vsphere pricing

VMware vSphere with
Operations Management and
VMware vSphere
Licensing, Pricing and Packaging
W H ITE PA P E R


VMware vSphere with Operations
Management and VMware vSphere

Table of Contents
Executive Summary.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 3
VMware vSphere with Operations Management Overview.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 3
Licensing Overview  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 3
. .
VMware vSphere with Operations Management 5 Licensing:
Per-Processor  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 3
. .
VMware vSphere 5 Licensing: Per-Processor .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 4
License Management.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 4
Licensing Example .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 4
Packaging Overview  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 4
. .
VMware vSphere with Operations Management Editions  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 4
. .
VMware vSphere Editions.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 5
VMware vSphere Hypervisor.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 5
VMware vSphere Desktop  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 6
. .
VMware vSphere with Operations Management Acceleration Kits .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 6
VMware vSphere Essentials Kits.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 7
vCenter Server Editions.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 7
Version Upgrade Entitlements for Existing Customers  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 8
. .
Paid Edition Upgrades from VMware vSphere 5 and
VMware vSphere with Operations Management 5  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 8
. .
FAQ .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 9
How to Buy.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 10
Learn More.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 10

WH ITE PAPE R / 2


VMware vSphere with Operations
Management and VMware vSphere

Executive Summary

Licensing Overview

This guide provides an overview of the licensing, pricing, and
packaging for VMware vSphere® with Operations Management™
5 and VMware vSphere 5. The key topics discussed in this guide
include:

VMware vSphere with Operations Management 5
Licensing: Per-Processor

•	VMware vSphere with Operations Management Offering
Overview
•	Licensing Overview – Licensing per edition and license
management
•	Packaging Overview – Packaging options for editions
(including VMware vCenter Server™) and kits

VMware vSphere with Operations Management 5 is licensed on a
per-processor basis. Each physical processor (CPU) in a server
needs to have exactly one vSphere with Operations Management
processor license key assigned to be able to run vSphere with
Operations Management. vSphere with Operations Management
license keys can be purchased, deployed and managed in the
same way they were with vSphere 5.x.
VMWARE VSPHERE 4.1 AND PRIOR
PER CPU WITH CORE AND PHYSICAL
MEMORY LIMITS

•	Version Upgrade Entitlements for Existing Customers
•	Paid Edition Upgrades from VMware vSphere 5 and VMware
vSphere with Operations Management 5

VMware vSphere with
Operations Management
Overview
VMware vSphere with Operations Management 5 is the next
generation of the vSphere platform. vSphere with Operations
Management combines the world’s leading virtualization platform
with best-in-class management capabilities. This new product
line enables users to gain operational insight into vSphere while
also optimizing capacity. As vSphere environments grow, it is
essential that users have proactive management that can deliver
monitoring, performance, and capacity information. Customers
can optimize their virtualization platform by reclaiming unused
capacity, rightsizing virtual machines, improving utilization,
and also helping to increase consolidation ratios. By using
vSphere with Operations Management, customers can double
their IT savings and improve capacity utilization by 40% and
consolidation ratios by 37%1 within their vSphere environment.
For more information on the differences between vSphere
with Operations Management and vSphere, please refer to the
Packaging Overview section.

1. Source: “The Benefits of VMware’s vCenter Operations Management Suite:
Quantifying the Incremental Value of the vCenter Operations Management Suite for
vSphere Customers.” Management Insight Technologies. Sept 2012.

