Not 100% sure of my terminology as I am new at all this, so please bear with me!
At our HQ we have a solitary VMware server running ESXi 4.0.0 and we are using vCenter and vSphere 4.0 license (2xCPU).
So far so good.
At our DR site we are running the free ESXi 4.0.0
The DR site is not a "hot" (live) site, apart from occasional (once or twice a year) testing where we restore from backups to test them and so on.
We use Veeam backup software, and because their software doesn't allow direct restore to free ESXi hosts, the restore process is two-stage: (1) restore from backup to temporary disk space; then copy VM disk files to ESXi and boot them
I'm wondering whether I can install my VMware licenses for our live server to the DR server, given that apart from occasional testing, they would never be used at the same time.
This would enable the restore process to go direct from backup media to the licensed ESXi host, rather than the 2-stage process.
Q. what does VMware allow me to do with my licences in respect of a DR scenario?