License expiry date discrepancy in VMware Cloud Foundation 9.x after license addition

Products

• VCF Operations

Issue/Introduction

Discrepancy is observed between the license expiration date displayed in VCF Operations and the one seen in the Broadcom Portal.

• The Next Usage Report Due field under License Management > Licenses indicates a deadline within 180 days even when the environment is in a connected state (usage reports are automatically submitted daily).

• For example, on VCF Operations under License Management > Licenses, VMware Cloud Foundation version 9 licenses appear to expire in 2026, while the actual contract remains valid until 2028 as indicated in the Broadcom Portal.

• License expiration warnings appear for legacy VMware Cloud Foundation 5.x licenses, which are managed under the Pre-Version 9 tab in License Management.

Environment

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.x

Cause

 This behavior is expected as part of the VMware Cloud Foundation 9 subscription licensing model and legacy license key monitoring.

• Heartbeat Mechanism: VMware Cloud Foundation 9 uses a Solution License File with a rolling 180-day validity window. Periodic usage reporting is required to continuously renew and extend this validity period automatically.

• Legacy Key Monitoring: VCF Operations also monitors legacy 25-character license keys under the Pre-Version 9 capacity pool. These licenses operate independently from the Version 9+ licensing framework, but alerts may still be generated when their individual expiration dates are approaching.

Resolution

Before the 180-day validity period expires, a usage report must be reported and an updated license bundle must be downloaded. This process renews the validity window for an additional 180 days, without exceeding the actual contract expiration date.

This behavior applies to both licensing modes:

1. Synchronize VMware Cloud Foundation 9 Heartbeat

• For Connected Environments:
  

  1. Navigate to License Management > Registration.

  2. Select Update Licenses.

  3. The system will report the usage and automatically download the extended license file from the VCF Business Services Console.
     
     Refer: Update Licenses in Connected Mode

• For Disconnected (Air-Gapped) Environments:
  

  1. Navigate to License Management > Registration.

  2. Click Generate Usage File and download the file.

  3. Upload the file to the Business Services Console from a machine with internet access.

  4. Download the new License File from the portal.

  5. In VCF Operations, navigate to License Management > Registration > Import License File and upload the new file.
     
     Refer Update Licenses in Disconnected Mode for additional steps to be followed in VCF Business Services console.

2. Manage Legacy (Pre-Version 9) Warnings

• If the legacy infrastructure is still in use, these warnings can be safely ignored. The expiration of legacy license keys does not affect the functionality or operation of the VCF 9.0 environment.

• If the legacy infrastructure has been decommissioned, remove the residual license keys to clear the alerts.

  1. Navigate to License Management > Licenses.


  2. Open the Pre-Version 9 tab.
     
     
  3. Select the legacy licenses.
     
     
  4. Click Remove to delete the old license entries.

Additional Information

• Update Licenses in Connected Mode

• Update Licenses in Disconnected Mode

• VCF 9.1 Licensing