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Downgrading restricted VMware vCloud Suite license keys in My VMware (2030013)

Purpose

This article provides information about the restricted downgrade process for VMware vCloud Suite licenses.
 
Note: For information about upgrading resricted license keys, see Upgrading restricted VMware vCloud Suite license keys in My VMware (2031988).

Resolution

If you purchase the VMware vCloud Suite, you receive one license key (on a per-CPU basis). The version of vSphere included in the vCloud Suite is vSphere 5.1. If you have purchased the vCloud Suite, but are not ready to move to vSphere 5.1, you can downgrade vSphere to version 5.0 or 4.x in My VMware. You can perform a full or partial downgrade.

The downgrade of the vCloud Suite license to vSphere 5.0 has these restrictions:
  • Only vSphere can be downgraded. You must use the current non-vSphere components.
  • The downgrade generates a new vSphere 5.0 Enterprise Plus license key in addition to the vCloud Suite license key, which remains active in My VMware. The new license key is distinguished from regular vSphere 5.x license keys by the name vSphere 5 Enterprise Plus Restricted.
  • The Restricted downgraded key cannot be combined with regular vSphere 5.x license keys.

The downgrade of the vCloud Suite license to vSphere 4.x has these restrictions:

  • Only vSphere can be downgraded. You must use the current non-vSphere components.
  • The downgrade generates a new vSphere 4.x Enterprise Plus license key in addition to the vCloud Suite license key, which remains active in My VMware. The new license key is distinguished from regular vSphere 4.x license keys by the name vSphere 4 Enterprise Plus Restricted.
  • The Restricted downgraded key cannot be combined with regular vSphere 4.x license keys and cannot be used for a regular upgrade (for example, to vSphere 5 Enterprise Plus) or a regular downgrade (for example, to VMware Infrastructure 3 Enterprise).  

For steps to downgrade license keys, see Downgrading license keys in My VMware (2006975).

Notes:

  • Although the quantity of the vCloud Suite license key does not change in My VMware after the downgrade, when the quantity available for downgrade has been exhausted, the license key will be greyed out.
  • When you choose to deploy vCloud Suite, you need to upgrade the downgraded CPUs of vSphere 4 Enterprise Plus Restricted back to vCloud Suite. For more information about restricted upgrades, see Upgrading restricted VMware vCloud Suite license keys in My VMware (2031988).
  • As this is a unique vSphere 4 product configuration, the upgrade path for the restricted key is only to the vCloud Suite License key and not to vSphere 5.
  • When downgrading, you can only select one eligible vCloud Suite license key.

Additional Information

For more information about the vCloud Suite, see Frequently asked questions about VMware vCloud Suite 5.1 (2033571).

See Also

Request a Product Feature

To request a new product feature or to provide feedback on a VMware product, please visit the Request a Product Feature page.

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