Licensing Entitlement and Format Changes for upgrade to VxRail 9.1

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi
• VMware vSphere Foundation
• VMware Cloud Foundation

Issue/Introduction

When planning an upgrade from Dell VxRail 8.x to VxRail 9.1.000 (VCF 9.1), understand the changes to license entitlements and formats.

Legacy 25-character license keys are no longer supported in the 9.1 release.

Environment

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.1
VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) 9.1

Dell VxRail

Cause

• Existing VxRail 8.x license keys are not accepted by VxRail 9.1.
• The system requires a digitally-signed subscription license.

Resolution

Broadcom/VMware subscriptions for VCF and VVF entitle you to the 9.1 upgrade; however, you must transition entitlements to the new format.

1. Verify you have an active Broadcom subscription for VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) or VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF).
2. Transition current 25-character license keys into the new digitally-signed subscription license format via the Broadcom Support Portal.
3. Note that licensing for version 9.1 is managed centrally through VCF Operations.
4. For licenses provided by Dell (OEM), contact Dell Support or your Dell reseller to ensure the OEM fulfillment process for the 9.1 upgrade is completed.
5. Apply the new digitally-signed licenses through the VCF Operations interface.

For assistance with the entitlement transition process, contact the Global Customer Care team.

Additional Information

Counting Cores for VMware Cloud Foundation

Mixed-Version Environments