Unable to assign license to vCenter Server in vSphere 9.1

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• In a standalone vSphere 9.1 environment (non-VCF/VVF) where vCenter Server, VCF Operations, and the License Server are installed independently using IP addresses rather than Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDN), license assignment fails.
  
  Attempting to assign a license to a vCenter system from the License Server fails with the 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. Please refer to KB article 424533 for more information."

Environment

VMware vSphere 9.1

Resolution

The License Server must be redeployed or reconfigured to use a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN).

1. Verify that the License Server has valid Forward (A) and Reverse (PTR) lookup records configured in the DNS server.

2. Retrieve the Unique Registration Key from VCF Operations

1. 1. Log in to the VCF Operations instance.

   2. From the top navigation bar, click Manage, then select Licensing > Licenses & Registration in the left pane.

   3. On the Registration and License Server Status card, click Manage > License Servers.

   4. Click Add License Server on the License Servers tab to open the registration page.

   5. Copy and save the displayed unique registration key.

3. Deploy the License Server Appliance with FQDN

1. 1. Log in to the vSphere Client and navigate to the target vCenter Server instance.

   2. Right-click the vCenter Server instance and select Deploy OVF template to launch the wizard.

   3. On the Select an OVF template page, click Local file > Upload Files and upload the License Server OVA file downloaded from the Broadcom Support Portal.

   4. On the Select a name and folder page, enter a name for the License Server virtual machine and select a deployment location.

   5. On the Select a compute resource page, specify the destination compute resource.

   6. Check the Automatically power on deployed VM check box at the bottom of the page and click Next.

   7. Review the OVF template details, configure the targeted storage on the Select storage page, and define the destination network mapping on the Select networks page.

   8. On the Customize template page, navigate to Application and enter the designated hostname to define the system identity by its absolute FQDN.

   9. Paste the unique registration key into the Unique Registration Key field and complete the wizard to finalize the deployment.

4. Finalize Disconnected Mode Registration

1. 1. Return to the VCF Operations instance and click Review License Servers to inspect the detected appliances.

   2. If the VCF Operations instance operates in disconnected mode, register the License Server following the standard disconnected registration protocol.

   3. Once the License Server resolves successfully via FQDN, execute the license assignment to the vCenter Server instance again.

Additional Information

A Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) must be used to deploy the license server, refer Deploy a License Server