VMWARE VSPHERE
WITH OPERATIONS
MANAGEMENT 5,
VMWARE VSPHERE
5 AND LATER
PER CPU

Licensing Unit

CPU

=

CPU

SnS unit

CPU

=

CPU

Core per proc

Restrictions by vSphere editions
•	 6 cores for Standard and
Enterprise, Ess, Ess+
•	 12 cores for Advanced and
Enterprise Plus

<

Restrictions by vSphere editions
•	 256GB for Standard, Advanced and
Enterprise, Ess, Ess+
•	 Unlimited for Enterprise Plus

<

Physical RAM
Capacity per
host

Unlimited

Unlimited

Figure 1. vSphere 4.x vs. vSphere with Operations Management 5 and vSphere 5
Licensing Comparison

No Limits on Physical Resources
There are no restrictions on physical cores or physical RAM with
vSphere with Operations Management 5.
No Limits on Number of Virtual Machines
There are no restrictions on the number of virtual machines that
can run on each properly licensed vSphere with Operations
Management 5 processor.
Two Components Under a Single License
VMware vSphere with Operations Management 5 combines
two components (vSphere and VMware vCenter™ Operations
Management Suite™ Standard) into a single product with a
single license. All virtual machines running on a properly licensed
VMware vSphere with Operations Management processor can
use all components. vSphere with Operations Management is not
decomposable: the two components of a vSphere with Operations
Management edition behave as a single entitlement. Upgrades
occur on an edition basis only – vSphere and vCenter Operations
Management Suite components cannot be upgraded independently.

WH ITE PAPE R / 3


VMware vSphere with Operations
Management and VMware vSphere

VMware vSphere 5 Licensing: Per-Processor
vSphere 5 is licensed on a per-processor basis. Each physical
processor (CPU) in a server needs to have at least one vSphere
5 processor license key assigned to be able to run vSphere.
vSphere 5 license keys can be purchased, deployed and managed
in the same way they were with vSphere 4.x.
No Limits on Physical Resources
There are no restrictions on physical cores or physical RAM with
vSphere 5.
No Limits on Number of Virtual Machines
There are no restrictions on the number of virtual machines that
can run on each properly licensed vSphere 5 processor.
VMware vSphere 5 for Virtual Desktop Deployments
VMware vSphere Desktop is specifically designed for licensing
vSphere when used to run virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI).
It can only be used as virtualization platform for VDI deployments
with either VMware Horizon View™ or third-party connection
brokers. For more details, see the Packaging Overview section.

License Management
vSphere 5 and vSphere with Operations Management 5 licenses
are simple license keys (25-character alphanumeric strings) that
contain encrypted information about the vSphere (or vSphere
with Operations Management) edition or kit purchased and
the processor quantity. These license keys do not contain any
server-specific information and are not tied to a specific piece of
hardware. This means that the same license key can be assigned
to multiple vSphere hosts, as long as the sum of physical
processors on those hosts does not exceed the encoded license
quantity in the license key.
Centralized Licensing with No Single Point of Failure
vCenter Server is the recommended interface for license assignment
to vSphere and vSphere with Operations Management hosts.
When a license key is assigned by vCenter Server, it is copied to
the host and saved in a persistent format. If the host becomes
disconnected from vCenter Server, the license key remains active
on the host indefinitely, even after a host reboot. Only a deliberate
licensing operation by the user can remove or replace a host
license key.
Decentralized Licensing Option
VMware recommends that customers assign all vSphere and
vSphere with Operations Management licenses centrally through
VMware vCenter Server.

However, vSphere customers have the option to assign their
license keys directly to individual hosts. There is no difference
between directly and centrally assigned license keys. When a
vSphere host is added to the vCenter Server inventory, any
license key already on the host will become available for
management, reporting and assignment in vCenter Server,
just like any license key added directly via vCenter Server. For
more information on vSphere licensing, visit http://www.vmware.
com/support/licensing.html.

Licensing Example
In this section we will cover the key elements of vSphere with
Operations Management 5 licensing using an example.
Licensing New Hosts with vSphere with Operations
Management 5
For this example, a user has two 2-CPU (each with 6 cores)
hosts with 128GB of physical RAM each that they wish to license
with vSphere with Operations Management 5 Enterprise edition.
Each physical CPU requires a license, so four vSphere with
Operations Management 5 Enterprise licenses are required. No
additional licenses will be needed regardless of the number of
virtual machines, amount of virtual memory (vRAM) or physical
cores or RAM.

