Managed Object - LicenseManager(vim.LicenseManager)

Property of
HostConfigManager, ServiceContent
See also
HostSystem, KeyValue, LicenseAssignmentManager, LicenseAvailabilityInfo, LicenseDiagnostics, LicenseFeatureInfo, LicenseManagerEvaluationInfo, LicenseManagerLicenseInfo, LicenseSource, LicenseUsageInfo


Managed Object Description

This managed object type controls entitlements for a given VMware platform. VMware platforms include VirtualCenter, ESX Server, VMware Server, Workstation and Player. Entitlements define what software capabilities this host may use.

Entitlements are identified by a short string 'key'. Keys can represent either a particular edition (Full, Starter) or a particular feature/function (featureKey) (backup, nas). An edition implies zero one or more functions which are express, denied or optional. For example a 'Full' edition includes 'iscsi' function but a Starter edition might disallow it.

Which edition a given VMware platform uses can be defined at any time. Generally this is done right after first install and boot as installation software may not set it. For editions that are similar in nature, any future changes to edition type will only impact future requests for functionality. Current functionality is left unaffected. The same is true for optional functions enabled/disabled after some period of time. For dissimilar editions, such transitions may require entering maintenance mode first else an exception of InvalidState will be thrown.

To specify the edition type and any optional functions, use updateLicense for ESX Server and addLicense follow by LicenseAssingmentManager.updateAssignedLicense for VirtualCenter.

When an edition is specified for a given host, the cost of that edition (how many licenses are needed) is determined. The cost is computed using the license's CostUnit value multiplied by the number of units activated. For example, when a VMware platform is set to an edition which uses a 'cpuPackage' on a two socket server, two licenses would be needed to successfully install that edition.

Here is a diagram of the unit costs supported by this API and their relationships.

   +------------------------------+   +--------+      +-------+
   | +-----------+ +-----------+  |   | Server |      |  Host |
   | |           | |           |  |   +--------+      +-------+
   | |  cpuCore  | |   cpuCore |  |                   +-------+
   | +-----------+ +-----------+  |   +--------+      |  Host |
   |                  cpuPackage  |   |  VM    |      +-------+
   +------------------------------+   +--------+
  

Properties

Name Type Description
diagnostics*LicenseDiagnosticsDeprecated. As of vSphere API 4.0, this property is not used by the system.

Return current diagnostic information.

Since VI API 2.5
evaluation PLicenseManagerEvaluationInfo

Since vSphere API 4.0
featureInfo*LicenseFeatureInfo[]Deprecated. As of VI API 2.5, use QuerySupportedFeatures instead.

The list of features that can be licensed.
licenseAssignmentManager* PManagedObjectReference
to a LicenseAssignmentManager

License Assignment Manager

Since vSphere API 4.0
licensedEditionxsd:stringDeprecated. As of vSphere API 4.0, use QueryAssignedLicenses instead.

The product's license edition. The edition defines which product license the server requires. This, in turn, determines the core set of functionalities provided by the product and the additional features that can be licensed. If no edition is set the property is set to the empty string (""). To set the edition use SetLicenseEdition.

Since VI API 2.5
licenses PLicenseManagerLicenseInfo[]

Get information about all the licenses avaiable.

Since vSphere API 4.0
sourceLicenseSourceDeprecated. As of vSphere API 4.0, use QueryAssignedLicenses to get evaluation information.

Set or return a data object type of LocalLicense or LicenseServer.
sourceAvailablexsd:booleanDeprecated. As of vSphere API 4.0, this property is not used.

Current state of the license source. License sources that are LocalSource are always available.
*May not be presentPRequired privilege - see tooltip for details

Methods

Methods defined in this Managed Object
AddLicense, CheckLicenseFeature, ConfigureLicenseSource, DecodeLicense, DisableFeature, EnableFeature, QueryLicenseSourceAvailability, QueryLicenseUsage, QuerySupportedFeatures, RemoveLicense, RemoveLicenseLabel, SetLicenseEdition, UpdateLicense, UpdateLicenseLabel

AddLicense(addLicense)

Adds a license to the inventory of available licenses.
Required Privileges
Global.Licenses
Since
vSphere API 4.0

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
_thisManagedObjectReference A reference to the LicenseManager used to make the method call.
licenseKeyxsd:string

A license. E.g. a serial license.
labels*KeyValue[]

array of key-value labels. Ignored by ESX Server.
*Need not be set

Return Value

Type Description
LicenseManagerLicenseInfoReturns information about the license specified in licenseKey.

Faults

Type Description
RuntimeFaultThrown if any type of runtime fault is thrown that is not covered by the other faults; for example, a communication error.

Events

Type
None

Show WSDL type definition



CheckLicenseFeature(checkFeature)

Deprecated. As of vSphere API 4.0, use QueryAssignedLicenses instead.

Returns whether or not a given feature is enabled.

Required Privileges
System.Read

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
_thisManagedObjectReference A reference to the LicenseManager used to make the method call.
host*ManagedObjectReference
to a HostSystem

Host to act on if LicenseManager is not on a host.
featureKeyxsd:string

Name of the feature to enable.


