licensing and witness appliance

[vmb01]

I wish to setup a streched cluster with a witness appliance.

The host that hosts he witness appliance can be a free esxi hypervisor? Or it must be licensed? If yes, which kind of license do I need?

[zdickinson]

Good afternoon, from A closer look at the VSAN witness appliance - CormacHogan.com

Even better, there are no licenses needed with the witness appliance, as it comes preconfigured with a license. Of course, if you wish to use a physical host for the witness, you can do that too.

[vmb01]

Yes, this is clear but my question is releated to the physical ESXi that hosts the witness appliance, does it need a license?

[zdickinson · Accepted solution]

If you use the virtual appliance for the witness, it DOES NOT need a license.  If you use a physical host as the witness, it DOES need a license.  Thank you, Zach.