Packaging Overview
VMware offers several packaging options that are designed for
customers to meet their specific requirements for scalability, size
of environment, and use cases.

vSphere with Operations Management Editions
Customers can choose from three editions of vSphere with
Operations Management (see Figure 2). A Support and
Subscription (SnS) contract is required for every edition
purchase.
vSphere with Operations Management Standard Edition
provides an entry-level solution for basic server consolidation to
slash hardware costs while accelerating application deployment.
Best in class management capabilities are included to provide
proactive health monitoring, performance analytics, and capacity
management to deliver increased IT savings.

WH ITE PAPE R / 4


VMware vSphere with Operations
Management and VMware vSphere

vSphere with Operations Management

vSphere

Standard

Enterprise

Enterprise Plus

Standard

Enterprise

Enterprise Plus

8-way

32-way

64-way

8-way

32-way

64-way

Entitlements per CPU License
vCPU/VM
Features
Health Monitoring and Performance Analytics
Capacity Management and Optimization
Operations Dashboard and Root Cause Analysis
Hypervisor
vMotion®
Storage vMotion
High Availability and Fault Tolerance
(1 vCPU)
Data Protection™ and Replication
vShield Endpoint™
Distributed Resource Scheduler™ and Distributed
Power Management™
Storage APIs for Array Integration, Multipathing
Distributed Switch™
Storage DRS™ and Profile-Driven Storage
I/O Controls (Network and Storage) and SR-IOV
Host Profiles and Auto Deploy
New
Figure 2. vSphere with Operations Management 5 and vSphere 5 Editions

vSphere with Operations Management Enterprise Edition is
a robust solution that customers can use to optimize IT assets,
ensure cost-effective business continuity and streamline IT
operations through automation. Best-in-class management
capabilities are included to provide proactive health monitoring,
performance analytics, and capacity management to deliver
increased IT savings.
vSphere with Operations Management Enterprise Plus Edition
offers the full range of vSphere features for transforming data
centers into dramatically simplified virtualized infrastructures, for
running today’s applications with the next generation of flexible,
reliable IT services. Best-in-class management capabilities are
included to provide proactive health monitoring, performance
analytics, and capacity management to deliver increased IT savings.
For information on local currency prices for vSphere with
Operations Management Editions visit: http://www.vmware.com/
products/datacenter-virtualization/vsphere/pricing.html

vSphere Editions
Customers can choose from three editions of vSphere (see Figure
2). A Support and Subscription (SnS) contract is required for
every edition purchase.

vSphere Standard Edition provides an entry-level solution for
basic server consolidation to slash hardware costs while
accelerating application deployment.
vSphere Enterprise Edition is a robust solution that customers
can use to optimize IT assets, ensure cost-effective business
continuity and streamline IT operations through automation.
vSphere Enterprise Plus Edition offers the full range of
vSphere features for transforming data centers into dramatically
simplified cloud infrastructures, for running today’s applications
with the next generation of flexible, reliable IT services.
For information on local currency prices for vSphere Editions,
visit: http://www.vmware.com/products/datacentervirtualization/vsphere/pricing.html

VMware vSphere Hypervisor
VMware vSphere Hypervisor is a free product that provides a
simple and easy way to get started with virtualization at no cost.
vSphere Hypervisor provides only basic virtualization capabilities,
allowing customers to virtualize servers and run applications in
virtual machines in a matter of minutes. vSphere Hypervisor cannot
connect to vCenter Server and therefore cannot be centrally
managed. Users can remotely manage individual vSphere
Hypervisor hosts using the vSphere Client. vSphere Hypervisor
can be utilized on servers with up to 32GB of physical RAM.

