
Merge License: Merge keys into a single key as long as type, site ID and end date (term key) are the same.
Move License: Move a license to a new or existing folder.
Copy License: Copy license key text.
Upgrade License: Choose an available upgrade for a given key.
Downgrade License: Choose an available downgrade for a given key.
As a User Administrator or Product Administrator on the Broadcom support portal, you can manage user permissions for accessing folders on the Licensing page. This includes adding, updating, and removing or revoking user access to a folder.
A User Administrator or Product Administrator on the Broadcom Support Portal can grant access to all Folders within a Site ID, while an Enterprise User with the elevated permissions to "Manage Folder" can add Users on Folder Level only.
For instructions, refer to Manage Users and Permissions in the folders for VMware products.
Individual license keys might contain a greater quantity than you need to use at one time. Splitting license keys is a way to more effectively separate and track licenses that are in use.
For example:
Merging the license keys together is a way to reduce clutter within folders. You can also merge licenses together into a single license key if you need to use a larger quantity at one time.
You can create a Not In Use folder and move the license keys that are not used in to it. This reduces the number of license keys in the main folder and makes it is easier for you to determine how many licenses are currently available.
For instructions on how to Merge and Split license keys, see Merge and Split License Keys for VMware products.
You can upgrade/downgrade the License keys when the maintenance contract is active
To receive an alert When a new version of a product becomes available, refer to Subscribing to Broadcom product notifications and alerts. If your contract has expired, you can request a support contract renewal quote, refer to Purchase or renew licenses and subscriptions for Broadcom products.
User admin, Product admin and users with upgrade and downgrade License Keys permissions can upgrade/downgrade a license key.
Note that renewing your contract will not automatically upgrade your License Keys in the Licensing page.
For instructions on how to upgrade / downgrade license keys, see Upgrade and Downgrade License Keys for VMware products
Major Upgrade | Minor Upgrade |
This changes the product version; it is an upgrade from a lower to a higher version of the software. Example: vSphere 6.0 >> vSphere 7.0 |
This does not change the product version and does not require a license key change Example: vSphere 7.0 >> vSphere 7.1 |