*Need not be set

Return Value

Type Description
xsd:booleanReturns true if the feature is enabled and false if it is not.

Faults

Type Description
InvalidArgumentThrown if a feature name is not found.
InvalidStateThrown if the feature cannot be supported on the platform, potentially because the hardware configuration does not support it.
RuntimeFaultThrown if any type of runtime fault is thrown that is not covered by the other faults; for example, a communication error.

Events

Type
None

Show WSDL type definition



ConfigureLicenseSource(configureSource)

Deprecated. As of vSphere API 4.0, use UpdateLicense instead.

Allows for reconfiguration of the License Manager license source.

This changes the licensing source to be either served or local. Before changing the license source location, the API checks the number of licenses available at the new potential source to ensure there are at least as many licenses there as have been issued by the current source. If there are an equal or greater number of licenses at the new source, all licenses on the current source are released and then reacquired from the new source. If there are not enough licenses available on the new source to reissue all licenses, the operation fails.

This is used to configure the license source on an individual host.

PLATFORM Specific Notes: VirtualCenter - only supports a served source. the host parameter is mandatory. ESX Server - the host parameter is optional.

Required Privileges
Global.Licenses

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
_thisManagedObjectReference A reference to the LicenseManager used to make the method call.
host*ManagedObjectReference
to a HostSystem

Host for which the license manager should be reconfigured.
licenseSourceLicenseSource

ServedSource or LocalSource.


*Need not be set

Return Value

Type Description
None

Faults

Type Description
CannotAccessLocalSourceThrown if the local source cannot be accessed.
InvalidLicenseThrown if the new license source is LocalLicenseSource and the license file is not valid.
LicenseServerUnavailableThrown if the license server is unreachable.
NotEnoughLicensesThrown if the new license source does not have enough licenses.
RuntimeFaultThrown if any type of runtime fault is thrown that is not covered by the other faults; for example, a communication error.

Events

Type
None

Show WSDL type definition



DecodeLicense(decodeLicense)

Decodes licensing information on the license specified.
Required Privileges
Global.Licenses
Since
vSphere API 4.0

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
_thisManagedObjectReference A reference to the LicenseManager used to make the method call.
licenseKeyxsd:string

A license. E.g. a serial license.

Return Value

Type Description
LicenseManagerLicenseInfoReturns information about the license specified in licenseKey.

Faults

Type Description
RuntimeFaultThrown if any type of runtime fault is thrown that is not covered by the other faults; for example, a communication error.

Events

Type
None

Show WSDL type definition



DisableFeature(disable)

Deprecated. As of vSphere API 4.0, use RemoveAssignedLicense instead.

Release licenses for an optional feature.

Required Privileges
Global.Licenses

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
_thisManagedObjectReference A reference to the LicenseManager used to make the method call.
host*ManagedObjectReference
to a HostSystem

Host to act on if LicenseManager is not on a host.
featureKeyxsd:string

key of the feature to disable.


*Need not be set

Return Value

Type Description
xsd:booleanReturns true if the feature was disabled and false if not.

Faults

Type Description
InvalidArgumentThrown if a feature name is not found or it is not optional.
InvalidStateThrown if the feature is in use.
LicenseServerUnavailableThrown if the license server is unavailable.
RuntimeFaultThrown if any type of runtime fault is thrown that is not covered by the other faults; for example, a communication error.

Events

Type
None

Show WSDL type definition



EnableFeature(enable)

Deprecated. As of vSphere API 4.0, use UpdateAssignedLicense instead.

Enable a feature that has an optional state.

Required Privileges
Global.Licenses

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
_thisManagedObjectReference A reference to the LicenseManager used to make the method call.
host*ManagedObjectReference
to a HostSystem

Host to act on if LicenseManager is not on a host.
featureKeyxsd:string

Name of the feature to enable.


*Need not be set

Return Value

Type Description
xsd:booleanReturns true if enabling the feature was successful, false otherwise.

Faults

Type Description
InvalidArgumentThrown if a feature name is not found or it is not optional.
InvalidStateThrown if the feature cannot be supported on the platform, potentially because the hardware configuration does not support it.
LicenseServerUnavailableThrown if the license server is unavailable.
RuntimeFaultThrown if any type of runtime fault is thrown that is not covered by the other faults; for example, a communication error.

Events

Type
None

Show WSDL type definition



QueryLicenseSourceAvailability(querySourceAvailability)

Deprecated. As of vSphere API 4.0, use QueryAssignedLicenses instead.

Queries the current license source for total and available licenses available for each feature known to this system.
Required Privileges
Global.Licenses

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
_thisManagedObjectReference A reference to the LicenseManager used to make the method call.
host*ManagedObjectReference
to a HostSystem

Use the license source of the specified host.
*Need not be set

Return Value

Type Description
LicenseAvailabilityInfo[]

Faults

Type Description
RuntimeFaultThrown if any type of runtime fault is thrown that is not covered by the other faults; for example, a communication error.

Events

Type
None

Show WSDL type definition



QueryLicenseUsage(queryUsage)

Deprecated. As of vSphere API 4.0, use QueryAssignedLicenses instead.

