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kkshirsagar
Contributor
Contributor

Upgrade path of VC 2.5 U3 to vCenter 4

Hello All,

Whats the upgrade pathfrom VC 2.5 U3 to vCenter 4. Also can we directly go for a upgrade or we need to buy any more license for vCenter 4?

Also please share the link to downlod vCenter 4.

Thanks,

Kaps

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admin
Immortal
Immortal

You can directly perform an upgrade from VC2.5 U3 to vCenter 4.0. You will have to get new licenses for 4.0. Also you have a 60 days evaluation period.

You can download vCenter 4.0 from http://www.vmware.com/download/vsphere/

-Sandeep

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kkshirsagar
Contributor
Contributor

Hello Troy,

We have license server with VC, is there any ways to convert the license file to license keys?

Thanks,

Kaps

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mikeyhoward
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

take a look here

Regards

-


Visit:

Rapid deployment, zero intervention

Blogging: http://www.mikehoward.me.uk
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Troy_Clavell
Immortal
Immortal

check your licensing portal. Once all ESX Hosts are moved to ESX(i)4 your license server can be retired

http://www.vmware.com/support/licensing.html

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kkshirsagar
Contributor
Contributor

Unfortunately I don't have access to the license portal, however I have the license file so was just wondering if I can convert that license file?

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Troy_Clavell
Immortal
Immortal

vSphere is licensed differently, so no you can't convert your .lic file to a key.

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kkshirsagar
Contributor
Contributor

diffrently, could you explain in detail?

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mikeyhoward
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

VI3.5 is licensed with a .lic file read by your license server.

vSphere 4 is licensed by license keys

-


Visit: http://www.kickstartesx.com

Rapid deployment, zero intervention

Blogging: http://www.mikehoward.me.uk
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Troy_Clavell
Immortal
Immortal

check the link posted

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kkshirsagar
Contributor
Contributor

What’s New in Licensing

License Keys

With the release of VMware vSphere 4,

VMware has introduced a fully redesigned licensing experience. The key

improvements and enhancements in VMware licensing are as follows:

  • License keys are simple 25-character strings instead of complex text files.

  • License
    administration is built directly into VMware vCenter Server. There is
    no separate license server which must be installed and monitored.

  • Customers
    receive only one single license key for a given vSphere edition (e.g.
    Advanced). There are no separate license keys for advanced features,
    such as VMware VMotion.

  • The same vSphere license key can be
    used on many VMware ESX hosts. Each license key encodes a CPU quantity
    which determines the total number of ESX hosts that can use the license
    key.

  • It is no longer using the VMware Infrastructure 3 licensing server or licensing model.

To top

Upgrading to VMware vSphere License Keys

You

must obtain new licenses to deploy VMware vSphere. Your existing VMware

Infrastructure 3.x licenses will not work on VMware ESX 4 or VMware

vCenter Server 4. Read the VMware vSphere 4 licensing guide for instructions on how to activate your new VMware ESX 4 and VMware vCenter Server 4 license keys.

To top

Delivery of VMware vSphere Licenses

If

you have licenses of VMware Infrastructure 3.x or VMware vCenter Server

2.x with active support and subscription, VMware will deliver your new

VMware vSphere 4 and VMware vCenter Server 4 license keys. You do not

need to request your new license keys, and there will be no activation

codes to turn in.

For every active support and subscription contract with an end date

on or after the day VMware vSphere becomes generally available,

customers will receive their equivalent vSphere 4 and/or vCenter Server

4 licenses.These can be found in the new VMware vSphere license portal.

NOTE: VMware vSphere

licenses are sold in 1-CPU increments whereas VMware Infrastructure 3.x

licenses were sold in 2-CPU increments. The diagram below shows an

example of the license counts and how they map.

