Licensing for Environments with vCenter Server Systems 6.0 and Later, and 5.5

If your vSphere 6.0 or later environment consists of vCenter Server 6.0 or later, and 5.5 systems, consider the differences in the license management and reporting between vSphere 6.0 and later, and vSphere 5.5.

The License Service in vSphere 6.0 and later manages the licensing data for all ESXi hosts, vSAN clusters, and solutions that are associated with the vCenter Server 6.0 and later systems in the vSphere environment. However, every standalone vCenter Server 5.5 system manages the licensing data only for the hosts, solutions, and vSAN clusters that are associated with that system. Licensing data for linked vCenter Server 5.5 systems is replicated only for the vCenter Server 5.5 systems in the group.

Due to the architectural changes in vSphere 6.0 and later, you can either manage the licensing data for all assets that are associated with all vCenter Server 6.0 and later systems in vSphere, or manage the licensing data for individual vCenter Server 5.5 systems or a group of linked vCenter Server 5.5 systems. The licensing interface in the vSphere Client allows you to select between all vCenter Server 6.0 and later systems and vCenter Server 5.5 systems.