Foglight is Quest Software’s family of monitoring products for databases, applications, operating systems, virtual infrastructure and networks. Like every Quest product, each Foglight licence is sold under a License Type that is named in the Order and defined in the Quest Product Guide, here the version dated 2026-06-03.[1] Most Foglight License Types count the things being monitored rather than the people using the console. A Foglight licence position is therefore built from an inventory of monitored hosts, instances, agents and network ports, not from a user list. The surrounding contract terms, such as maintenance, audit and assignment, are those of the Software Transaction Agreement and are summarised in Quest Software licensing.
Editions
The Product Guide does not define Foglight editions. It names the products that carry their own terms: Foglight in general, Foglight APM SaaS, Foglight Synthetic Monitor for Internet, Foglight Network Management System and a freeware version of Foglight Network Management Server.[1] Quest’s product page for Foglight Evolve states that it “is available with three distinct licenses that can work together or individually”.[3] The License Type of each product, and of each Foglight Evolve licence, is the one named in the Order.
Metrics
The Product Guide License Types that name Foglight in their definition are:
| License Type | What is counted (Product Guide, 2026-06-03) |
|---|---|
| Managed Physical CPU | Any physical CPU used by an application, database, operating system or web server managed by Foglight, by a web server whose end-user traffic is managed by Foglight or that end users pass through, by Foglight Transaction Recorder players, or that runs a custom Foglight agent |
| Indirectly Managed Physical CPU | A physical CPU on a device managed by non-Foglight tools that send events or data to Foglight |
| Managed Port | A physical network port managed by Foglight for data link (Layer 2) or network (Layer 3) communications |
| .NET Processor Socket | Each CPU Socket on which a .NET Framework application managed by the Software is installed, or that runs a custom Foglight agent |
| APM Agent | An item of Software deployed to monitor application transactions in an execution environment such as Java, .NET or PHP |
| Interface | Anything that lets a Device communicate with a network, including switch ports, physical, virtual and sub-interfaces and VLANs |
| Playback Credit | One use of the Software to display a recorded event, such as moving from one web page to another |
Source: Product Guide License Types and product terms.[1] The catalog also links two database License Types to Foglight. A Monitored Instance is an Instance monitored by the Software, which “exists for the time during which a database Instance is being monitored”. A Named Instance is each instance of a database, operating system or application monitored by the Software, “without regard to concurrent use”.[1] Catalog: Monitored Instance, Named Instance, Managed Physical CPU.
Counting / floors
Managed Physical CPU
The Managed Physical CPU definition has eight limbs, and one host can fall under several of them, for example a server that runs a monitored database and whose operating system is also monitored. The definition counts any physical CPU that meets a limb; it does not say whether a CPU that meets two limbs needs one licence or two, which the Order or Quest should confirm.[1] Limb (viii) is easy to miss: it reaches “any physical CPU used by a Web server that end users pass through”, so front-end web servers can need licences even when only end-user traffic is monitored.[1] Any physical CPU running a custom Foglight agent counts, whether that agent was written by Quest, the customer or a partner.[1]
The definition counts physical CPUs. The Product Guide defines a CPU as “a central processing unit that interprets computer program instructions and processes data”, separately from a Core.[1] The Order should be read to confirm that a CPU is counted per processor and not per core.
Monitored, Named and Monitored Target
The three database-oriented types differ in what triggers the count:
- Monitored Instance exists while a database instance is being monitored.[1]
- Named Instance counts each monitored instance “without regard to concurrent use”.[1] Rotating monitoring between instances does not reduce the count.
- Monitored Target is a Named Instance, Azure SQL Database, Database Shard or Warehouse Node monitored by the Software.[1] A Database Shard includes a master or replica database process, and a Warehouse Node, “commonly known as a ‘credit’”, is the number of VMs in the compute cluster of a Snowflake warehouse.[1] Under this type, a replicated or sharded database counts each process, and a Snowflake warehouse counts by its size.
