I'm trying to learn as much as I can about ESXI, without having to worry about license limits or restrictions, but I don't want my VMs to drop dead either. I found this page that describes how you can reset the evaluation mode with minimal server interruption.
Create a Shell Script at /usr/local/bin and make it executable
vi /usr/bin/resetesxi.sh
Include the following:
rm -r /etc/vmware/license.cfg cp /etc/vmware/.#license.cfg /etc/vmware/license.cfg /etc/init.d/vpxa restart
Do a chgmod to make it executable
chmod /usr/bin/resetesxi.sh
Add it to cron:
vi /etc/rc.local.d/local.sh
And add the following:
/bin/kill $(cat /var/run/crond.pid) # stop the Cron Daemon /bin/echo "0 0 1 * * rm -r /etc/vmware/license.cfg; cp /etc/vmware/.#license.cfg /etc/vmware/license.cfg; /etc/init.d/vpxa restart;" >> /var/spool/cron/cr /usr/lib/vmware/busybox/bin/busybox crond
Run the script
/bin/sh /etc/rc.local.d/local.sh
Make the change persistent:
/bin/auto-backup.sh