When the evaluation license expires, and there is no other license, all ESXi hosts added to vCenter inventory are disconnected from vCenter. For example, if you install vCenter and use vCenter in the evaluation mode for 30 days, then buy and assign the license, you have 30 days remaining during which you can switch from the licensed mode to the evaluation mode. The evaluation license expires after 60 days. If you assign a license for vCenter, you can switch back to the evaluation mode within 60 days from installing the vCenter Server. During the trial period, you can use all the features in the top license edition (vSphere Enterprise Plus and vCenter Server Standard). The trial mode for vSphere and vCenter is 60 days. VMware vCenter can run in the evaluation (trial) mode and licensed mode. ESXi licensing allows you to run ESXi in the following modes: trial, free, and VMware vSphere license of the appropriate paid edition. ESXi hosts are licensed with vSphere licenses on a per-processor basis, and vCenter is licensed on a per-instance basis.

VMware vCenter Server allows you to manage ESXi hosts, virtual machines, and other items in vSphere from a single interface. The VMware vSphere license allows you to use vCenter Server to manage vSphere environments, including centralized ESXi hosts. If you use paid licenses, you will need to buy a VMware vSphere license that covers the appropriate number of ESXi hosts and a vCenter Server license. Free ESXi cannot be managed by the vCenter Server.

These limitations affect data backup methods because special APIs cannot be used. Yes, you can use a free license on a standalone ESXi host but with significant limitations. In the blog post about Free ESXi, I explained how to use the free ESXi license for the VMware vSphere hypervisor. General vCenter Server Licensing Information This blog post covers VMware vCenter licensing to clarify vCenter Server licensing options and understand the differences between licenses. There are different license editions in VMware vSphere, and new VMware users should know about them to choose the license that is optimal for their organization and their needs. The number of customers using VMware vSphere is growing every day. VMware is one of the leading virtualization vendors today. By Michael Bose VMware vCenter Server Licensing Options

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