Broadcom mainframe software licensing covers the mainframe products of the former CA Technologies portfolio, now published by Broadcom, including tape, security, database, workload automation and development tools for IBM z/OS. They are licensed under product-level Specific Program Documentation (SPD) on capacity metrics: MIPS, MSU Capacity or CPU.[1] Broadcom also offers Mainframe Consumption Licensing (MCL), which licenses a customer’s whole Broadcom mainframe portfolio on total hourly z/OS MSU consumption, and Portfolio License Agreements (PLAs), which give capped access to whole segments of the Broadcom Enterprise Software catalogue.[3][7]
Many Broadcom mainframe SPDs still carry CA branding and use “CA” as the defined licensor. SPD terms apply “in addition to any terms and conditions referenced on the Order Form” and take effect from the Order Form’s effective date, so the Order Form states which metric and quantity apply.[1]
Editions
Mainframe products are generally not sold in tiered editions. The SPD names the program and the metric options offered, and the Order Form selects one. The CA 1 Tape Management SPD (North America, V3.0, dated 2016Jan12) is typical: “CA 1 Tape Management is licensed by the number of MIPS or MSU or CPU as set forth on the Order Form.”[1]
Where a product is sold as bundles, the SPD lists option codes. The Gen SPD (August 2024) Table A is an example:[2]
| Option name | Metric | Option code |
|---|---|---|
| Gen Distributed Bundle | Server | GENDSB990 |
| Gen Mainframe Bundle MIPS | MIPS | GENMPB002 |
| Gen Mainframe Bundle MSU | MSU | GENMSB002 |
Metrics
| Metric | SPD definition (summary) | Rounding |
|---|---|---|
| MIPS | Aggregate computing power, in millions of instructions per second, of all computers at the Customer Sites or which can remotely access them | Next even multiple of 10 |
| MSU Capacity | Aggregate computing power in millions of service units, per Gartner, Inc. ratings, of all computers at the Customer Location or which can remotely access them | Next even multiple of 10 |
| CPU | A central processing unit; “A dual-core central processing unit is considered a single CPU” | Cores divided by 8, rounded up |
| Total z/OS MSUs Consumed | MCL: total hourly MSU utilisation of all production z/OS LPARs at the Customer Site | Measured from SCRT reports |
| Server (Gen) | “one Repository and one Production Server Execution Environment instance” | Minimum one Server |
Sources: CA 1 Tape Management SPD, MCL FAQ and Gen SPD.[1][3][2]
Counting / floors
MIPS and MSU capacity
Both capacity metrics measure machines, not usage. MIPS is calculated “by reference to CA’s published schedules of the MIPS capacity of processors”; for a processor not on the schedule, “the manufacturer’s published specification of MIPS capacity shall control”. MSU Capacity uses Gartner ratings. Both definitions include computers that “can remotely access” the licensed machines if they are capable of accessing, using, executing or benefiting from the software, whatever their platform or operating system. Both are “rounded to the next even multiple of 10”; the SPD does not illustrate the rounding. MSU capacity may not exceed the Licensed MSU Capacity.[1]
CPU with the eight-core divisor
For distributed components licensed per CPU, the CA-era SPD counts CPUs on a single-CPU server. For servers with multi-core CPUs above the SPD’s threshold, it counts “all cores of the CPUs”, divides by eight and rounds up to the next whole number.[1] Illustrative example: a two-socket server with 24 cores per socket counts as 48 ÷ 8 = 6 CPUs.
Gen
The Gen Distributed Bundle requires “a minimum of one Server”. An additional Server license is needed “for each additional Repository or Production Execution Environment”, and one Server includes unlimited workstation developer tools. When Gen manages multiple network-connected devices, physical or virtual, each such use counts toward the Authorized Use Limitation. The SPD also prohibits using Gen-generated objects or the Gen Definition Language to move to a competing product.[2]
License keys (LMP)
Broadcom mainframe products are keyed through the License Management Program (LMP), a subcomponent of the Resource Initialization Manager (CAIRIM) in Common Components and Services. Each LMP key names a product, an expiry date and a CPU (type, model and serial number). CAIRIM verifies the keys at startup, and enforcement software then compares them periodically with the execution environment.[6] Enforcement is advisory. Mismatches produce console and job-log messages, “After the messages are issued, the product continues operation”, and products are not interrupted for expired dates, improper keys or a change of CPU.[6] A running product is therefore not proof of a valid license; entitlement rests on the Order Form.
