BIOS-deactivated Cores must be licensed
Catalog row in Vendor License Rules · Cited
- Kind
- Counting
- Statement
- VCF SPD June 2026 Licensed Cores: “Each Core on the Server where Software is installed must be licensed, including Cores deactivated by the BIOS.” Identical BIOS sentence in VCFE SPD June 2026 (following sentence uses the 8-Core Processor floor), VVF SPD June 2026, and vSphere Standard / Enterprise Plus / Essentials Plus SPD May 2026. Processor floors are separate rows (16 vs 8).
- Applies when
- Counting Core licenses on a Server where Software is installed, including Cores deactivated in BIOS.
- Applies to
- VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF); VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF); VMware vSphere Standard / Enterprise Plus / Essentials Plus; VMware Cloud Foundation Edge (VCFE).
- Aliases
- BIOS-deactivated Cores; Licensed Cores including BIOS