HCX Licensing Requirements for Migrating to VCF Environments

Products

• VMware HCX

Issue/Introduction

• Users deploying an HCX Connector at a source site (Site A) do not have a local license key.
• The destination site (Site B) is licensed with VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) Foundation Suite.
• The source HCX Connector displays an "Evaluation Mode" banner or functionality warnings.

Environment

• VMware HCX 4.11.x, 9.x
• VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 5.x, 9.x

Cause

This is expected behavior. HCX utilizes Service Inheritance rather than direct license key inheritance. The source system inherits migration capabilities via the Service Mesh connection to the licensed VCF destination, even if the source UI indicates it is in evaluation mode.

Resolution

Local licensing is not required at the source site when the destination is a licensed VCF environment. Follow these guidelines to ensure functionality:

1. Establish Site Pairing: Create a Site Pair between the source HCX Connector and the destination HCX Cloud Manager.
2. Deploy Service Mesh: Ensure the Service Mesh is successfully deployed. Once active, features such as Bulk Migration and vMotion will become available at the source via inheritance.
3. Use Entitlement Server (HCX 9.x/4.11+):
   • Register the on-premises/source HCX Manager directly against the destination vCenter Server as an Entitlement Server.
   • This allows the source to discover and inherit the destination's VCF subscription, which may clear the evaluation banner.
4. Monitor Connectivity: Maintain a stable outbound HTTPS connection. If the connection to the destination is lost for more than 10 minutes, the system may revert to evaluation status until the next poll.

Additional Information

License showing as "Evaluation Mode" on HCX  Connector