Let's face it - there's nothing quite like the panic that sets in when you realize your VMware licenses have expired. One minute you're happily managing your virtual infrastructure, and the next you're staring at an ominous licensing error that prevents you from starting your VM's, this post should help you out.
The "Help, My VM Won't Start" Blues
When point-and-click fails you, it's time to embrace your inner command-line warrior. Here's how to sweet-talk your ESXi host into cooperation:
Step 1: Sneaking in Through SSH
- Log into the VMware ESXi host UI client
- Navigate to the Service tab and enable "SSH" service (like opening a secret passage)
- Fire up Putty and connect to your ESXi host
- Login with root credentials (feel the power surge through your fingers)
Step 2: Finding Your VM in the Wilderness
Time to locate your virtual machine among the digital wilderness:
vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms
This will produce something like:
VMid Name File Guest OS Version Annotation
1 BearVM [BearSSD] BearVM/BearVm.vmx otherGuest vmx-12
Look at that! BearVM is just sitting there, hibernating, waiting for your command to awaken.
Step 3: Awaken the Sleeping Beast
Now for the magical incantation to bring your VM back to life:
vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on 1
Replace "1" with whatever VMID you found in the previous step. If you hear dramatic orchestral music, you're doing it right. (Disclaimer: You probably won't actually hear music. But you can hum some yourself for effect.)
License Expired? Time for Some Digital Sleight of Hand
So your VM is running but VMware is demanding ransom money in the form of license fees? Let's perform some licensing wizardry:
The "Make It Go Away" Method
Banish the current license configuration:
rm -r /etc/vmware/license.cfg
Summon the evaluation license:
cp /etc/vmware/.#license.cfg /etc/vmware/license.cfg
Restart the services to make the magic happen:
/etc/init.d/vpxa restart
The "Nothing to See Here" Trick
If you find yourself with no license at all, enter the legendary code of legends:
00000-00000-00000-00000-00000
Behold! You now have an "Evaluation License" that buys you precious time to get your VM online.
Final Words of Wisdom
Remember, these tricks are for emergency use only - like when you're staring down the barrel of a production outage at 2 AM and the license procurement team is fast asleep, dreaming of purchase orders and vendor negotiations.
VMware's licensing team probably isn't scrolling through random blog posts looking for license evaders, but they do have ways of finding out eventually. Consider this your digital duct tape solution while you sort out proper licensing. Your conscience (and legal department) will thank you later