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11 Replies Last post: Nov 4, 2009 9:19 AM by DSTAVERT  

Handling the 2 CPUs: Switching to another ESXi licence? posted: Nov 4, 2009 2:50 AM

Click to view CDuvCc's profile Novice
CDuvCc
5 posts since
Nov 4, 2009
Hello,

My ESXi v4.0 hypervisor is running since several months now and, being quite pleased by it's functionalities, I would like to update the Free licence to "unlock" the second physical CPU my Bi-xeon server has.

I think I deeply searched the VMware website but could not find anything.

Where can I consult a list of available higher-capable licences (and price)? How can I update / upgrade my existing server running the free licence (I dont wan't to loose my settings and VM)?

Thank you
Tags: esxi, licence, free_licence, upgrade, update

Re: Handling the 2 CPUs: Switching to another ESXi licence?

1. Nov 4, 2009 2:58 AM in response to: CDuvCc
Click to view J1mbo's profile Expert
J1mbo
565 posts since
May 20, 2009
There is no restriction on the number of physical CPUs, just plug it in. Free ESXi is however limited to 4 vCPUs per VM,

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Re: Handling the 2 CPUs: Switching to another ESXi licence?

2. Nov 4, 2009 3:08 AM in response to: J1mbo
Click to view CDuvCc's profile Novice
CDuvCc
5 posts since
Nov 4, 2009
In that case, why the "Configuration" tab > "Licensed Features" (of vSphere Client) shows the following:
Product: ESXi 4 Single Server Licensed for 1 physical CPUs (1-6 cores per CPU)
License Key: ....
Expires: Never
Product Features:
  • Up to 256 GB of memory
  • Up to 4-way virtual SMP

Re: Handling the 2 CPUs: Switching to another ESXi licence?

3. Nov 4, 2009 3:11 AM in response to: CDuvCc
Click to view wila's profile Virtuoso
wila
3,266 posts since
Jun 27, 2006
Hi,

Well you can enter the number of CPUs when you apply for a free license, my guess is that you entered ONE cpu down there.
Just sign up for another free license and enter a higher number of CPU's down there.
After you have the new license, update it on the host and you can just keep all your settings and VMs with no hassle whatsoever.


--
Wil
_____________________________________________________
VI-Toolkit & scripts wiki at http://www.vi-toolkit.com

Re: Handling the 2 CPUs: Switching to another ESXi licence?

4. Nov 4, 2009 3:26 AM in response to: wila
Click to view J1mbo's profile Expert
J1mbo
565 posts since
May 20, 2009
I don't think even that is needed.

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Re: Handling the 2 CPUs: Switching to another ESXi licence?

5. Nov 4, 2009 5:43 AM in response to: wila
Click to view CDuvCc's profile Novice
CDuvCc
5 posts since
Nov 4, 2009
wila wrote:
Hi,

Well you can enter the number of CPUs when you apply for a free license, my guess is that you entered ONE cpu down there.
Just sign up for another free license and enter a higher number of CPU's down there.
After you have the new license, update it on the host and you can just keep all your settings and VMs with no hassle whatsoever.


--
Wil


I just restarted from scratch (new VMware.com account, new ESXi download) : I haven't seen any of such settings. The only thing close to that is the "Physical Servers restriction" that you can set manually within the 1-999 range.

Re: Handling the 2 CPUs: Switching to another ESXi licence?

6. Nov 4, 2009 5:52 AM in response to: CDuvCc
Click to view wila's profile Virtuoso
wila
3,266 posts since
Jun 27, 2006
?:| Ouch ... yes that does sound like the option I was talking about. It looks like a case of failing memory on my side then.
My apologies for wasting your time.

As the other poster said, I'm not aware of the free license being limited to one physical CPU.. however maybe as the non free version is counted per physical CPU it might just be an issue with me not knowing about that. I'll have to look into that, but am short on time for testing ...
--
Wil
_____________________________________________________
VI-Toolkit & scripts wiki at http://www.vi-toolkit.com

Re: Handling the 2 CPUs: Switching to another ESXi licence?

7. Nov 4, 2009 6:06 AM in response to: wila
Click to view J1mbo's profile Expert
J1mbo
565 posts since
May 20, 2009
Correct, paid-for licenses are on a per-CPU basis. With the free license, that screen simply reflects the number of physical processors in the box.

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Re: Handling the 2 CPUs: Switching to another ESXi licence?

8. Nov 4, 2009 6:07 AM in response to: wila
Click to view CDuvCc's profile Novice
CDuvCc
5 posts since
Nov 4, 2009
I can understand the confusion, it is new for me and not always very clear.

My believes are that the Free licence for ESXi is limited to one physical CPU. If handling more CPU is required: must buy another licence.

Still looking forward to find a solution/explanation.

Re: Handling the 2 CPUs: Switching to another ESXi licence?

9. Nov 4, 2009 6:27 AM in response to: CDuvCc
Click to view J1mbo's profile Expert
J1mbo
565 posts since
May 20, 2009
I don't understand that comment - I have already provided the explanation. It is simply states the number of processors in the box. There is no license restriction. I have free licensed ESXi servers with SMP - see attached.


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Re: Handling the 2 CPUs: Switching to another ESXi licence?

10. Nov 4, 2009 9:10 AM in response to: J1mbo
Click to view CDuvCc's profile Novice
CDuvCc
5 posts since
Nov 4, 2009
It turns out that my first statement were false : the machine only has one CPU.
The previous software that gave me that incorrect information seems to have confused cores and physical CPU (confusion VMware doesn't makes) : So I incorrectly though I had 2 physical CPUs, with 2 cores each.

Then, there is no problem with my licence and no need to update it (on the other hand... the machine itself could benefit some update...).

Sorry for the hassles. But it pointed out that ESXi, even with a free licence, is able to support SMP hardware (feature which I firstly thought was to be paid).

Thank you everybody

Re: Handling the 2 CPUs: Switching to another ESXi licence?

11. Nov 4, 2009 9:19 AM in response to: CDuvCc
Click to view DSTAVERT's profile Virtuoso
DSTAVERT
2,418 posts since
Nov 30, 2003
You marked the question as answered yet awarded no points.

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