The licensing system in vSphere uses specific terminology and definitions to refer to different licensing-related objects.

License Key

A license key encodes details about the product it is associated with, the license expiration date, the license capacity, and other information. The license key is assigned to an object to activate the functionality of its associated product.

License

A container for a license key of a VMware product. To use a license key, you create a license object in the vSphere Client and insert the license key into the license. After the license is created, you can assign it to assets.

Solution License

Starting with vSphere 8.0 Update 2b, you can use a Solution License and assign it to all component products of a solution. Example of a Solution License is the VMware vSphere Foundation Solution License.

Product Edition

A set of specific features that are associated with a unique license key. When assigned, the license key unlocks the features in the product edition. Examples of product editions are vSphere Standard, VMware vSphere Foundation, and so on.

Feature

Activated or deactivated functionality by a license that is associated with a specific product edition. Examples of features are vSphere DRS, vSphere vMotion, and vSphere High Availability.

Solution

A product that is packed and distributed independently from vSphere such as vCenter Server extensions, and client plug-ins. You install a solution in vSphere to take advantage of certain functionality. Every solution has a licensing model specific for the solution, but uses the License Service for license management and reporting.

Asset

Any object in vSphere that requires licensing. If the license has sufficient capacity, the license administrator in vSphere can assign one license to one or multiple assets of the same type. Suite licenses can be assigned to all assets that are part of the suite. Assets are vCenter Server systems, ESXi hosts, and products that integrate with vSphere.

License Use

The number of units that an asset uses from the capacity of a license. For example, if you assign a VMware vSphere Foundation Solution License to ESXi hosts, the license use is the number of the physical CPU cores for each CPU on all ESXi hosts licensed with the Solution License, with a minimum of 16 cores licensed per CPU.

License Capacity

The number of units that you can assign to assets.