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Troubleshooting an error when uploading a license file

Symptoms

  • Unable to read license file
  • Invalid license file content
  • You receive the error:

    Invalid license file

Purpose

This article guides you through identifying and troubleshooting common causes of an invalid license file error.

Resolution

You may see this error message when uploading the license file directly to an ESX host or installing the license file on the License Server using Lab Manager Tools.
 
The following are some of the common causes:
  • Attempting to use single-host license file on the centralized license server or centralized license file on a standalone ESX host.
  • Host-based and server-based licenses are mixed together in the same license file.
  • The header line in the server-based license file is incorrect.
  • Other errors in the server-based license file syntax that may occur after manually concatenating multiple license files.
  • It is not possible to create a license file containing VMware Infrastructure licenses with VMware Consolidated Backup.
  • You cannot validate the content of the VMware Site Recovery manager.
To eliminate possible causes and take corrective actions.
  1. Ensure correct type of license file is created and uploaded as necessary. For more information, see Understanding VI3 Licensing: Server- and Host-Based Licensing Models (1003295).
  2. Verify that the syntax of manually combined license files is correct. For more information, see How to Combine FlexLM License Files (8996281).
Note: If your problem still exists after trying the steps in this article, f ile a support request with VMware Support and note this KB Article ID in the problem description.  For more information, see How to Submit a Support Request.

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