Here, how to install win 2012 r2 on vmware. The keys to use for Windows Server 2012 R2 can be found at the Microsoft site and are shown below:
Server Standard – DBGBW-NPF86-BJVTX-K3WKJ-MTB6V
Server Datacenter – Y4TGP-NPTV9-HTC2H-7MGQ3-DV4TW
Server Essentials – K2XGM-NMBT3-2R6Q8-WF2FK-P36R2
Microsoft link: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/windows/it-pro/windows-server-2012-R2-and-2012/dn303421(v=ws.11)