VMWare EVALExperience and vSphere 6.0

Notice: Page may contain affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission through services like Amazon Affiliates or Skimlinks.

CreoleLakerFan

Active Member
Oct 29, 2013
485
180
43
I have the same question. I logged into my VMUG account this morning hoping to find Vsphere 6.0 downloads available, but no joy.
 

Emulsifide

Active Member
Dec 1, 2014
212
93
28
I've already sent a few emails to VMUG asking the same question. Each correspondence has gone unanswered.

We were told to sign up for the 60 day eval when vSphere 6 was first released so that VMUG would have enough time to update. That never happened.
 

NetWise

Active Member
Jun 29, 2012
596
133
43
Edmonton, AB, Canada
I'd like to think as a VMUG Leader who's planning a June event, my emails will certainly be answered. ;). As soon as I know something, I'll share. I am, however, expecting an 'we're working on it....'
 

NetWise

Active Member
Jun 29, 2012
596
133
43
Edmonton, AB, Canada
Well... maybe not :(

"Thanks for reaching out. We don’t have a specific date yet set for v6 products. We are awaiting VMware to provide the go ahead. When we do release the v6 products, our entire membership will receive notification on how to go about receive the links if they already have VMUG Advantage or they will receive notification that we have released v6 with a chance to purchase."

So... "someday". Wish I had better news.
 

T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
7,625
2,043
113
Wish they had more info than that. Same text basically they sent me +month ago.
 

NetWise

Active Member
Jun 29, 2012
596
133
43
Edmonton, AB, Canada
Agreed. Sorry guys wish I had more to share. If they let us share vExpert keys or something... Mind you there are enough issues right now with CBT and VMDK's that until I can get full backups I'm not comfortable with vSphere 6 in production. Deep Security won't be ready till end of June. Numerous web client plugins aren't ready yet from third parties. It's too soon for anything but vanilla deployments.

Really it takes like 60-90 minutes to build a new vCenter. If you're learning (the purpose of a lab), just reinstall every 60 days. It's good practice...
 
  • Like
Reactions: T_Minus

whitey

Moderator
Jun 30, 2014
2,766
868
113
41
Agreed. Sorry guys wish I had more to share. If they let us share vExpert keys or something... Mind you there are enough issues right now with CBT and VMDK's that until I can get full backups I'm not comfortable with vSphere 6 in production. Deep Security won't be ready till end of June. Numerous web client plugins aren't ready yet from third parties. It's too soon for anything but vanilla deployments.

Really it takes like 60-90 minutes to build a new vCenter. If you're learning (the purpose of a lab), just reinstall every 60 days. It's good practice...
I concur, deploying the VCSA (vCenter server appliance) takes 20-30 mins including integration to AD and setting up AutoDeploy. Once that's done boot host, walk away, cluster auto-magically rebuilt. (via the power of autodeploy, vSphere Powercli, imagebuilder, hostprofiles)

That's not to say 'shame on Vmware' for this nonsense. Just be glad they did not mess up 1500+ Ent Plus keys across the product suite for you like they did for the company I work for. Still working on getting this remediated...what a nightmare.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: NetWise

Chrismo16

New Member
May 31, 2015
2
1
3
48
Hello all. I'm not familiar with EVALExperience. I see that you get 365 day licenses for non-production environments. Is it possible to reinstall these every year the way the 60 day evals can be reinstalled?
 

NetWise

Active Member
Jun 29, 2012
596
133
43
Edmonton, AB, Canada
If you maintain your VMUG Advantage membership, you will get new keys upon renewing. They have a date time limit that coincides with your membership expiry. So if you reinstall on End-1 day, you'll have one day left, not a new 365.
 

Fairlight

New Member
Oct 9, 2013
21
3
3
Hello all

Is anyone actually using EVALExperience yet with vSphere ESXi 6.0? I know and can see that vCenter Server 6 has a license key but the license key for ESXi 6.0 only works for 5.5 presently, is that the same for you all or is just me?

Thanks
 

NetWise

Active Member
Jun 29, 2012
596
133
43
Edmonton, AB, Canada
This is my understanding for everyone based on those I've asked. However this won't be that bad as vCenter is the harder re installation. Even complex ESXi host configs are simple enough to script for repeatability.
 

Fairlight

New Member
Oct 9, 2013
21
3
3
Thanks NetWise good to know it is not just me! I did log a support ticket and was told that we should see all the VMUG downloads updated to the latest releases sometime this week.

Fingers crossed!
 

Chrismo16

New Member
May 31, 2015
2
1
3
48
If you maintain your VMUG Advantage membership, you will get new keys upon renewing. They have a date time limit that coincides with your membership expiry. So if you reinstall on End-1 day, you'll have one day left, not a new 365.
Thanks Netwise.
 
  • Like
Reactions: NetWise