Error when trying to reconnect host in vCenter - The vSphere 7 Standard for Retail and Branch Offices license for "Host" ##### does not include "vSphere DRS". Upgrade the license.

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Host is in disconnected state. When trying to connect the host back to the vCenter following alert is encountered:

Error Message: License not available to perform the operation. The vSphere 7 Standard for Retail and Branch Offices license for "Host" ##### does not include "vSphere DRS". Upgrade the license.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x
VMware vCenter Server 7.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x
VMware vCenter Server 8.x

Cause

DRS feature is not supported on vSphere 7 Standard for Retail and Branch Offices

Resolution

Disable the DRS Feature. Ref: Disabling VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler for a Cluster

1. Browse to the cluster in the vSphere Client.
2. Click the Configure tab and click Services.
3. Under vSphere DRS, click Edit.
4. Deselect the Turn On vSphere DRS check box.
5. Click OK to turn off DRS.

Additional Information

Similar Issue: Following alert encountered on ESXi host when trying to connect host to vcenter : "License not available to perform the operation. The VMware vSphere 7 Essentials license for "Host" xx does not include "vSphere vMotion". Upgrade the license."