Merits of Purchasing VMware Vsphere License

Hello Experts,

I'm toying with the idea of purchasing a "Enterprise" license of ESXi. However, I'm not sure if I really need all the bells and whistles of an "Enterprise" license of ESXi.

All I need ESXi for at this stage is to build a lab almost identical to the one described in the following link;

http://ithitman.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/ccie-v5-ine-home-lab-part-1-configuring.html

At the moment, I think I can get away with the free version, but I'm not sure of all the benefits of the licensed version.

Please Note.
I have no problem paying for the licensed version if there are functions and features that without the licensed it wouldn't be possible to build the lab.

I look forward to your comments

Regards

Carlton