VMware Vsphere Enterprise Advanced 7 - Lifetime Licence

Included in our kit is VMware vSphere 7 Enterprise Plus with vCenter 7, which offers a complete and scalable virtualisation platform for enterprise environments. This solution integrates advanced centralised management and resource optimisation features, ideal for modern workloads. The vSphere 7 Advanced licence, part of the package, elevates performance with specific tools for VM mobility and resiliency.

Key Features of vSphere 7 Advanced

vSphere 7 Advanced includes vMotion for seamless live VM migration, Storage vMotion for dynamic data transfer, and High Availability (HA) for automatic reboot in the event of failure. It also supports vSphere Replication for disaster recovery, Content Library for centralised template and ISO management, and fault tolerance for up to 8 vCPUs for mission-critical applications. These features provide scalability up to 768 vCPUs and 24TB RAM per host, with optimisations for native 4K storage and NFS 4.1.

System and Licensing Requirements

Licences are per CPU (up to 32 cores per socket, minimum 16 cores per CPU), with vSphere 7 Enterprise Plus requiring deployment on compatible ESXi hosts. Minimum hardware requirements for ESXi: x86_64 2-core CPU with VT-x/AMD-V, 4GB RAM, 8GB storage on USB/SD or 32GB on HDD/SSD. vCenter 7 Appliance requires at least 415GB storage and supports up to 2500 hosts and 30,000 VM powered-on

Management with vCenter 7

vCenter 7 provides unified HTML5 console, vSphere Lifecycle Manager for desired-state updates, and profiles for automated configuration. Includes HA for vCenter, integrated backup, and support for multi-site linked mode. Security is enhanced by VM encryption, TPM 2.0 and multifactor authentication.

How do I install?

The installation of vSphere 7 Advanced on an Enterprise Plus environment (or vice versa) is based on the installation of the ESXi 7 hypervisor, followed by the deployment of vCenter 7 and the allocation of the specific licence via the web interface, as licences are flexible and applicable per CPU without feature downgrades.

Install ESXi 7 on Servers

Download the ESXi 7 ISO from Broadcom/VMware, create a bootable USB/DVD and boot the server. Accept EULA, select disk (min. 8GB, preferably 32GB+ SSD/HDD), set root password and confirm installation; process takes a few minutes and requires reboot. Configure static network via DCUI (F2 > Configure Management Network: IP 192.168.x.x, gateway, DNS), enable SSH/Shell for troubleshooting.

Deploy vCenter 7 Appliance

On an ESXi host, mount the vCenter 7 ISO and run installer.exe (Stage 1: ESXi target, VM name, size Tiny/Medium for small environments, Thin datastore, static IP; Stage 2: SSO domain vsphere.local, admin password). Wait for deployment (~30-60 min), then log in via https://vcenter-ip/ui with administrator@vsphere.local.

Assign vSphere 7 Advanced licence

In vSphere Client > Menu > Licensing > Assign Licence: enter Advanced key (per CPU, e.g. 25-char string) for vCenter, then to Host/Cluster > right-click ESXi host > Assign Licence > select Advanced from existing licences. Check Manage > Licensing tab: enable vMotion, HA, FT up to 8vCPU; Enterprise Plus enable extras such as DRS if higher key.