WH ITE PAPE R / 5


VMware vSphere with Operations
Management and VMware vSphere

VMware vSphere Desktop
vSphere Desktop Edition is a vSphere Edition designed for licensing
vSphere in VDI deployments. vSphere Desktop provides all
functionalities of vSphere Enterprise Plus Edition™. It can only be
used for VDI deployment and can be leveraged with both VMware
Horizon View™ and other third-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 virtual machines
or included with the Horizon View bundle. For detailed information
on pricing visit: http://www.vmware.com/products/view/
howtobuy.html

vSphere with Operations Management
Acceleration Kits

customers to purchase all the necessary components to set up a
new VMware environment (see Figure 3). Each kit consists of six
processor licenses for vSphere with Operations Management,
and a license for one instance of vCenter Server Standard. Six
processor licenses of vSphere Data Protection Advanced™ are
also included with the Enterprise and Enterprise Plus
Acceleration Kits.
Unlike the Essentials Kits and VMware vSphere 4.x Acceleration
Kits that function as single entity, vSphere with Operations
Management Acceleration Kits decompose into their individual
kit components after purchase. This allows customers to
upgrade and renew SnS for each individual component on its
own schedule. Visit http://www.vmware.com/vmwarestore or
contact your local reseller for more specific information on the
latest available Acceleration Kit offerings.

vSphere with Operations Management Acceleration Kits are allin-one convenience bundles that provide a simple way for new
vSphere Essentials Kits
Essentials

Essentials Plus

vSphere with Operations Management
Acceleration Kits
Standard

Enterprise

Enterprise Plus

Includes
vSphere
vCenter Server

6 CPUs

6 CPUs

6 CPUs

6 CPUs

6 CPUs

1 instance vCenter
Server Essentials

1 instance vCenter
Server Essentials

1 instance vCenter
Server Standard

1 instance vCenter
Server Standard

1 instance vCenter
Server Standard

6 CPUs

6 CPUs

32-way

64-way

vSphere Data Protection Advanced
Entitlements per CPU License
vCPU

8-way

8-way

8-way

Features
Health Monitoring and Performance Analytics
Capacity Management and Optimization
Operations Dashboard and Root Cause Analysis
Hypervisor
vMotion
High Availability
Data Protection and Replication
vShield Endpoint
vSphere Storage Appliance
Fault Tolerance (1 vCPU)
Storage vMotion
Distributed Resource Scheduler and Distributed Power
Management
Storage APIs for Array Integration, Multipathing
Distributed Switch
Storage DRS and Profile-Driven Storage
I/O Controls (Network and Storage) and SR-IOV
Host Profiles and Auto Deploy
New
Figure 3. vSphere 5 Essentials Kits and vSphere with Operations Management 5 Acceleration Kits

WH ITE PAPE R / 6


VMware vSphere with Operations
Management and VMware vSphere

VMware vSphere Essentials Kits

vCenter Server Editions

VMware vSphere Essentials Kits are all-in-one solutions for small
environments (up to three hosts with two CPUs each) available in
two editions— Essentials and Essentials Plus (see Figure 3). Both
editions include vSphere processor licenses and vCenter Server
for Essentials for an environment of up to three hosts (up to 2
CPUs each). Scalability limits for the Essentials Kits are productenforced and cannot be extended other than by upgrading the
whole kit to an Acceleration Kit (see Paid Edition Upgrades
section below). vSphere Essentials and Essentials Plus Kits are
self-contained solutions and may not be decoupled, or combined
with other vSphere editions.

vCenter Server provides unified management for vSphere
environments and is a required component of a complete
vSphere deployment. One instance of vCenter Server is required
to centrally manage virtual machines and their hosts and to
enable all vSphere features.

vSphere Essentials Kit is an all-in-one solution ideal for small
offices. It enables consolidation and management of applications
to reduce hardware and operating costs—all with a low upfront
investment. Essentials must be purchased along with an one-year
subscription to software patches and updates. Support is optional
and available on a per-incident basis.

