vCenter Server removes invalid (cannot be removed) license

Scenes:

As shown in the figure:

There is a previously assigned evaluation license in vCenter Server (version 7.0.3). Since the function was not enabled and expired, it was ignored. I don’t know why (it may be because vC has been migrated and upgraded many times). The license always exists in the list and cannot be operated or deleted (the remove button is gray), and vC always pops up an alarm notification bar to indicate that the license has expired.

solution:

Use JXplorer to forcefully delete expired license entries in the vCenter Server database

1. Check the database password:

Log in to the vCenter Server Appliance

Run the following command to retrieve the database password:

cat /etc/vmware-vpx/vcdb.properties | grep "password =" | awk '{ print $3 }'

Run the following command to connect to the database:
/opt/vmware/vpostgres/current/bin/psql -d VCDB vc

NOTE: When prompted, enter the password from step c.

Run the following query:

SELECT * FROM vpx_entity WHERE type_id = 1;

Records the hosts shown in the query results and their associated ID fields.

2. Download JXplorer

After downloading and installing, create a new connection:

There are some discrepancies in the translation of some parts of the JXplorer interface

端口应为 389 或 11711。
协议为 LDAP v3。
基本 DN 将为 dc=vsphere,dc=local
安全级别”将为用户 + 密码。
“安全用户 DN”将为 cn=administrator,cn=users,dc=vsphere,dc=local。
安全密码是 vCenter Single Sign-on 管理员帐户的管理员密码。

3. Delete license

After successful connection, expand Service > LicenseService

Find the corresponding license in the list, right-click the entry you want to remove and selectDelete

Please carefully check the license status and assigned objects and correspond them one by one in the vSphere vCenter Client to avoid accidental deletion.

For detailed operation procedures and precautions, please refer to VMware official KB: vCenter 6.x/7.x does not correctly display the number of licenses used by the ESXi host (2115869) (vmware.com)