Before diving into the command-line management of vCenter license keys, it's crucial to understand the basics. A vCenter license key is a 25-character code provided by VMware that unlocks specific features and functionalities within your vSphere environment. These keys are used to activate and manage licenses for various VMware products, including vCenter Server.
Get-LicenseAssignment | Select-Object -Property LicenseKey,AssignedTo,@N='ProductName';E=$_.LicenseProduct.Name To add a new license key: vcenter license key command line
$licenseKey = "YourNewLicenseKeyHere" New-LicensedKey -LicenseKey $licenseKey | Out-Null After adding the license key, you can assign it to your vCenter Server: Before diving into the command-line management of vCenter
While PowerCLI is more versatile and widely used, the vCLI also offers functionalities for managing licenses, albeit with a different set of commands: vicli -server Your_vCenter_Server -username Your_User -password Your_Password License Management Commands The vCLI provides specific commands for license management, such as licensing , to add, remove, or list licenses. Get-LicenseAssignment | Select-Object -Property LicenseKey
$licenseKey = "YourLicenseKeyToAssign" $licenseAssignment = Get-LicenseKey -LicenseKey $licenseKey Set-LicenseAssignment -AssignedTo $vCenterServerName -LicenseKey $licenseAssignment If you need to remove a license key:
PowerCLI is a powerful tool that provides a wide range of cmdlets for managing VMware products, including vCenter Server. Here’s how you can manage your vCenter license keys using PowerCLI: First, you need to connect to your vCenter Server: