Per VM Pricing FAQ – Customer
1) What is VMware announcing?
Because cloud management requires greater flexibility, licensing models for cloud management
products need to be adapted to better match how customers use those products. Starting on
September 1, 2010, several existing VMware vCenter products, including vCenter AppSpeed ,
vCenter Chargeback and vCenter Site Recovery Manager, will begin to be sold and licensed on a
per virtual machine basis. vCenter CapacityIQ will move to a per virtual machine licensing model
in late 2010 or early 2011. These products will transition from the existing per processor
licensing model.
2) Why is VMware changing its management products to a per VM licensing model?
Cloud makes applications location and hardware independent, changing the traditional model of
one application to one server. In the cloud, management software maps to the virtual machine
rather than the underlying processor. This makes per VM the ideal metric for the cloud: cloud
management requires a flexible licensing model that matches how customers will manage
resources that are abstracted from the underlying hardware.
3) What products will transition to per VM and when will the per VM licenses be available for
purchase?
VMware vCenter AppSpeed, vCenter Chargeback and vCenter Site Recovery Manager will be
available per VM beginning 9/1/2010. vCenter CapacityIQ per VM licenses will be available
starting in late 2010 or early 2011.
4) How long can I continue to buy per processor licenses?
If you have purchased per processor licenses and wish to continue with this model, you will also
be able to continue purchasing per processor licenses through December 15, 2010. However,
after December 15, 2010, you will only be able to buy per VM licenses for vCenter AppSpeed,
CapacityIQ, Chargeback and Site Recovery Manager.
5) Can I continue using my existing per processor licenses?
Yes. You can continue to use the per processor licenses you already own. You can continue to
renew VMware Support and Subscription (SnS) for the per processor licenses using the same
renewal terms as when you initially purchased the products.
6) Is vSphere or vCenter Server licensing affected by the per VM change?
No. VMware vSphere (all editions and kits), vCenter Server and vCenter Server Heartbeat will
continue to be under their current licensing models. VMware is moving to per VM for the
vCenter family as there as pricing for managed objects is a well-established model for
management software. Based on market response and the evolution of cloud computing,
VMware may consider a per VM offering for vSphere in the future.
7) If I have per processor licenses, will I be able to trade them in for per VM licenses?
Yes. If you own per processor licenses for vCenter AppSpeed, CapacityIQ, Chargeback or Site
Recovery Manager, you will be eligible to exchange those licenses for per VM licenses. VMware
will provide more details about the transition plan prior to September 1.
8) How will I know how many per VM licenses I need?
Reporting in vCenter Server will allow you to see the total number of virtual machines deployed
and managed by a specific vCenter product.
9) How much will the per VM licenses cost?
Effective September 1, 2010, you will be able to begin buying per VM licenses. These will be sold
in Products will be sold in packs of 25 virtual machine licenses (prices do not include SnS). This is
a more cost-effective way for customers to implement the management products since it
eliminates the need to license them on a per processor basis. The prices are as follows:
Product Price for 25-pack of
per VM licenses
AppSpeed $3,750
CapacityIQ (available $1,875
per VM in late 2010 /
early 2011)
Chargeback $1,250
SRM $11,250