Virtualization & partitioning
The capacity definitions count the aggregate capacity of computers at the site, not the LPARs where a product runs. The CA 1 SPD contains a separate calculation for virtual servers in the CPU metric: the CPU count is multiplied by the largest percentage of server capacity allocated to any operating system instance running monitored applications, then by 1.5, rounding up.[1] Illustrative example: a 32-core virtual host (4 CPUs by the eight-core divisor) where the largest relevant guest is allocated 50% counts as 4 × 0.5 × 1.5 = 3 CPUs.
MCL, described below, measures production LPARs rather than machine capacity.
Mainframe Consumption Licensing
Mainframe Consumption Licensing is described in Broadcom’s FAQ (v3.0) as a model “which allows customers to pay for only the hours they use within their Z/OS mainframe environment”. It licenses the customer’s “suite of Broadcom Mainframe software products under a utilization model based upon total ZOS MSUs Consumed versus the traditional full machine capacity approach.”[3] The catalog records it as the Mainframe Consumption Licensing (MCL) program.
- Measurement. “Consumption is measured by the total hourly MSU utilization for all the production LPARs running the Z/OS operating system at the Customer Site, as are any overage fees.” There is no line-item pricing or product-level baseline. Because the basis is hourly consumption, not the Rolling 4 Hour Average (R4HA), workload peaks do not raise a peak-based charge.[3]
- Baseline. Customer and Broadcom agree a baseline of MSUs for the term and an overage price. Up to twelve, and at least three, months of IBM Sub-Capacity Reporting Tool (SCRT) reports are used, and SCRT version 25.2 or higher is needed to report hourly consumption.[3]
- Reporting and true-up. Customers submit IBM’s SCRT product report for ISV programs monthly for the whole mainframe environment, by the 10th day of the month. The standard true-up period is annual.[3] Reports are uploaded to the Broadcom SCRT Report Management site, which validates that each report is unmodified and flags reports generated from an out-of-date Broadcom product catalog.[5]
- Roll-over and overage. Unused MSUs may roll over “from one true-up period to the next true-up period during the term”. Overages are calculated “at the single price defined for the entire mainframe stack at the onset of contract.”[3]
- Development and test. Unlimited Application Dev/Test is a standard feature but optional. Customers who opt out include Dev/Test usage in their baseline and overages.[3] In the SCRT site, Total Usage covers all machine serial numbers including excluded LPARs, while Production Usage covers only active serial numbers in the SCRT report. Changes to the Application Development/Test LPAR exclusion list are requested through a support case.[4]
- Other terms. MCL supports the IBM Tailored Fit Hardware Program. Service providers may sign an MCL contract “for the exclusive use and benefit of that customer”. At term end, renewal is negotiated on the license environment then in place.[3]
Portfolio License Agreements
A Portfolio License Agreement licenses a whole segment of software for a negotiated fee. The Enterprise Software PLA brief (February 2021) states that the program lets strategic customers “choose unrestricted access to either our entire portfolio of Enterprise Software solutions, or to one or more specific segments”. It lists segment PLAs for AIOps, Automation, ValueOps and DevOps and promises “Predictable annual costs, even if usage expands”.[7] The Automation segment includes AutoSys Workload Automation, ESP dSeries Workload Automation and Automic Automation.[7] The catalog records this as the Enterprise Software Portfolio License Agreement program.
Under a PLA, entitlement is self-provisioned. KB 202962 (dateModified 2025-04-23) states that users need “access to the PLA site ID and the Product Administrator role” to subscribe to PLA products in the Broadcom Support Portal. The PLA Entitlements tab lists the products in the PLA, active subscriptions and usage reporting, and the My PLA Usage tab shows usage for each subscribed product.[8] The equivalent Symantec agreements are described in Symantec enterprise security licensing.
Cloud / BYOL
Retrieved mainframe SPDs and the MCL FAQ contain no bring-your-own-license terms for public cloud. The MCL FAQ refers to unlimited Dev/Test “in the IBM Z cloud environment” as a benefit that customers who opt out of unlimited Dev/Test cannot use.[3]
Out of scope
- IBM z/OS and IBM middleware charges (MLC, Tailored Fit Pricing, sub-capacity terms for IBM programs): see IBM documents and IBM Passport Advantage.
- Current SPDs for individual mainframe products (for example ACF2, Top Secret, Endevor, IDMS, Datacom, SYSVIEW) were not retrieved. The CA 1 SPD is used here as the dated example of the MIPS, MSU and CPU definitions.
- Distributed Broadcom Enterprise Software metrics (for example AutoSys, Automic, Clarity, Rally) outside the PLA program.
- Price lists, baseline sizing and overage prices: negotiated and not published.