ESXi hosts are licensed with vSphere licenses. Each vSphere license has a certain capacity that you can use to license multiple physical CPUs on ESXi hosts.
- The main licensing model for vSphere is the per core licensing with a minimum of 16 cores licensed per CPU.
- Previous licensing models are:
- Per virtual machine licensing.
- vSphere+ subscription capacity based licensing.
- Per CPU licensing that covers one CPU with up to 32 cores.
Note: Licenses based on the previous licensing models are no longer sold but continue to be supported.
To license an ESXi host, you must assign to it a vSphere license that meets the following prerequisites:
- The license must have sufficient capacity depending on the licensing model.
- The license must support all the features that the host uses. For example, if the host is associated with a vSphere Distributed Switch, the license that you assign must support the vSphere Distributed Switch feature.
If you attempt to assign a license that has insufficient capacity or does not support the features that the host uses, the license assignment fails.
Per Core Licensing Model for vSphere
The per core licensing model is subscription based. To calculate the capacity you need for your environment, you need the total number of the physical CPU cores for each CPU on all ESXi hosts in your environment. Each core requires a single license, and the minimum license capacity you can purchase is 16 cores per CPU.
For example, if you have 1 ESXi host in your inventory, with 1 CPU, and 8 CPU cores per CPU, you must purchase the subscription capacity of 16 cores per CPU because it is the minimum license capacity.
| Number of ESXi Hosts | Number of CPUs | Cores per CPU | Number of Core Licenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 8 | 16 |
| 2 | 2 | 8 | 64 |
| 2 | 2 | 16 | 64 |
For more information about calculating the number of licenses you need for your environment, see the VMware knowledge base article at https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/95927.
Previous Licensing Models for vSphere
- Per CPU licensing that covers one CPU with up to 32 cores.
- The license use equals the total number of powered on desktop virtual machines running on the hosts that are assigned such a license.
- Subscription Based Licensing Model for vSphere
- If you currently use the vSphere+ workload platform, you have a subscription capacity based model for management of vSphere. For more information about your subscription model, see the VMware vSphere + documentation.
- Per CPU Licensing Model for vSphere
-
If you use the per CPU licensing model,
one CPU license covers one CPU with up to 32 cores. If а CPU has more than 32 cores, you need additional CPU licenses.
Number of CPUs
Cores per CPU
Number of CPU Licenses
1
1-32
1
2
1-32
2
1
33-64
2
2
33-64
4
Evaluation Mode for ESXi Hosts
After you install ESXi, it operates in evaluation mode for up to 60 consecutive days. Evaluation mode provides all features of vSphere.
After you assign a license to an ESXi host, at any time before the evaluation period expires, you can set the host back to evaluation mode to explore the entire set of features available for the remaining evaluation period.
For example, if you use an ESXi host in evaluation mode for 20 days, then assign a vSphere Standard license to the host, and 5 days later set the host back to evaluation mode, you can explore the entire set of features available for the host for the remaining 35 days of the evaluation period.
License and Evaluation Period Expiry for ESXi Hosts
For ESXi hosts, license or evaluation period expiry leads to disconnection from vCenter Server. All powered on virtual machines continue to work, but you cannot power on virtual machines after they are powered off. You cannot change the current configuration of the features that are in use. You cannot use the features that remained unused before the license expiration.
When there are expiring licenses, a notification appears 90 days before the license expiration.
Licensing ESXi Hosts After an Upgrade
If you upgrade an ESXi host to a version that starts with the same number, you do not need to replace the existing license with a new one. For example, if you upgrade a host from ESXi 8.0 to 8.1, you can use the same license for the host.
If you upgrade an ESXi host to a major version that starts with a different number, the evaluation period restarts and you must assign a new license. For example, if you upgrade an ESXi host from 7.x to 8.x, you must license the host with a vSphere 8 license.