•	vCenter Server Standard – Highly scalable management with
rapid provisioning, monitoring, orchestration and control of all
virtual machines in a vSphere environment

vSphere Essentials Plus Kit adds features such as vSphere
vMotion, vSphere HA, vSphere Storage Appliance and vSphere
Data Protection to vSphere Essentials to enable always-on IT for
the small environment. Essentials Plus is ideal for small businesses
that, in addition to hardware and operation cost savings, are
looking for maximization of application availability and business
continuity with a low upfront investment. SnS for Essentials Plus
is sold separately. A minimum of one year of SnS is required.
vSphere Essentials Kit for Retail and Branch Offices and
vSphere Essentials Plus for Retail and Branch Offices are
special editions designed for deployments in branch offices of
midsize or large enterprises. These editions offer a packaged
solution to extend agility, security and efficiency across the
organization and allow remote management of the office
deployment either locally (via the vCenter Server Essentials
included in the offering) or from a central location (via vCenter
Server Standard). Retail- and branch-office editions require a
minimum purchase of a Starter Kit (forty processor licenses
covering ten sites) plus the ability to add on sites as required
(customers can purchase Add-on Kits containing two processor
licenses). Customers can deploy these licenses on a maximum of
three hosts (up to 2 CPUs each) per site and centrally manage
multiple sites through one instance of vCenter Server Standard.
For information on local currency prices for vSphere Editions and
Kits visit: http://www.vmware.com/products/datacentervirtualization/vsphere/pricing.html.

vCenter Server is available in the following packages:
•	vCenter Server Essentials – Integrated management for
vSphere Essentials Kits
•	vCenter Server Foundation – Centralized management for up to
three vSphere hosts

All editions of vCenter Server include the following capabilities:
•	Management service – Acts as universal hub for provisioning,
monitoring and configuring virtualized environments
•	Database server – Stores persistent configuration data and
performance information
•	Inventory service – Allows administrators to search the entire
object inventory of multiple vCenter Servers from one place
•	vSphere Clients – Provides administrators with a feature-rich
console for accessing one or more VMware vCenter Servers
simultaneously
•	vCenter APIs and .NET Extension – Allows integration between
vCenter Server and other tools, with support for customized
plug-ins to the vSphere Client
•	vCenter Single Sign-On – Simplifies administration by allowing
users to log-in once and then access all instances or layers of
vCenter without the need for further authentication
•	vCenter Server Standard also includes the following additional
features:
•	vCenter Orchestrator™ – Streamlines and automates key IT
processes
•	vCenter Server Linked Mode – Enables a common inventory
view across multiple instances of vCenter Server
For information on local currency prices for vCenter Server
Editions visit: http://www.vmware.com/products/datacentervirtualization/vsphere/pricing.html.

WH ITE PAPE R / 7


VMware vSphere with Operations
Management and VMware vSphere

Version Upgrade
Entitlements for Existing
Customers
vSphere customers with an active SnS contract are entitled to
version upgrade to vSphere 5.1 at no extra charge. All version
upgrades to vSphere 5.1 require acceptance of the new end-user
licensing agreement (EULA) and vSphere 5 licensing model
(see Figure 4).

Paid Edition Upgrades
from vSphere 5 and
vSphere with Operations
Management 5
Customers may purchase an upgrade to a higher vSphere edition,
to a vSphere with Operations Management edition, or to a
VMware vCloud Suite edition (see Figure 5). For example,
vSphere Enterprise Plus customers may upgrade to vSphere
with Operations Management Enterprise Plus or to any vCloud
Suite edition. When customers upgrade supported licenses to
a higher edition, the original license key is deactivated and a new
license key is issued for the upgraded edition. A SnS contract for
the edition upgraded to must be purchased at time of upgrade
purchase. This new SnS contract will be extended by the original
SnS contract value remaining on the edition from which the
customer upgraded. SnS contracts as short as two months
are available for customers with a significant value remaining
in their existing contract. This process ensures that only a single
license key exists that has a single SnS contract with a single
termination date.

