How to remove a License Manually from VCenter using JXplorer

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• Removing an expired or irrelevant license from vCenter fails from GUI.
• Stale or Duplicate license associations for objects like ESXi hosts and vCenters are still present in the VMDir Database.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 8.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 7.0.x

Cause

This issue occurs when the License was being used by any product within the VC and no longer being used, but LicenseEntity and AssetEntity is still present in VMDir Database.

Resolution

1. 1. 1. Take a Snapshot of the vCenter server. (Offline Snapshots for VCs in Linked Mode).
         • Refer Take Snapshots of a Virtual Machine for steps on taking a snapshot.
      2. Download the JXplorer and install it on a local computer.
      3. Open the JXplorer and provide the vCenter details, from where the License has to be removed as follows:
         • Host: IP/FQDN of the vCenter/PSC
         • Protocol: LDAP v3.
         • Security Level: User + Password.
         • Security User DN: cn=administrator,cn=users,dc=vsphere,dc=local
         • Security Password: the password of the administrator user for the SSO identity server
           
           
           • It should look similar to this:
             
             
         • 
      4. Once logged in, navigate to Services > License Service and look for the objects listed with the names LicenseEntity (Usually at the bottom of the dropdown list).
          
         • 
           
           
      5. When we select the license in question, the license code of our vCenter will be displayed on the right side of the application.
         • 
      6. When we identify the necessary license, we can delete it by right clicking on the LicenseEntity object and then clicking delete.
      7. Similarly, the license association to objects like ESXi hosts and vCenters can be removed by deleting the AssetEntity for the Object ID.
      8. Login to Vcenter UI and validate , the License should no longer be available on the vCenter Server.

Additional Information

Reference: Using JXplorer to connect to the vSphere Single Sign-on

 

Related KB: Removing License in vCenter if you are not able to remove from License Manager or JXplorer