APM Agent (Foglight APM SaaS)
For Foglight APM SaaS, the reach of one APM Agent depends on the runtime:[1]
| Runtime | One APM Agent may monitor |
|---|---|
| Java | One Java Virtual Machine (JVM) |
| PHP | One or more PHP configurations on a single physical or virtual Server, if all data is reported to one application in Foglight APM SaaS |
| .NET | One or more IIS servers or .NET executables on a single physical or virtual Server, if all data is reported to one application in Foglight APM SaaS |
A Java application server running several JVMs therefore needs one agent per JVM. PHP and .NET hosts that report to more than one Foglight APM SaaS application need more than one agent.[1]
Interface (Foglight Network Management System)
Foglight Network Management System “is licensed per Interface”, and its own terms take precedence over the Agreement.[1] Because an Interface includes virtual interfaces, sub-interfaces and VLANs as well as physical ports, a single switch can carry many more Interfaces than it has physical ports.[1] The freeware version of Foglight Network Management Server is governed by separate terms that the Product Guide points to on a Quest community page.[1]
Playback Credits (Foglight Synthetic Monitor for Internet)
Foglight Synthetic Monitor for Internet consumes Playback Credits at a rate that depends on “the character of the recorded event and the location of the system requesting the playback”. The rate is the one shown in the product’s Administration section. Unused Playback Credits expire without refund twelve months after delivery of each purchase.[1] Credits should be tracked per purchase, since each batch has its own expiry date.
Virtualization & partitioning
The Foglight-specific types count physical CPUs, sockets and ports, so virtualization does not reduce them. A virtual machine running a monitored database still draws on physical CPUs of its host.[1] The Product Guide does not say how to allocate host CPUs to individual guests under Managed Physical CPU, and an Order that uses this type for virtual estates should be checked for a stated rule.
Other License Types used for monitoring take a different approach. An Agent is one Virtual CPU Socket, meaning a CPU Socket on a physical server used to create a virtual environment, or one Physical Server that is not running virtualization software.[1] A Managed OS Instance is one operating system instance, physical or virtual.[1] Where an Order uses vCPU, the quantity is the total vCPUs used by the Server “as indicated by the virtualization platform”.[1]
Licences registered to a specific Device under these types may only move to another Device if the new one replaces the original for the same purpose, or with Quest’s written consent.[1]
Cloud / BYOL
Foglight APM SaaS is a hosted service, and its APM Agent rules apply to both physical and virtual servers.[1] The Monitored Target type names cloud database services directly: Azure SQL Database counts as a target, and Snowflake warehouses count by Warehouse Node.[1] The Product Guide sets no separate rule for Foglight software installed on public cloud infrastructure.
Programs
Product terms for Foglight
The Product Guide lets customers customize Foglight with its built-in utilities. The customizations may only be used within the licence rights, may not be distributed, sold or licensed, and may not remove Quest notices or place other marks close to, larger than or combined with Quest marks.[1] The MySQL Pro Database delivered with Foglight may be used only with Foglight. Additional Software delivered with Foglight may only monitor the objects, databases or operating systems monitored by the Software it came with.[1] Rule: Foglight Additional Software only monitors what the licensed Software monitors.
Which Product Guide applies
All of a customer’s licences for a product follow the Product Terms in effect on the date of the most recent licence purchase of that product.[1] A new Foglight purchase moves older Foglight licences onto the current definitions. Catalog: The Product Guide in effect at the most recent purchase governs all licences for that Software.
Maintenance and evaluation
Maintenance Services must be ordered for all copies of a licensed product, not a subset, and on perpetual licences renew for 12-month terms unless cancelled with 60 days’ written notice.[2] Catalog: Maintenance must cover all copies of each licensed Product. An Evaluation License runs for up to 30 days, for non-production internal evaluation only.[2] A Non-Production licence, where sold, is limited to internal development and test environments.[1] Catalog: Non-Production licences: development and test environments only.
Out of scope
- Foglight list prices, which Quest provides on request.
- The License Type of each Foglight product and Foglight Evolve licence, which is set in the Order.
- Spotlight products and their Concurrent Monitored Instance licensing.
- Foglight product lifecycle dates, published on Quest’s support site.