Figure 4. vSphere 4.x to vSphere 5.x Entitlement Paths

Visit the vSphere Upgrade Center for more information and to
determine the appropriate upgrade path for your organization:
http://www.vmware.com/products/vsphere/upgrade-center/
overview.html.
Version downgrades for vSphere and vSphere with
Operations Management
•	vSphere can version downgrade.
•	vSphere with Operations Management cannot version
downgrade the vSphere component to 4.x or prior. Customers
can choose to run any vSphere 5.x version and vCenter
Operations Management Suite Standard must remain at same
version or above as included in the package.
Reinstatement Options for Customers with Inactive SnS
Contracts
Customers who have an expired SnS must pay reinstatement
fees to purchase supported upgrades. Reinstatement fees are
based on the following criteria:
•	The applicable SnS fees for the current contract term
•	Fees that would have been paid for the period of time that the
customer’s SnS contract was not active

Figure 5. Upgrade Paths from vSphere to vSphere with Operations Management or
vCloud Suite

Since vSphere with Operations Management Acceleration Kits
decompose into individual kit components after purchase,
customers upgrade using the same upgrade paths as vSphere
with Operations Management Edition customers (see Figure 6).
There are no Acceleration Kit to Acceleration Kit upgrades.

•	A 20 percent fee on the sum of the fees in the preceding two
criteria
WH ITE PAPE R / 8


VMware vSphere with Operations
Management and VMware vSphere

For information on local currency prices for vSphere Editions and
Kits visit: www.vmware.com/products/vsphere/pricing.html

with Operations Management, and a license for one instance
of vCenter Server Standard. Six processor licenses of
vSphere Data Protection Advanced are also included with
the Enterprise and Enterprise Plus Acceleration Kits.
Q.	How can customers upgrade the operations management
capabilities of vSphere with Operations Management to
obtain capabilities like application dependency mapping
and configuration/compliance management?
A.	 Customers are able to upgrade from any vSphere with
Operations Management edition to both vCloud® Suite
Advanced and vCloud Suite Enterprise, which include
advanced capabilities.
Q. What is the future of vSphere Standard with Operations
Management, launched in September 2012?
A.	 With the launch of the complete vSphere with Operations
Management product line in Feb 2013, VMware will discontinue
sales of vSphere Standard with Operations Management,
launched in Sep 2012. vSphere Standard with Operations
Management contained vSphere Standard, vCenter Operations
Manager, and vCenter™ Protect™. Customers who have already
purchased vSphere Standard with Operations Management
are entitled to a soft bundle of vSphere with Operations
Management Standard and vCenter Protect.

Figure 6. Upgrade Paths from vSphere with Operations Management

FAQ
Q.	How is vSphere with Operations Management 5 licensed?
A.	 vSphere with Operations Management is licensed on a perprocessor basis without limitation on the number of virtual
machines, cores or amount of physical RAM.
Q.	How many license keys will a customer get when they
purchase vSphere with Operations Management?
A.	 vSphere with Operations Management will show up in the
customer’s license portal as a unique entitlement. This
entitlement will generate one license key that the customer
will activate in vCenter Server.
Q. Are there VMware Acceleration Kits for vSphere with
Operations Management?
A.	 Yes, there are three Acceleration Kits associated with the three
editions of vSphere with Operations Management. These
Acceleration Kits will replace the vSphere 5.x Acceleration
Kits. Each kit consists of six processor licenses for vSphere

Q.	Is it acceptable to have both vSphere hosts and vSphere
with Operations Management hosts managed under a
single vCenter Server?
A.	 VMware recommends managing only a single vSphere with
Operations Management edition under a vCenter Server
instance to simplify license management and compliance. If
you must run multiple vSphere with Operations Management
editions (or both vSphere with Operations Management and
vSphere/vCloud Suite) under a single vCenter Server instance
(mixed environment), you can still be compliant. To be compliant
in a mixed environment, you must ensure that all virtual
machines are properly licensed for the functionality being used
(e.g., capacity management provided by vCenter Operations
Management Suite Standard). A virtual machine can be
properly licensed either through a vSphere with Operations
Management license (on a per-processor basis) or a standalone
product license (on a per–virtual machine basis).
Q.	Is it acceptable to have both vCenter Operations on a
per-VM basis and vSphere with Operations Management
on a per-CPU basis? (e.g. customer adds vSphere with
Operations Management into existing vCenter Operations
Mangement environment)
A.	 Yes, this is acceptable as long as license compliance is
maintained.

WH ITE PAPE R / 9


Q.	Does the new vSphere 5 licensing model—per-processor
without limitation on the number of virtual machines, cores
or amount of physical RAM—apply to both vSphere 5.0 and
vSphere 5.1?

Q.	Can vSphere Desktop be used to run third-party desktop
management and infrastructure tools or third-party server
products for desktops?

A.	 Yes. The vSphere 5 licensing model applies to both vSphere
5.0 and 5.1 customers. This also applies to vSphere with
Operations Management customers.

A.	 As per the vSphere 5 EULA, vSphere Desktop standalone
can be used for hosting virtual desktop machines or desktop
management and monitoring tools that are used for VDI
deployments only.

Q.	Does the new vSphere 5 licensing model apply to existing
licenses of vSphere 4.x or prior?

Q.	What is the impact to Horizon View bundles or Horizon
View add-on SKUs?

A.	 No. The new vSphere licensing model applies only to new
purchases of vSphere licenses or to existing licenses of
vSphere 4.x or older that are version upgraded to vSphere 5.

A.	 There is no change to the price of the Horizon View bundles.
We encourage customers to consider Horizon View bundles
for all their new desktop virtualization deployments. The
bundles are designed as the cost-effective solutions for
large-scale desktop deployments.

Q.	When version upgrading to existing licenses for vSphere
4.x or older to vSphere 5, may I maintain the vSphere 4.x
licensing model?
A.	 No. In order to complete the upgrade, the new vSphere 5
EULA must be accepted.

How to Buy

Q.	Can I apply the vCenter Operations functionality included
with vSphere with Operations Management to virtual
machines running on hosts that are not licensed with
vSphere with Operations Management?

For information on local currency prices for vSphere and
vSphere with Operations Management Editions and Kits visit:
http://www.vmware.com/products/datacenter-virtualization/
vsphere/pricing.html

A.	 No, the vCenter Operations functionality included with
vSphere with Operations Management can only be used for
virtual machines running on hosts that are properly licensed
with vSphere with Operations Management. Virtual Machines
running on other hosts would need to be licensed separately.

To purchase vSphere or vSphere with Operations Management,
use the online VMware Partner Locator to find an authorized
reseller in your area: http://partnerlocator.vmware.com/

Q.	Which customers are eligible for vSphere Desktop?
A.	 vSphere Desktop is available to all commercial, academic, and
government customers who want to purchase new licenses
of vSphere for only host desktop virtualization. Customers
who purchase the Horizon View bundles get vSphere Desktop.
Q.	I am currently using vSphere Enterprise Plus to deploy a
third-party desktop virtualization solution. Can I continue
to do so?
A.	 Yes. Customers currently using vSphere as backend for a
third-party VDI deployment can continue to do so.

You can also visit the online VMware Store to determine which kit
or edition of vSphere with Operations Management or vSphere
is right for your organization: http://www.vmware.com/
vmwarestore/

Learn More
For information or to purchase VMware products, call 877-4VMWARE (outside of North America dial 650-427-5000), visit
http://www.vmware.com/products, or search online for an
authorized reseller. For detailed specifications and systems
requirements, refer to the VMware vSphere documentation.

VMware, Inc. 3401 Hillview Avenue Palo Alto CA 94304 USA Tel 877-486-9273 Fax 650-427-5001 www.vmware.com
Copyright © 2013 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property laws. VMware products are covered by one or more patents listed
at http://www.vmware.com/go/patents. VMware is a registered trademark or trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be
trademarks of their respective companies. Item No: VMW-WP-vSPHR-PRICING-USLET-130
03/13