Licensing Migration Path from vSphere 8.x Perpetual Keys to vSphere 9 Subscriptions

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

This article outlines the transition process for customers moving from legacy perpetual licensing to subscription-based manifests for vSphere 9. Users attempting to upgrade 8.x keys in the Broadcom Support Portal will encounter errors, as this process now integrates with VCF Business Services. This document provides the required workflow to generate and apply license files for version 9 environments.

Symptoms:

• "No data available to upgrade" error displayed in the Broadcom Support Portal when attempting to upgrade 8.x license keys.
• Inability to locate or generate vSphere 9 license keys using legacy 25-character key methods.
• Requirement for guidance on applying subscription-based license files to vCenter Server 9 instances.

Environment

• VMware vSphere 9.0
• VMware vCenter Server 9.0
• VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF)

Cause

This is a configuration requirement. Version 9 licensing transitions from traditional 25-character keys to subscription-based license files, necessitating a change in management workflow via the VCF Business Services console.

Resolution

• Install or upgrade to VCF Operations version 9.
• Log into the VCF Operations instance and initiate registration with the VCF Business Services console (http://vcf.broadcom.com/).
• Allocate purchased CPU core capacity to the specific environment within the VCF Business Services console.
• Download the resulting license file provided by the console.
• Import the license file into VCF Operations.
• Assign the primary license to the vCenter 9 instance within VCF Operations. This action automatically applies licensing to managed components, including ESXi and vSAN.