Using VMware? Check the changes to the licensing model!

Customers who use CPU’s consist of more than 32 cores will need additional CPU licenses, depending on how many cores a processor consists of. At the moment, VMware makes use of a per-CPU licensing model regardless the number of cores.

With this shift VMware is aligning with the current software industry standard model of core-based pricing. The change will apply to the whole product range of VMware where the CPU licensing model is already being used. Customers who use CPU’s with a maximum of 32-cores do not need an extra license, but when the amount of 32 cores per CPU is exceeded then a second license will be mandatory.

For the time being, VMware just provides samples of 64 cores sockets where only 2 licenses will be sufficient. When this amount increases in the future, customers will need more licenses based on the new licensing model.

According to VMware, most of their current customers will not face any impact of this change, since the majority are using Intel and AMD-based servers with a limit of 32-cores per CPU. For customers who are currently purchasing and/or deploying servers with more than 32-cores per CPU, VMware will provide an additional software license at no cost to cover the remaining cores on these servers. Keep in mind that this is only eligible for customers who submit a request at VMware before April 30th, 2020.