Identifying VMware Version and License Key

In this post, we will guide you through the steps to identify the VMware product you are running and the associated license key. VMware is a virtualization platform that allows you to run multiple virtual machines on a single physical host. To determine the version and license key, we will use the VMware vSphere Client and ESXi Command-Line Interface (CLI).

Step 1: Connect to the vSphere Client

To begin, you will need to connect to your VMware vSphere Client, which is the primary interface for managing your virtual infrastructure. Open a web browser and navigate to the vSphere Client URL (usually https://<IP_or_FQDN>/ui). Enter your credentials and log in.

Step 2: Access the Host Configuration

1. In the vSphere Client interface, click on the “Hosts and Clusters” icon in the left pane.
2. Expand the inventory tree and select the ESXi host you wish to check.
3. Click on the “Configure” tab in the right pane.

Step 3: Check the VMware Version

In the “Configure” tab, navigate to “System > System Information.” The VMware version and build number will be displayed here. For example:

Product: VMware ESXi Version: 6.7.0 Build number: 8169922

Step 4: Access the ESXi CLI

You can use the ESXi CLI to retrieve the license key. There are two ways to access the CLI:

Option 1: Use the vSphere Client:

1. Click on the “Actions” dropdown menu in the upper-right corner of the vSphere Client.
2. Select “Launch Remote Console.”
3. In the Remote Console window, press “F2” to access the Direct Console User Interface (DCUI).
4. Log in using your ESXi host credentials.

Option 2: Use an SSH client (e.g., PuTTY):

1. Enable SSH access on your ESXi host if it is not already enabled.
2. Connect to the ESXi host using an SSH client by entering the host’s IP address or FQDN.
3. Log in using your ESXi host credentials.

Step 5: Retrieve the License Key

In the ESXi CLI, execute the following command to display the license information:

vim-cmd vimsvc/license --show

Example output:

License Information ------------------- Product name: VMware ESXi 6.7.0 Product version:6.7 License key: XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX Expires: Never Check the VMware ProductLicensing Portal for details.

The license key is displayed next to the “License key” field. Record this key for future reference.

Step 6: Close the ESXi CLI

If you accessed the ESXi CLI through the vSphere Client (Option 1), press “Esc” to exit the Direct Console User Interface (DCUI) and close the Remote Console window. If you accessed the ESXi CLI using an SSH client (Option 2), type exit to close the SSH session.

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