HPE software licence terms are the set of general agreements under which Hewlett Packard Enterprise grants rights to use its software. Two documents carry most of the weight. The HPE End User License Agreement (EULA, Enterprise Version) governs the use of accompanying software unless it is subject to a separate agreement between the customer and HPE.[1] The HPE Customer Terms Portfolio (CTPF01) is the sales template used when a customer buys hardware, software licences, support and professional services together.[3] Both documents leave product-specific metrics to Additional License Authorizations (ALAs), which the EULA lists among its Supporting Material and which HPE publishes by product family on its software licensing page.[1][4]
Editions
HPE does not describe the EULA and the Portfolio Terms as editions, but they apply in different situations.
| Document | Used for | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| HPE EULA (Enterprise Version) | Software downloaded, copied or used, unless a separate agreement exists | Accepting by downloading, copying or using the software.[1] |
| Portfolio Terms (CTPF01) | Purchases of hardware, software licences, support and professional services | Support also needs the Supplemental Data Sheet Terms (CTDS01).[3] |
| Additional License Authorizations | Product metrics, trial rules, special use rights | Take precedence over the governing agreement in a conflict, as the Morpheus ALA states.[5] |
| aaS Terms and aaS Commercial Terms | GreenLake and other as-a-service offerings | Covered in a separate article.[3] |
Metrics
The general terms do not define a licence metric. Section 24 of the Portfolio Terms grants a non-exclusive licence to use the version or release of the HPE-branded software listed in the Order, for internal purposes only and subject to any specific software licensing information in the product or its Supporting Material.[2] The metric is therefore found in the ALA or the quote. For non-HPE branded software the third party’s licence terms govern use.[2] The per-server, per-socket and consumption metrics are described in the other articles in this series.
Counting / floors
Licence grant and restrictions
The EULA grants a non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use one copy of the software for internal purposes. Unless Supporting Material allows it, the customer may not use the software to provide services to third parties, make copies and distribute, resell or sublicense it, copy it or make it available on a public or external distributed network, or modify, reverse engineer, disassemble, decrypt, decompile or make derivative works of it.[1] Patches, enhancements, bug fixes and similar updates may not be downloaded and used without a licence to the underlying software, and a licence does not by itself give a right to receive updates, because HPE may make them available only to customers with support contracts.[1] The Portfolio Terms add that updates are subject to the licence terms in effect when HPE makes them available, and that additional licences or fees may apply to updates or to use of the software in an upgraded environment.[2]
Term and termination
Under the Portfolio Terms any licence granted is perpetual unless otherwise specified, but HPE may terminate it on written notice if the customer fails to comply, and on termination or, for a limited-term licence, on expiry the customer destroys or returns copies, keeping one archival copy.[2] The EULA describes itself as effective until terminated or, for a limited-term licence, until expiry, and says the customer’s rights terminate on failure to comply.[1] Product ALAs often override the perpetual default with subscription terms, as the Morpheus ALA does with Subscription Terms of one, three or five years.[5]
Transfer
The Portfolio Terms bar sublicensing, assigning, transferring, renting or leasing software except as HPE permits, but say HPE-branded software licences are generally transferable with HPE’s prior written authorization and payment of applicable fees. On transfer the customer’s rights end, it hands over all copies, and the transferee agrees in writing to the licence terms. Firmware transfers only with the associated hardware.[2] The EULA’s assignment clause requires prior written consent, payment of transfer fees and compliance with HPE’s software licence transfer policies.[1] Product-specific documents may be stricter: OneView licences, for example, are tied to a server.
Remote monitoring
The EULA states that some software may require keys or other technical protection measures and that HPE may monitor compliance remotely or otherwise. If HPE makes available a licence management programme for recording and reporting usage, the customer must use it no later than 180 days from the date it is made available.[1] The Portfolio Terms use the wording “within a reasonable period of time”.[2]
Virtualization & partitioning
The general terms contain no virtualization rule. The EULA says operating system software may only be used on approved hardware and configurations.[1] Virtual-machine treatment is set by each ALA, such as the Morpheus definition of a Server as a physical or virtual machine on which the software is installed.[5]
Cloud / BYOL
The general terms do not address public-cloud portability. The Portfolio Terms bar making licensed software available on a public external distributed network and require restricted access where licences allow use over an intranet.[2] A customer that intends to run HPE software in a public cloud should read the relevant ALA, because some, such as Ezmeral inside a GreenLake managed service, expressly restrict deployment to HPE-managed infrastructure.
Programs
Registration of licences runs through My HPE Software Center. The iLO licensing guide explains that registering a licence there produces a Welcome to Support letter or email with a 12-digit service agreement ID (SAID), which the customer adds to its HPE Account to access support and software updates.[6] Software warranty is 90 days from delivery: HPE warrants that its branded software materially conforms to its specifications and is free of malware at delivery, and the customer must notify non-conformance within 90 days.[1] HPE’s liability under the EULA is limited to the amount paid for the relevant software, while the Portfolio Terms limit it to the greater of USD 1,000,000 or the amount payable for the relevant order.[1][2]
Audits and compliance
Both documents contain an audit right. The EULA provides that HPE may audit compliance with the software licence terms; on reasonable notice it may conduct an audit during normal business hours with the auditor’s costs at HPE’s expense; if an audit reveals underpayments the customer pays them; and if underpayments exceed five percent the customer reimburses the auditor costs.[1] The Portfolio Terms contain the same structure and express the threshold as five percent of the contract price.[2] The EULA also allows HPE to ask the customer to certify in writing that it has complied with the termination obligations to destroy or return software.[1] For practical preparation, a customer should keep licence entitlement certificates and registered keys, the quotes that name the licensed unit, and records of server and socket counts that match the ALA metric. The documents reviewed do not describe the audit process, sampling or dispute procedure in more detail.
Out of scope
This article does not reproduce country-specific variants of the Portfolio Terms, the SaaS Terms (CTSAAS02), the Supplemental Data Sheet Terms for Support or the aaS terms, and it does not analyse limitation of liability, export control or governing-law clauses beyond noting that US claims under the Portfolio Terms are governed by California law.[2]