Creating a Virtual Distributed Switch fails with the error: Incompatible Hosts

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Cannot create a Virtual Distributed Switch (vDS)
• Creating a vDS fails
• You see the error:
  
  Incompatible Hosts
   
• In the popup that appears, you see this error for each host:
  
  Compatibility Issues: Host hostname.domainname is not licensed for the vDS feature

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 6.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 5.1.x
VMware vCenter Server 5.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 5.5.x

Cause

This issue occurs if the hosts are not licensed at the Enterprise Plus level.

 

You can not utilize the vDS functionality if the hosts are not licensed at the Enterprise Plus level.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, ensure that the hosts are licensed at the Enterprise Plus level.

 

To verify the license information:

1. Select the host and click the Configure tab.
2. Under System, Click Licensing
3. Verify the current license type.

Additional Information

For more information, see VMWARE vSPHERE COMPUTE VIRTUALIZATION Licensing, Pricing, and Packaging