Starting with vSphere 8.0 Update 2b, you can use a Solution License to license all components of VMware vSphere Foundation.

VMware vSphere Foundation is an integrated solution that includes the following components:
  • vCenter Server
  • ESXi
  • vSphere IaaS control plane
  • vSAN Enterprise (100 GiB per core per host)
  • VMware Aria Operations
  • VMware Aria Operations for Logs
  • VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle
  • VMware Aria Automation Orchestrator (Basic)

The Solution License is one license key for all components of VMware vSphere Foundation. In the Broadcom Support Portal and the vSphere Client, the Solution License is entitled vSphere 8 Enterprise Plus for vSphere Foundation.

Note:

Individual component license keys continue to be supported. In the Broadcom Support Portal, they are provided together with the Solution License. You can use the Solution License, the individual component licenses, or a mix of both.

You add and assign the Solution License to vCenter Server instances, ESXi hosts, and Tanzu Supervisor Clusters.

After you assign the license to all ESXi hosts in a vSAN cluster, and if the vSAN cluster has no vSAN license assigned at cluster level, the cluster is licensed automatically. With the vSphere Foundation Solution License, you receive capacity of 100 GiB per core per ESXi host. For more information, see the vSAN Planning and Deployment guide.

After you assign the license to vCenter Server, Aria Suite components that are registered with this vCenter Server are licensed automatically. For more information about managing and configuring licenses in the vSphere Client, see Managing vSphere Licenses.
Note: The Solution License can be assigned to components, or applied automatically in the case of Aria components and vSAN, if they meet the minimum version requirements.
Component Version
ESXi 8.0 Update 2b and later
vCenter Server
vSphere IaaS control plane
vSAN
VMware Aria Operations 8.16 and later
VMware Aria Operations for Logs
VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle
If you cannot upgrade to the minimum required versions, you can downgrade the Solution License key in the Broadcom Support Portal.

You can assign one Solution License to multiple vCenter Server instances. vCenter Server does not consume Solution License capacity. The Solution License capacity is based on the per core licensing model. For more information about the per core licensing model for vSphere, see Licensing and Subscription in vSphere.

In the vSphere Client, you can also view the information about the Solution Licenses that you add. For example, you can view the components licensed with the Solution License, the licensed features for each components, and the license capacity used by the ESXi hosts and vSAN. For more information about viewing licensing information in the vSphere Client, see Viewing and Exporting vSphere Licensing Information.

Evaluation Mode

After you install a component, it operates in evaluation mode for up to 60 days. Evaluation mode provides all features of the components.