The delivery of VMware vSphere 4 license keys does not affect access

to your VMware Infrastructure 3.x licenses. The current and new license

portals will contain licenses for both versions, however your total

number of licenses available for deployment will not increase. As an

example, if you have 12 CPUs (6 licenses x 2 CPUs) of VMware

Infrastructure 3.x Standard, you will receive 12 CPUs (12 licenses x 1

CPU) of VMware vSphere 4 Standard. The total number of CPUs (VMware

Infrastructure 3.x + VMware vSphere 4) you can deploy is 12. Therefore,

if you deploy 4 CPUs of VMware vSphere 4, the maximum amount of VMware

Infrastructure 3.x you can legally deploy will be 8.

Expected Timeframe to Receive Your vSphere License Keys

For

most customers, your vSphere keys will be automatically delivered and

available in the new licensing portal shortly after vSphere becomes

generally available.

Certain combinations of existing Support and Subscription contracts

require additional processing and may result in later delivery of your

vSphere keys. If you are a customer affected by a potential delay,

VMware will notify you shortly after vSphere becomes generally

available and then keep you informed via email on the status of your

upgraded license keys. Email the licensing hotline if you have questions about your licenses.

Examples of contracts impacted by the above include:

  • Previous license upgrades (e.g., from VI3 Standard to VI3 Enterprise)

  • Separately purchased feature licenses (e.g., VMware VMotion)

To top

Accessing Your Licenses

New vSphere/vCenter License Portal

Licenses for VMware vSphere 4 will be managed using the new vSphere/vCenter license portal.

Your upgraded license keys will be automatically added to this portal

after the subscription-based upgrades for your VMware Infrastructure

3.x licenses have been processed. Future purchases of VMware vSphere 4

licenses will also be added to this portal.

Changes to the VI3 Licensing Portal

As a result of the

new licensing model for VMware vSphere, the VI3 licensing portal will

display quantities according to the new model. The license quantities

displayed will be changed from license counts (where each license

represents 2 CPUs) to single CPU counts. This means most of the numbers

you see will be doubled from the the numbers displayed in the past.

Licenses which are not counted in CPUs (e.g., VMware vCenter Server

instances) will not be affected by this change, and their counts will

remain the same. Your actual license entitlement does not change.

To top

Upgrade Eligibility

Licenses will be upgraded to the new version according to these rules:

  • Only
    licenses that have active support and subscription contracts as of the
    day when VMware vSphere becomes generally available (in the following
    known as “the GA date”) will be upgraded. If subscription has expired
    or will expire prior to the GA date you will retain access to the
    VMware Infrastructure 3.x licenses, but you will not receive new VMware
    vSphere 4 license keys.

  • If your support and subscription
    has expired prior to the GA date you can choose to reinstate it later.
    If you do so, you will receive your VMware vSphere 4 licenses at that
    time.

  • Licenses that have been upgraded to a higher edition
    (e.g. from Standard to Enterprise) will be treated as the higher
    edition (Enterprise). However, delivery of VMware vSphere 4 license
    keys requires that support and subscription is active on both the lower
    edition (Standard) as well as on the upgrade component.

  • Licenses
    for features that have been purchased separately (e.g. VMware VMotion)
    require a corresponding VMware Infrastructure 3.x edition (e.g.
    Standard) with which it can logically be combined. As with upgraded
    editions, the subscription on both components must be active.

  • Within
    the new licensing portal, upgraded license keys are are visible to
    users that are designated to an authorized role on a support and
    subscription contract. Contract roles include Primary License
    Administrator “PLA”, Secondary License Admistrator “SLA” and Support
    Administrator “SA”, and each role grants a specific level of access
    within the portal.
    NOTE:
    in some cases an individual may have previously registered VI3
    activation codes and will therefore have an assigned role of
    “Registered User” for those licenses. In the new licensing portal,
    these Registered Users will not have access to the upgraded vSphere 4
    license keys unless they are also designated to an authorized contract
    role (e.g., PLA, SLA, SA).

