vSphere design: Pre-configuring vSphere standby hosts(not HA) and not licensing them?

[MattG]

Because of the way VMware ELA tokens work, I want to add preconfigured vSphere hosts to cluster as needed.   So while I may have 10 physical hosts to handle capacity requirements for the next year,  I want to start with 5 hosts and add and license the other hosts just-in-time.

For example:

• Licensing:  vCloud Suite Enterprise
• Build vSphere Ent+ Cluster with all ten hosts during license trial period
• Remove 5 hosts that won't be needed until later in the year from vCenter and leave in trial license mode
• Fully license the first 5 hosts.
• When capacity requires it,  Connect one of the trial license hosts to vSphere and fully license it
• Add new host to vDS
• Apply current vSphere baseline to new host to ensure that it is at the same version as the cluster it is being added to.

This way I will only use the vCloud Suite Ent licensed for the last 5 hosts as they are needed and I will have the ability to rapidly add new hosts to a cluster.

Are there any flaws to this model? 

Thanks,

-MattG

[weinstein5]

I do not see any flaws but remember it is vCenetr that will manage the licenses so when you add the hosts to the environment you will be given theopportunity to use a license.

The question I have is why do you want to do this because as I see you will have 5 hosts not being used while if you go ahead and build out your environment you will be able distribute the load across more hosts -

[MattG]

Since vCloud Suite Ent licenses are expensive we would like to not pay for the licenses until they are needed.   Furthermore,  the higher the density per host the lower the cost per VM.

-MattG