The same license key appears multiple times under different names in an Enhanced Linked Mode vCenter Server

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

When Enhanced Linked Mode is configured across multiple vCenter Servers, the vSphere Client may display the following message:

"The license contains the same license key as other licenses. The licenses in the inventory must contain unique license keys. To comply with the EULA, remove all licenses that contain the same license key as the current license."

Environment

vCenter Server 8.x
vCenter Server 7.x

Cause

vCenter Servers configured with Enhanced Linked Mode synchronize license information.
When a conflict occurs during the synchronization process, the same license key may be registered under a different name.

Example of an Occurrence

1. For example, an ESXi host license key (e.g., AAAAA-#####-#####-#####-#####) is registered in vCenter Server under the name LicenseESXi.

2. Apply the registered license to the ESXi host.

3. After applying the license, the following message may be displayed:

"The license contains the same license key as other licenses. The licenses in the inventory must contain unique license keys. To comply with the EULA, remove all licenses that contain the same license key as the current license."

4. When you check the licenses, you can confirm that a license named License 1 is registered under a different name from the LicenseESXi license that you registered.
This license key is registered as AAAAA-#####-#####-#####-#####, which is the same as LicenseESXi.

Resolution

This issue does not occur in vCenter 9.0 and later environments.

Workaround for vCenter Server 7.0 / 8.0

Delete the licenses that are duplicate and registered in an unassigned state.

The procedure for deleting License 1, which was registered under a different name, is as follows:

1. Select [Administration] from the menu.
2. Select [Licensing] > [Licenses].
3. Select the unassigned License 1 license.
4. Click [REMOVE] to remove the license.

Deleting licenses that are unassigned will not affect the operation of vCenter Server.

 

Additional Information

This issue occurs in vCenter Server 7.x / 8.x Enhanced Linked Mode configurations.

In vCenter 9.0 and later, the license application method has changed, and licenses are managed via VCF Operations.
For this reason, this issue does not occur in vCenter 9.0 and later.

VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0 What's New
拡張リンクモードの vCenter Server に同じライセンスキーが別名で複数表示される