Unable to assign a license to the vCenter Server from VCF Operations 9.1

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)

Issue/Introduction

• The License Server displays a Disconnected state within the VCF Operations UI.

• Attempts to assign a license to the vCenter fail to commit and return a non-descriptive error message.

• The License Server VM cannot be powered on through vCenter or directly on the ESXi host, failing with the error: "License expired."

• When attempting to assign a license to a vCenter Server through VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) Operations 9.1, the assignment fails with the following error: This license could not be assigned to the selected vCenter System. Check the network connection from the selected vCenter system to the license server and try again.

Environment

VCF Operations 9.1

Cause

By design, the appliance requires an active connection to a running License Server to request capacity and facilitate license assignments for vCenter. In this scenario, the License Server VM is powered off and cannot boot because the underlying ESXi host license has expired. As a result, VCF Operations cannot request the necessary capacity, leading to a "Disconnected" state in the UI and the failure of all license assignment tasks.

Resolution

Step 1: Deploy a Temporary Standalone ESXi Host (Prerequisite Setup)

1. Deploy a fresh, temporary standalone ESXi host running in 60-day Evaluation Mode. Ensure this deployment is on independent hardware or isolated management storage.

Step 2: Deploy the VCF Operations / License Server VM

1. Deploy the VCF Operations/License Server appliance.

2. Before proceeding, strictly verify that NTP time synchronization, Forward (A) DNS records, and Reverse (PTR) DNS records are valid and match exactly between the new appliance and the target vCenter Server.

Step 3: Register the vCenter Server in the VCF Operations Console (Service Integration)

1. Log in to the VCF Operations / Business Service Console UI and register the expired or unlicensed vCenter Server instance.

2. In VCF Operations, navigate to Manage > Licensing > vCenter Systems and confirm that the target vCenter Server status displays as Connected.

Step 4: Push the VCF Solution License to vCenter and ESXi Hosts (License Entitlement)

1. Apply the VCF Solution License within the VCF Operations console. This will trigger an automated entitlement push to the vCenter Server and all connected ESXi hosts.

2. Validate the below:

   • Log in to the vSphere Client, navigate to Administration > Licensing > Assets, and verify that the vCenter Server and all ESXi hosts now reflect the active VCF Solution license key (replacing the expired evaluation mode).

   • While in the vSphere Client, confirm that the License Server VM resides on a datastore within the Management Workload Domain and maintains an active connection status.

Additional Information

For detailed deployment instructions, refer to Cannot apply licences to ESXi hosts and vCenter 9.0 if the existing licences have already expired and VCF Operations is not available.

For appliance deployment details, refer to Error: "Licenses could not be assigned to vCenters", seen during license assignment on VCF 9.1.