It seems that everyone and their dog is chiming in on the new vSphere5 licensing and I felt lead to do the same.
Firstly, great doc from VMware on the topic explaining the change in the licensing: http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/vsphere_pricing.pdf
So my take on it. My first impressions when I read about their new licensing was that they were licensing based on the amount of RAM in a physical host. The above said document helped me understand that licensing will still be per pCPU in the host but removes the restrictions on this version can have 6 cores and this other version caps with this amount of pMEM. Those restrictions are gone but the version of licensing restricts only on the VMguest's vMEM as a pool. So if you have Enterprise Plus for 1 pCPU you are entitled to a pool of VMguests totalling 48GB.
So you can have 48 VMs with 1 GB of vRAM
-or-
24 VMs with 2 GB of vRAM
-or-
12 VMs with 4 GB of vRAM
get the picture?
So if you have a single host with 1pCPU and 24 cores and 128 GB pMEM, it doesn't matter if you have ESXi 5.0 installed, you pay for licensing based on your VMs underneath.
- 24GB vRAM for
Essentials Kit
- 24GB vRAM for
Essentials Plus Kit
- 24GB vRAM for
Standard
- 32GB vRAM for
Enterprise
- 48GB vRAM for
Enterprise Plus
Example:
So you decide to put two SQL servers on that Host, each with 32 vCPUs and 64 GB of vRAM, you will be entitled to pay for 3 Enterprise Plus CPU licenses (3 x 48 = 144 GB vRAM pool) and add another physical server to the group at no additional cost.
-or-
4 Enterprise Licenses (4 x 32GB = 128GB vRAM pool) (vCPU restrictions of 8 for this edition)
-or-
6 Standard Licenses (6 x 24GB = 144 GB vRAM pool) (vCPU restrictions of 8 for this edition)
What will this do?
I think this will effect vSphere 5.0 sales and implementations because it adds another layer of complexity for figuring out licensing. They report that it simplifies it but pricing solely on pCPUs is simpler. I see more companies trying out Hyper-V and XenServer, etc... The cost difference before was an issue, now I see that gap widening.
I thought it strange that VMware wouldn't have made the pricing structure less expensive therefore regaining huge market share from the competitors but they felt their market gap was wide enough that they could afford to tick off some more of their customers with a licensing price hike.
vCenter licensing
This one when looking at the licensing seems to be a whole new issue. It is still the same with the exception of new kits. These kits allow new adopters the option of purchasing a bunch of pieces at a single price.
I am glad I read through this and figured this out as there seems to be a lot of FUD out their about this. This will add costs in the long run but we are all getting used to that aren't we.
Firstly, great doc from VMware on the topic explaining the change in the licensing: http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/vsphere_pricing.pdf
So my take on it. My first impressions when I read about their new licensing was that they were licensing based on the amount of RAM in a physical host. The above said document helped me understand that licensing will still be per pCPU in the host but removes the restrictions on this version can have 6 cores and this other version caps with this amount of pMEM. Those restrictions are gone but the version of licensing restricts only on the VMguest's vMEM as a pool. So if you have Enterprise Plus for 1 pCPU you are entitled to a pool of VMguests totalling 48GB.
So you can have 48 VMs with 1 GB of vRAM
-or-
24 VMs with 2 GB of vRAM
-or-
12 VMs with 4 GB of vRAM
get the picture?
So if you have a single host with 1pCPU and 24 cores and 128 GB pMEM, it doesn't matter if you have ESXi 5.0 installed, you pay for licensing based on your VMs underneath.
- 24GB vRAM for
Essentials Kit
- 24GB vRAM for
Essentials Plus Kit
- 24GB vRAM for
Standard
- 32GB vRAM for
Enterprise
- 48GB vRAM for
Enterprise Plus
Example:
So you decide to put two SQL servers on that Host, each with 32 vCPUs and 64 GB of vRAM, you will be entitled to pay for 3 Enterprise Plus CPU licenses (3 x 48 = 144 GB vRAM pool) and add another physical server to the group at no additional cost.
-or-
4 Enterprise Licenses (4 x 32GB = 128GB vRAM pool) (vCPU restrictions of 8 for this edition)
-or-
6 Standard Licenses (6 x 24GB = 144 GB vRAM pool) (vCPU restrictions of 8 for this edition)
What will this do?
I think this will effect vSphere 5.0 sales and implementations because it adds another layer of complexity for figuring out licensing. They report that it simplifies it but pricing solely on pCPUs is simpler. I see more companies trying out Hyper-V and XenServer, etc... The cost difference before was an issue, now I see that gap widening.
I thought it strange that VMware wouldn't have made the pricing structure less expensive therefore regaining huge market share from the competitors but they felt their market gap was wide enough that they could afford to tick off some more of their customers with a licensing price hike.
vCenter licensing
This one when looking at the licensing seems to be a whole new issue. It is still the same with the exception of new kits. These kits allow new adopters the option of purchasing a bunch of pieces at a single price.
I am glad I read through this and figured this out as there seems to be a lot of FUD out their about this. This will add costs in the long run but we are all getting used to that aren't we.
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