"The current vCenter is not licensed by a license server" error is generated during an ESX host upgrade in vCenter Server 9.1

Products

• VCF Operations/Automation (formerly VMware Aria Suite)
• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• An upgrade pre-check for ESX hosts (e.g., upgrading from 9.0.2 to 9.1.0) fails. The error message generated is:
  
  The current vCenter is not licensed by a license server. Go to VCF Operations to view license server details.
  
  
  
• In vCenter Server, the Version 9+ Licenses page shows that the vCenter Server is fully licensed
• In VCF Operations, the Licenses and Registration section shows that the Used Capacity (Cores) exceeds the Allocated Capacity and that the vCenter Server is not fully licensed. 
• In VCF Operations, the Licenses and Registration section will also show that there is at least 1 issue present and there is at least 1 failed assignment.

Environment

• VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.1
• VMware vCenter Server 9.1
• VMware ESX

Cause

In VCF 9.1, vCenter licensing is managed centrally via VCF Operations. A lifecycle operation (such as an ESXi upgrade) performs a pre-check to ensure the managing vCenter is in a "Fully Licensed" state. If the total number of CPU cores across all hosts managed by that vCenter exceeds the capacity allocated in the VCF Operations license, the vCenter enters a "Not Fully Licensed" state, which blocks the upgrade pre-check.

Resolution

1. Log in to VCF Operations.
2. Navigate to Manage > Licensing > Licenses & Registration.
3. Compare Total Cores in the Asset License Status against the Allocated Capacity.
4. If usage exceeds capacity, perform one of the following:
   • Increase Capacity: Update the entitlement in the VCF Business Services console to match the required core count.
   • Reduce Usage: Decommission or remove unused ESXi hosts from the vCenter inventory to bring core consumption within the licensed limit.
   • Assign an Override License: If an override license is available, individual ESX hosts under the affected vCenter Server can be moved to an override license, reducing the used core count against the primary license.
5. Wait 5–10 minutes for the license synchronization to complete.
6. Rerun the ESX upgrade pre-check.

Additional Information

License management

Review Counting Cores for VCF and vSphere Foundation for licensing rules.

Error: An asset added to vCenter could not be licensed due to insufficient license capacity in VCF 9.1.