I have an ESXi 5.0 (free version) installation that I use to set up VMs for clients' vSphere installs, toying with VMs, etc. I have been using PowerCLI and vMA to administer this machine. I recently upgraded to 5.5 (again, free) and now I get a licensing error when I try to do simple tasks such as Start or Stop a VM. I did not have this restriction with 5.0. Is this correct? Has the option to start and stop VMs been removed from the free version except through the Windows desktop client?
If that's the case, and given the the desktop client has not been kept current and will most likely be discontinued, honestly, what good is the free version? I realize it's quite kind for VMware to provide the free version at all, but it seems pointless if PowerCLI and/or vMA (the preferred admin methods by VMware's own account) are no longer viable.
Am I missing something? I've read numerous posts that state the free version has "limitations" but have been unable to determine exactly what can and can't be done with ESXi 5.5 free.