cannont start license server becuase ESX cannot see license server...

[VADA-john]

I had to reboot my storage wich meant I had to bring down my cluster... now I am stuck... when I try to start my vmcenter 2 VM I get the error there are not enough licenses... I am not sure how to get beyond this...

esx 3.5 update 1 vcenter

thanks,

John

[java_cat33]

I've had this issue before too with 3.5 U1. What I did to get around it was to download a host based license from the VMware licensing portal - make the ESX server that has VC registered on it used the host based license file - power on the VC VM and then change the licensing back so the ESX host uses the license server

[VADA-john]

thanks for the response i will try that now.. this seems to be a flaw since it is always recomended that the vcenter machine run on a esx box.

[Steve_Stokes · Accepted solution]

a quicker method is to set the host on which the virtual center resides to be 'evaluation license' which will put the host into the 60 day evaluation mode, then you will be able to start the virtual center and amend the licensing mode back to license server.

[Texiwill]

Hello

For just this reason I keep a License Manager server available on a laptop I keep in the closet. This allows me to have a LM available. Others use a physical server, and still others virtualize some administrative VMs using VMware Server. The idea is to do something on a permanent basis so you do not run into a chicken and the egg scenario.

Actually you do get a 14day grace period so the LM was down for quite a while....

Best regards,

Edward L. Haletky

VMware Communities User Moderator

====

Author of the book 'VMWare ESX Server in the Enterprise: Planning and Securing Virtualization Servers', Copyright 2008 Pearson Education.

CIO Virtualization Blog: http://www.cio.com/blog/index/topic/168354

As well as the Virtualization Wiki at http://www.astroarch.com/wiki/index.php/Virtualization

[VADA-john]

Setting the server back to eval allowed me to start the virtual center server and start the license server back up.

All of the reply's were helpfull thanks,

John