VMware vSphere 8 Licensing and Management

1. Introduction

VMware vSphere 8 is a powerful enterprise-grade virtualization platform, consisting of VMware ESXi and vCenter Server. Licensing plays a key role in enabling the capabilities of these components while managing cost, compliance, and scalability. This guide explores vSphere licensing models, license management, and best practices.

2. Licensing Models in vSphere 8

VMware vSphere uses two primary licensing models:

Model	Description	Use Case
Per CPU License	Based on the number of physical CPU sockets	Ideal for on-premises deployments
Subscription Model	Annual subscription for vSphere editions	Flexible for hybrid/cloud setups

2.1 Per CPU Licensing

Licensing is tied to physical CPU sockets in an ESXi host.
Each license covers up to 32 cores per CPU.
For CPUs with more than 32 cores, additional licenses are required.

Example

Server with 2 CPUs and 48 cores each:
- Each CPU requires 2 licenses (since 48 cores exceed the 32-core limit).
- Total licenses: 4 licenses.

CPUs	Cores per CPU	Licenses Required
1	24	1
1	40	2
2	48	4

2.2 Subscription-Based Licensing

With subscription licensing, VMware offers flexible pricing for vSphere products:

Edition	Key Features	License Model
vSphere Foundation	Standard features for virtualization	Subscription
vSphere Enterprise Plus	Full suite: DRS, HA, vSAN support	Subscription
vSphere+	vSphere with cloud management capabilities	Cloud Subscription

3. Licensing for vCenter Server

vCenter Server is licensed separately, based on its deployment size: