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The Licensing view in vCenter Server reports vSphere Storage Appliance in the Evaluation mode even when a valid license is applied (2040217)

Symptoms

  • The Licensing view in vCenter Server reports the vSphere Storage Appliance (VSA) to be in the Evaluation mode even when a valid license is applied
  • The VSA asset is reported to be in an evaluation mode with an expiry date
  • When trying to apply a vSphere Essentials Plus or other vSphere license to the VSA, you see the error:

    The license key entered is not valid for the selected solution.
    Ensure the license key is for the selected solution.

    To license ESX and other products, go to the Licensing section under Administration in the vSphere Client.

Resolution

This is a known issue and is only cosmetic in nature.

This issue can be safely ignored if a valid license entitling the user to use the vSphere Storage Appliance is applied in vCenter Server.

In order to verify the license is installed successfully, perform the following:
  1. Go into the VSA Manager
  2. Click on the "About vSphere Storage Appliance"
  3. Verify the license type reported

Additional Information

For more information on this issue including screenshots, see the VSA Licensing Explained post on the VMware vSphere Blog.

To confirm that a valid license is applied and the cluster can stay licensed past the displayed expiry date:
  1. Advance the expiry date on vCenter Server and VCS Cluster Service PC, if present.
  2. Reboot vCenter Server and VCS Cluster Service PC, if present.
  3. Confirm that the VSA cluster continues to function as expected.
  4. After confirming that the VSA cluster is functioning properly, reset the date to the expiry date displayed earlier.
  5. Reboot vCenter Server.

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Tags

vsa license evaluation vcenter license manager not licensed unlicensed

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