VMware Aria Operations 8.16 has started supporting the new vSphere 8 License Keys for vSphere Foundation and VMware Cloud Foundation. vSphere 8 Enterprise Plus for vSphere Foundation entitles VMware Aria Operations to the advanced edition, while vSphere 8 Enterprise Plus for VCF entitles VMware Aria Operations to the enterprise edition.

All the older license types and license-related functionalities are also valid and supported. For more information, see VMware Aria Operations License Keys.

Note: Starting VMware Aria Operations 8.16, license consumption for VMware Aria Operations is not required for entitled setups, the consumption is tracked against your vCenter Servers.

A newly deployed VMware Aria Operations works in evaluation mode for 60 days if no valid license is available. The following message on the Launchpad page indicates that VMware Aria Operations is in evaluation mode: No valid license found on any of your vCenters. You are currently in grace period or using an evaluation license, please apply a license to one of your vCenter Servers.

If there are vCenter Server cloud accounts available in the product with the vSphere 8 Enterprise Plus for vSphere Foundation and/or vSphere 8 Enterprise Plus for VCF licenses, VMware Aria Operations automatically fetches the entitlements. The entitlements are always treated with priority, but, if there is a valid VMware Aria Operations license available that has a higher edition than what the entitlement provides, VMware Aria Operations takes the highest edition among all the available licenses.

The entitlement is checked every time a new vCenter Server cloud account gets added. For details on how to configure the vCenter Server cloud account, see Configure a vCenter Server Cloud Account in VMware Aria Operations.

After the entitlement expires the product enters a grace period. The grace period does not restrict any of the functionalities, but you must add a valid license before the grace period ends for VMware Aria Operations to function per usual. After the grace period expires, if there is a valid VMware Aria Operations license available, the product continues to work with the license. If VMware Aria Operations cannot find any valid license or entitlement at the end of the grace period, it enters the restricted mode. In the restricted mode, only the License Expired wizard is displayed.
Note: Data collection does not stop in the restricted mode.
To exit the restricted mode, perform one of the following steps:
  • Enter a valid VMware Aria Operations license key in the License Expired wizard.
  • Add a new entitled vCenter Server cloud account using the suite API.
  • Update the existing vCenter Server license from the vCenter Server side with an entitled license.

Once you validate and save the new license or entitlement, VMware Aria Operations exits the restricted mode and functions as per the edition available with the license.