Superseded — Processor Value Unit (PVU)
Catalog row in Vendor License Metrics · Draft
- Unit
- PVU
- Aliases
- PVU; PVUs; PVU entitlements; PVU-based licensing; PVU Table; PVU tables; PVUs in Containers
- Definition
- Processor Value Unit (PVU) is a unit of measure by which the Program can be licensed. The number of PVU entitlements required is based on the processor technology (defined within the PVU Table by Processor Vendor, Brand, Type and Model Number) and the number of processors made available to the Program. IBM continues to define a processor, for the purpose of PVU-based licensing, to be each processor core on a chip. A dual-core processor chip, for example, has two processor cores. (IBM Passport Advantage, Commonly used license metrics / Processor Value Units (PVUs) page.)
- Counting rules
- Required PVU entitlements = activated processor cores made available to or managed by the Program × PVUs per core from the live PVU Table (Processor Vendor, Brand, Type and Model Number). IBM defines a processor as each processor core on a chip. Full Capacity: entitlements covering all activated processor cores in the physical hardware environment made available to or managed by the Program, except servers from which the Program has been permanently removed. Virtualization Capacity (Sub-Capacity): entitlements covering activated processor cores made available to or managed by the Program per the Virtualization Capacity License Counting Rules; eligible product + eligible virtualization + eligible processor + ILMT or approved tool. An Activated processor core is available for use in a physical or virtual server regardless of virtualization, OS, BIOS, or similar limits. Containers: IBM Container Licensing guidance (not the PVU table) uses a fixed 70 PVUs = 1 vCPU; the PVU table does not apply to Container Licensing. x86 table (publish date 08 May 2024): Intel Xeon post-Nehalem 70/100/120 PVU per core at max sockets 2/4/>4; pre-Nehalem Xeon 50; Intel Core i3/i5/i7/i9 70 (excludes Intel Performance Hybrid two-core-type chips); AMD Opteron 50; AMD EPYC 70; any/all others 100. RISC/z table (publish date 25 September 2024) is on the same live page. PVUs for the same program are fully transferable among servers in the enterprise; a different PVU-per-core on the target may require more or fewer licenses.
- Floors / minimums
- A 10 Processor Value Unit minimum exists for ease of ordering, billing, and administration for a few low-priced programs (ordering/admin floor, not a per-server core floor). No IBM-stated 16-core-per-socket PVU floor in retrieved IBM documents. Failure to meet sub-capacity reporting requirements causes charging at full capacity of activated physical cores on the server (IPAA Z125-5831-10 §1.14; live ILMT and sub-capacity pages). Container Licensing uses a fixed 70 PVUs per vCPU; the PVU table does not apply.