To top

Entitlement Mapping

The following tables explain how your VMware Infrastructure 3.x licenses will be mapped to VMware vSphere 4.

Edition Licenses:

VMware Infrastructure 3.x license

VMware vSphere 4 license

VMware Infrastructure 3.x Enterprise

VMware vSphere 4 Enterprise

VMware Infrastructure 3.x Standard

VMware vSphere 4 Standard

VMware Infrastructure 3.x Foundation

VMware vSphere 4 Standard

VMware vCenter Server 2.x

VMware vCenter Server 4 Standard

VMware vCenter Foundation 2.x

VMware vCenter Server 4 Foundation

VMware ESXi Management Kit

VMware vSphere 4 Essentials

Acceleration Kits:

For the purpose of version upgrades, licenses which were originally

purchased as part of an acceleration kit will be treated as individual

products (e.g., VMware Infrastructure 3.x Standard). The upgrade path

for these individual products can be found in the table above, as noted

for Edition Licenses. For the purpose of support renewals, Acceleration

Kit support will continue to be based on the original Acceleration Kit

even after a vSphere version upgrade.

Upgraded Edition Licenses:

VMware Infrastructure 3.x license

VMware vSphere 4 license

VMware Infrastructure 3.x Standard & upgrade to Enterprise

VMware vSphere 4 Enterprise

VMware Infrastructure 3.x Foundation & upgrade to Enterprise

VMware vSphere 4 Enterprise

VMware Infrastructure 3.x Foundation & upgrade to Standard

VMware vSphere 4 Standard

VMware vCenter Foundation 2.x & upgrade to VMware vCenter Server

VMware vCenter Server 4 Standard

Feature Licenses Purchased Separately:

In the vSphere licensing model, features cannot be licensed

separately. However it is possible to add features onto an edition

license. This add-on is fixed, which means it is done by VMware at the

time of license delivery and the feature cannot be separated from the

edition at a later stage.

VMware Infrastructure 3.x license

VMware vSphere 4 license

Notes

VMware Infrastructure 3.x Standard & VMware VMotion

VMware vSphere 4 Standard + VMware VMotion + Storage VMware VMotion

This entitlement is represented as a single vSphere license key

VMware Infrastructure 3.x Foundation & VMware VMotion

VMware vSphere 4 Standard + VMware VMotion + Storage VMware VMotion

This entitlement is represented as a single vSphere license key

VMware High Availability (HA)

Included in VMware vSphere 4 Standard and above

Since all relevant vSphere editions include the HA feature, these licenses are not upgraded separately.

VMware Consolidated Backup (VCB)

Included in all VMware vSphere editions

VCB

is replaced by the vStorage API in which is included in all relevant

vSphere editions, thus. VCB licenses are not upgraded separately.

VMware Infrastructure 3.x Standard & VMware VMotion & VMware DRS

VMware vSphere 4 Enterprise

Since

the Enterprise edition includes VMware and VMotion, you will receive a

single Enterprise license, instead of a license for each.

VMware Infrastructure 3.x Standard & VMware VMotion & “no VMware VMotion” upgrade to Enterprise

VMware vSphere 4 Enterprise

You will receive a single Enterprise license, instead of a license for each.

To top

Preparing for Your License Upgrade

In

order to ensure a problem-free license upgrade, VMware requests your

cooperation in verifying that your license and subscription data is

correct. Please take the time to review your account and email the licensing hotline

if the information is not consistent with your expectation. If

corrections are needed it is preferable to make them prior to the

delivery of your VMware vSphere 4 licenses.

1. Check Your VMware Infrastructure Licenses

Log-in to your VMware Infrastructure 3.x License Portal

and review the “# Purchased” quantity for all VMware Infrastructure 3.x

and VMware vCenter licenses (example shown below). Assuming the

subscription on the licenses will be active as of the date that VMware

vSphere is generally available, these quantities correspond to the

quantities of VMware vSphere licenses you will receive.

2. Review Your Support Contracts

Go to the VMware Support Contracts Portal

and, using the same login, review your support contracts. The quantity

of licenses listed on those contracts should match the quantities you

see in the license portal, subject to the eligibility rules noted above.

In this view, review the status and end dates of all contract lines

that contain “ESX 3.x” or “vCenter Server 2.x.” If some contracts are

expired or have an end date earlier than 21 May 2009, you may not

receive your new VMware vSphere licenses for the quantities on those

contracts. To request a renewal or reinstatement of contracts, use the contract renewal web form.

3. Verify Your Role

Go to the VMware Support Contracts Portal

and, using the same login, verify your role on each of the contracts by

going to the Administrators tab. The primary contact for license

upgrade notification, etc. will be the primary license admin (PLA) on

each contract. However, secondary license admins (SLA) and support

admins (SA) on the contracts will also have access to the upgraded

licenses via the portal. The PLA on each contract has the ability to

add, remove, and edit the SLAs and SAs on the contract (via the

interface shown below). Verify that the appropriate individuals are

designated as SLA and/or SA on your contracts, and make changes as

necessary.

To top

Version Downgrade

Converting vSphere Licenses to VI3 – “Downgrades”

If you

have purchased VMware vSphere 4.0 licenses and wish to convert some or

all of them to increase your available VMware Infrastructure 3

licenses, you may downgrade the desired number of the licenses on the vSphere license portal.

Once you have completed the downgrade request, you will be able to access your newly generated VI3 license information in the VI3 License Portal.

For example, you purchased 20 CPUs of vSphere Advanced and need to

run 10 CPUs of VI3. You may perform a downgrade to 10 CPUs of VI3

Standard using the vSphere Licensing Portal. You will then be able to

access 10 additional CPUs in the VI3 Licensing Portal. Please note your

total entitlement will not change. In other words, you may deploy no

more than 20 CPUs in total, but can mix and match between vSphere and

VI3.

Not all vSphere products are downgradable. Please see the downgrade options table (below) for specific mappings.

Downgrade Options:

VMware vSphere 4 SKU

VMware Infrastructure 3 (VI3) SKU

ESXi 4 Single Server

Not downgradable

vSphere 4 Essentials (Plus)

Not downgradable

vSphere 4 Standard

VI3 Standard

vSphere 4 Advanced

VI3 Standard

vSphere 4 Enterprise

VI3 Enterprise

vSphere 4 Enterprise Plus

VI3 Enterprise

vCenter Server Standard

VirtualCenter Server

vCenter Server Foundation

VirtualCenter Foundation

Downgrade Process via vSphere/vCenter License Portal

  1. Log in to the vSphere License portal

  2. Select the downgrade link

  3. Select vSphere order number(s) to be downgraded – only whole orders can be downgraded

  4. After approx. 30 minutes, additional license quantity is added to VI3 license portal

  5. Licenses displayed on vSphere/vCenter portal will not be decreased or affected

Reason You May Need to Convert vSphere licenses to VI3

In

some cases, the only way to obtain new VI3 licenses now that vSphere

has been released is to purchase vSphere licenses and convert them to

VI3 licenses by downgrading them on the vSphere License portal.

To top

Obtaining New VI3 Keys

How to Obtain VI3 License Keys Now that vSphere has Been Released

Only

vSphere SKUs are available for purchase. However, if you wish to deploy

additional VI3 licenses, you can purchase vSphere and “downgrade” the

licenses on the vSphere License Portal.

The downgrade will add additional VI3 license quantities to your VI3

portal – and as in the upgrade case, you will have access to both

versions simultaneously and must manage compliance accordingly.

Licenses can only be upgraded or downgraded once.

To top

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mikeyhoward
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Alternatively, use the upgrade advisor -

Visit:

Rapid deployment, zero intervention

Blogging: http://www.mikehoward.me.uk
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