The installable version of ESXi hosts is always installed in evaluation mode.
The evaluation period is 60 days and begins when you turn on the ESXi host.
The evaluation license provides the set of features equal to a vSphere Enterprise Plus license.
When the evaluation period ends, the ESXi host will disconnect from vCenter Server. All powered on virtual machines continue to work, but you cannot power on virtual machines after they are powered off. You cannot change the current configuration of the features that are in use. You cannot use the features that remained unused before the license expiration.
There is however an easy way to extend the license expiration period, or actually reinitialise the counter back to 60 days.
- Log on to the ESXi host via SSH
- Execute the following commands:
- mv /etc/vmware/license.cfg etc/vmware/license.cfg.old
- cp /etc/vmware/.#license.cfg /etc/vmware/license.cfg
- /etc/init.d/vpxa restart
As you can see in the below screenshots the evaluation period has been extended (Note: Date format is US (mm/dd/yyyy), procedure was executed on 02 OCT 2021):
Hello, It work. Thanks.
My question is, how many time can I do this?
There is no limit on the number of times you can do this.
I tried to run this today, but it still says “Failed to power on virtual machine Mgmt DHCP. License key has expired. Click here for more details. ”
Running Client version:
1.33.4
Client build number:
14093553
ESXi version:
6.7.0
ESXi build number:
15160138
OK Update. I found another post that said to also run this command before the restart of the services.
rm /etc/vmware/vmware.lic
and that worked for me. I can keep training on a budget for my certifications =)
thanks, do you know any way to extend Vcenter Appliances trial also?
I am not aware of any procedure to extend the vCenter Appliances trial
It worked for me.
Restart the Host after running the command for the vmachines to be powered on.
It solved my day! Thank you guys for this post!
Thanks,
This worked for ESXi 8.0
You are life saver , it worked for me … thansk a lot bro.