When you first install VMware ESXi 5.5, the hypervisor operates in . Duration: 60 days from the moment of installation.
You are likely trying to add a host running the Free vSphere Hypervisor edition key, or the vCenter Server license tier is lower than the host's capabilities.
Without a valid license key, ESXi 5.5 will function in a limited capacity, with certain features disabled or restricted. license key vmware esxi 5.5
Understanding VMware ESXi 5.5 Licensing VMware ESXi 5.5 uses a perpetual licensing model tied to specific hardware capacities. Unlike newer subscription-based models, a license key for ESXi 5.5 unlocks a specific tier of features indefinitely.
. If a license key is not applied within this window, the hypervisor stops functioning, and you lose the ability to manage or power on virtual machines. Free Hypervisor License When you first install VMware ESXi 5
Unlike ESXi 5.0, version 5.5 removed the hard physical memory limitation (previously 32 GB), allowing hosts to utilize maximum hardware RAM.
Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), Distributed Power Management (DPM). Large Enterprises Without a valid license key, ESXi 5
Unlocks vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS), Host Profiles, Auto Deploy, Storage DRS, Single-Root I/O Virtualization (SR-IOV) support, and Flash Read Cache. 3. The 60-Day Evaluation Mode
: Go to the Configuration tab in the main window.
[Launch vSphere Client] -> [Select Host] -> [Configuration Tab] -> [Licensed Features] -> [Edit] -> [Enter Key]