"DRS in Maintenance Mode" feature not supported by vSphere Enterprise Plus license
Article ID: 319998
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
This article addresses a licensing alert encountered when applying a vSphere Enterprise Plus license key to an ESXi host previously operating under the vSphere Evaluation Mode license. The alert indicates that the "DRS in Maintenance Mode" feature will become unavailable, despite vSphere Enterprise Plus including standard DRS capabilities.
Symptoms
When applying a vSphere Enterprise Plus license key to an ESXi host that was in Evaluation Mode, the following alert is displayed:
“Some features will become unavailable.”
Accessing the Details tab reveals that the specific feature flagged as unavailable is "DRS in Maintenance Mode."
Environment
VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x
Cause
The vSphere Evaluation Mode license includes all available features across all vSphere editions. When a specific commercial license (e.g., Enterprise Plus) is applied, the vCenter Server performs a comparison between the feature set of the Evaluation license and the feature set of the new commercial license.
The alert is triggered because the new vSphere Enterprise Plus license does not include the "DRS in Maintenance Mode" feature, which was available during the Evaluation period.
"DRS in Maintenance Mode" is a distinct, specialized feature introduced in vSphere 6.7 U2, specifically bundled with the vSphere Remote Office/Branch Office (ROBO) Enterprise edition.
DRS Maintenance Mode Functionality with ROBO Enterprise License
This feature automates maintenance tasks with specific DRS functionality:
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Automatic VM Migration: Automatically migrates VMs off the host when it is placed into Maintenance Mode.
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VM-Host Affinity Rules: Automatically creates temporary VM-Host affinity rules to ensure the VMs return to the original host when it exits Maintenance Mode.
While vSphere Enterprise Plus includes the standard DRS and Maintenance Mode capabilities, it does not include this specific automated functionality tied to the ROBO Enterprise edition. Therefore, the prompt is accurate in stating this specific feature will be lost.
Resolution
The alert can be safely ignored because the "DRS in Maintenance Mode" feature is not a component of the vSphere Enterprise Plus license. Applying the Enterprise Plus license will enable the expected core features, including standard Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS).
Additional Information
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