Returns the license usage. The license usage is a list of supported features and the number of licenses that have been reserved.

PLATFORM Specific Notes: VirtualCenter - Empty string returns the usage of non-host specific features. Must specify managed host to query. ESX Server - Host argument ignored.

Required Privileges
System.Read

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
_thisManagedObjectReference A reference to the LicenseManager used to make the method call.
host*ManagedObjectReference
to a HostSystem

Host to query for usage. If missing, query the server the LicenseManager is on.
*Need not be set

Return Value

Type Description
LicenseUsageInfo

Faults

Type Description
RuntimeFaultThrown if any type of runtime fault is thrown that is not covered by the other faults; for example, a communication error.

Events

Type
None

Show WSDL type definition



QuerySupportedFeatures(querySupportedFeatures)

Deprecated. As of vSphere API 4.0, use QueryAssignedLicenses instead.

Queries the current license source for a list of available licenses that can be licensed from this system.
Required Privileges
Global.Licenses
Since
VI API 2.5

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
_thisManagedObjectReference A reference to the LicenseManager used to make the method call.
host*ManagedObjectReference
to a HostSystem

Use the license source of the specified host.
*Need not be set

Return Value

Type Description
LicenseFeatureInfo[]

Faults

Type Description
RuntimeFaultThrown if any type of runtime fault is thrown that is not covered by the other faults; for example, a communication error.

Events

Type
None

Show WSDL type definition



RemoveLicense(removeLicense)

Remove license from the available set.
Required Privileges
Global.Licenses
Since
vSphere API 4.0

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
_thisManagedObjectReference A reference to the LicenseManager used to make the method call.
licenseKeyxsd:string

A licenses. E.g. a serial license.

Return Value

Type Description
None

Faults

Type Description
RuntimeFaultThrown if any type of runtime fault is thrown that is not covered by the other faults; for example, a communication error.

Events

Type
None

Show WSDL type definition



RemoveLicenseLabel(removeLabel)

Removed a license's label.
Required Privileges
Global.Licenses
Since
vSphere API 4.0

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
_thisManagedObjectReference A reference to the LicenseManager used to make the method call.
licenseKeyxsd:string

A license.
labelKeyxsd:string

A label key.

Return Value

Type Description
None

Faults

Type Description
RuntimeFaultThrown if any type of runtime fault is thrown that is not covered by the other faults; for example, a communication error.

Events

Type
None

Show WSDL type definition



SetLicenseEdition(setEdition)

Deprecated. As of vSphere API 4.0, use QueryAssignedLicenses instead.

Defines the product's license edition. The edition defines which product license the server requires. This, in turn, determines the core set of functionality provided by the product and the additional features that can be licensed.

To determine what featureKey the current platform will accept, use querySourceAvailablity() at runtime, or consult the documentation for the current platform.

Required Privileges
Global.Licenses

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
_thisManagedObjectReference A reference to the LicenseManager used to make the method call.
host*ManagedObjectReference
to a HostSystem

Host to act on if LicenseManager is not on a host.
featureKey*xsd:string

Name of edition feature to select. If featureKey is not set or set to empty string, the product becomes unlicensed.


*Need not be set

Return Value

Type Description
None

Faults

Type Description
InvalidArgumentThrown if a feature key is not an edition feature key.
InvalidStateThrown if the feature cannot be supported on the platform, potentially because the hardware configuration does not support it.
LicenseServerUnavailableThrown if the license server is unavailable.
RuntimeFaultThrown if any type of runtime fault is thrown that is not covered by the other faults; for example, a communication error.

Events

Type
None

Show WSDL type definition



UpdateLicense(updateLicense)

Updates the available licenses to the one provided in licenseKey. This is the same as removing all the licenses using RemoveLicense and adding licenseKey using AddLicense If the optional parameter labels is specify this is the same as calling updateLicense without the optioal parameter and calling updateLabel for each pair in the labels array.
Required Privileges
Global.Licenses
Since
vSphere API 4.0

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
_thisManagedObjectReference A reference to the LicenseManager used to make the method call.
licenseKeyxsd:string

A license. E.g. a serial license.
labels*KeyValue[]

array of key-value labels.
*Need not be set

Return Value

Type Description
LicenseManagerLicenseInfoReturns information about the license specified in licenseKey.

Faults

Type Description
RuntimeFaultThrown if any type of runtime fault is thrown that is not covered by the other faults; for example, a communication error.

Events

Type
None

Show WSDL type definition



UpdateLicenseLabel(updateLabel)

Update a license's label. It creates a label entry if the labelKey doesn't already exist
Required Privileges
Global.Licenses
Since
vSphere API 4.0

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
_thisManagedObjectReference A reference to the LicenseManager used to make the method call.
licenseKeyxsd:string

A license.
labelKeyxsd:string

A label key.
labelValuexsd:string

Value for the label.

Return Value

Type Description
None

Faults

Type Description
RuntimeFaultThrown if any type of runtime fault is thrown that is not covered by the other faults; for example, a communication error.

Events

Type
None

Show WSDL type definition