VMware Software Licensing

All the VMware software licensing options available to you ...

• VMware vSphere 5 Licensing: Per-Processor with vRAM Entitlements

• Per Virtual Machine Licensing

• VMware View Licensing

VMware vSphere 5 Licensing: Per-Processor with vRAM Entitlements

VMware vSphere 5 is licensed on a per-processor basis with a vRAM entitlement. Each VMware vSphere 5 processor licence comes with an entitlement to a certain amount of vRAM capacity, or memory configured to virtual machines.

Unlike in vSphere 4.x where core and physical RAM entitlements are tied to a server and cannot be shared among multiple hosts, the vRAM entitlements of vSphere 5 licences are pooled, i.e. aggregated, across all vSphere servers managed by a vCenter Server instance or multiple vCenter Servers instances in Linked Mode.

Licensing Unit: Per Processor (CPU)

Like VMware vSphere 4.x, VMware vSphere 5 is licensed on a per processor basis. Each physical processor (CPU) in a server needs to have a least one vSphere 5 processor licence key assigned to be able to run vSphere. vSphere 5 licence keys can be purchased, deployed and managed in the same way they were with vSphere 4.x.

No Limits on Physical Resources

VMware vSphere 5 licensing removes all restrictions on physical cores and physical RAM. This change eliminates barriers to deploying VMware vSphere on new multicore server configurations, improving your ability to choose server hardware that best meets your requirements.

For information relating to vRAM entitlements and compliance please contact your Phoenix Account Manager on 0845 265 1265 or email info@phoenixs.co.uk.

VMware vSphere Desktop

vSphere Desktop Edition is a new vSphere Edition designed for licensing vSphere in VDI deployments. vSphere Desktop provides all functionalities of vSphere Enterprise Plus and unlimited vRAM entitlement. It can only be used for VDI deployment and can be leveraged with both VMware View and other 3rd party VDI connection brokers.

vSphere Desktop edition is licensed based on the total number of Powered On Desktop Virtual Machines and can be purchased either stand-alone in a pack size of 100 desktop VM or included with the VMware View Bundle.

Per Virtual Machine Licensing

As cloud computing becomes the norm in IT environments, IT increasingly needs to manage at the virtual machine (VM) level rather than the physical hardware from which it is abstracted. With virtual machines now being the new unit of management, IT organisations need flexible deployment and licensing options that fit the demands of the new model.

Some VMware vCenter products are now licensed per virtual machine. These include:

• VMware vCenter Operations
• VMware vCenter Server Heartbeat
• VMware vCenter CapacityIQ
• VMware vCenter AppSpeed

How Per VM Licensing Works

Per VM licensing is more flexible. Rather than requiring licenses for every server deployed, you will only need licences for the average maximum number of virtual machines that are managed. For example:

Per VM licensing is based on a rolling average of the highest number of VMs over the last 12 months

• You want to manage cost reporting effectively and decide to buy VMware vCenter Chargeback
• On an average day, you run between 90 and 125 virtual machines
• As shown in the chart above, at the end of the year, usage typically spikes to 200 to 250 virtual machines for two months
• The daily maximum total virtual machines still averages only about 130 virtual machines
• You would only need enough licences for 130 VMs - the average high watermark over the course of the trailing12 months. In this case, the customer would buy six licences for a total of 150 VMs (each licence contains a pack of 25 VMs)
• If the average usage over time exceeds 150 VMs, you will receive an alert through VMware vCenter Server, but will be able to continue managing the environment without restrictions

For more information on determining licence usage, the cost of VM licences or converting from per processor to per VM licences, contact your Phoenix Account Manager on 0845 265 1265 or email info@phoenixs.co.uk

VMware View Licensing

VMware View is licensed on a concurrent connection basis. A View desktop that is actively in use by an end-user will count as a concurrent connection. Additionally, each checked-out local mode desktop is counted as one concurrent connection.

See the images below:

FIND OUT MORE

Your Phoenix Software Account Manager will be able to offer advice on which licensing bundles are applicable - just call 0845 265 1265 or email info@phoenixs.co.uk