Processor and core licensing is the family of software license metrics that measure entitlement by the computing capacity on which a program is installed or runs, rather than by the people or devices that use it. The unit may be a whole processor chip, an occupied socket, a pair of sockets, an individual core, a virtual CPU, or a weighted capacity unit that converts cores into points. Because the count follows the hardware, a processor-licensed program can usually be accessed by any number of users: Oracle’s License Definitions and Rules, for example, allow Programs licensed on a processor basis to be accessed by internal users and by third-party users.[1]
No two publishers define the unit in the same way. Oracle multiplies cores by a factor from its Processor Core Factor Table; Microsoft counts physical cores subject to per-processor and per-server minimums; Broadcom counts every core, including BIOS-disabled cores, with a 16-core-per-processor floor; IBM converts cores into Processor Value Units using a published table. This article explains the model in general and then compares the definitions recorded in the LICENSEWARE Wiki catalog, each linked to its vendor document.
History
The dated documents in the catalog show the family moving from chips to cores, and from single counts to weighted counts. Oracle’s Processor Core Factor Table carries an effective date of 16 March 2009 and a statement of change that runs to its 28 January 2026 update, when new Intel Xeon and AMD EPYC entries were added at a factor of 0.5.[2] Microsoft once applied a SQL Server Core Factor Table as well, but its licensing guidance states that the table “is no longer used” for SQL Server 2016 and later versions; only earlier versions multiply physical cores by a core factor.[3]
IBM kept weighting: its PVU tables are dated 08 May 2024 for x86 and 25 September 2024 for RISC and System z.[4] Broadcom’s 2026 VMware Specific Program Documentation (SPD) describes vSphere, VMware vSphere Foundation and VMware Cloud Foundation as subscription software on a per-core metric.[5] Older chip- and socket-based units survive alongside these: Oracle still defines a CPU metric that counts each chip as one regardless of cores,[1] and Red Hat Enterprise Linux is still sold by the Socket-pair.[6]
Scope and definitions
The words processor, CPU, socket and core mean different things in different contracts. The catalog records at least five distinct bases:
- Chip or processor as a whole. Oracle’s CPU metric is “a chip that contains a collection of one or more cores”; each chip counts as 1 CPU.[1]
- Occupied socket. For Oracle programs with Standard Edition 2 in the name, “a processor is counted equivalent to an occupied socket”; each chip in a multi-chip module counts as one socket.[1] Citrix Hypervisor per-socket licenses are “consumed based on the number of CPU sockets. Cores are not counted.”[7]
- Socket-pair. Red Hat defines a Socket-pair as “up to two Sockets”; a one-socket server still needs a full Socket-pair.[6]
- Physical core. Broadcom defines a Core as “a single physical computational unit of the Processor.”[5] Microsoft counts Physical Cores on the Licensed Server.[8]
- Physical or virtual core. SAP’s Cores metric counts every physical or virtual core that runs at least part of the software, including cores assigned temporarily for peak processing.[9] Red Hat’s Core covers a physical core or a virtual core in a VM or container.[6]
A sixth basis converts one of these into points. IBM’s Processor Value Unit (PVU) depends 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,” where each core on a chip counts as a processor.[10]
How it works
Most processor and core metrics are counted in the same general order: identify the physical host, count the vendor’s unit on it, apply any weighting factor, round, and then compare the result with the minimum. The order matters because rounding and minimums are applied at different points by different vendors.
Per-processor with core factors
Oracle’s Processor metric is the best-known weighted model. The number of licenses is “the total number of cores of the processor” multiplied by the factor in the Oracle Processor Core Factor Table; cores on all multicore chips are added together before multiplying, and fractions are rounded up to the next whole number.[1] The table sets 0.5 for the Intel Xeon and AMD EPYC families it names, 0.25 for Ampere Altra, AltraMax and AmpereOne, 1.0 for IBM POWER6 through POWER10 and IBM Z, and 1.0 for “All Other Multicore chips.”[2] The factor does not apply to Standard Edition 2, which is counted by occupied socket, or to the CPU and Socket metrics.[1]
Per-core with minimums
Microsoft and Broadcom count cores one for one, then apply a minimum. For SQL Server under the Per Core License Model, the licenses required equal the Physical Cores on the server, “subject to a minimum of four Licenses per Physical Processor.”[8] Windows Server Standard and Datacenter under Per Core/CAL require “a minimum of 8 Licenses per Physical Processor and a minimum of 16 Licenses per Server.”[11] Broadcom requires 16 Core licenses per Processor for VMware Cloud Foundation, vSphere Foundation and standalone vSphere,[5] and 8 per Processor for VMware Cloud Foundation Edge.[12] Broadcom also states that every core on the server must be licensed, “including Cores deactivated by the BIOS.”[5]
Capacity units
IBM’s Passport Advantage metrics add a conversion step. Under PVU licensing, the count of activated processor cores is multiplied by PVUs per core from IBM’s tables; IBM’s printed buckets include 70, 100 and 120 PVUs per core for post-Nehalem Intel Xeon on servers with a maximum of 2, 4 or more than 4 sockets, 70 for AMD EPYC, and 100 for “Any / All others.”[4] The Virtual Processor Core (VPC) metric counts cores without a table: IBM states that 1 VPC equals 1 virtual CPU.[13] Resource Value Units (RVUs) are program-specific and “may not be exchanged, interchanged, or aggregated” with another program’s RVUs.[13] IBM’s minimum is “the appropriate number of license entitlements for one processor core,” and fractional PowerVM cores are aggregated and rounded up at the server level.[14]
Threads, vCPUs and core pairs
Where software runs on virtual CPUs, vendors state how threads map to cores. Red Hat’s Product Appendix 1 says that, for the subscriptions in its Exhibit 1.B, one Core “is equivalent to two (2) vCPUs with hyper-threading active.”[6] Its OpenShift subscription guide defines a Core-pair as 2 physical cores or 4 vCPUs; on bare metal it always counts physical cores regardless of hyperthreading.[15] IBM takes the opposite position for traditional sub-capacity: “SMT/hyperthreading ratios are not adjusted for.”[16] Microsoft requires, under licensing by Individual Virtual OSE, a license for each Hardware Thread if any Virtual Core is mapped to more than one.[8]
Vendor comparison
The table lists the processor, socket and core metrics in the catalog. The definition column summarizes the vendor text; follow the link for the full row and its source.
| Vendor | Metric (vendor name) | Counting basis | Floor / minimum | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle | Processor | Cores × core factor, aggregated, rounded up[1] | None stated for Database EE Processor | 2024-06-15 |
| Oracle | Standard Edition 2 Processor | Occupied socket; server maximum 2 sockets; 16 CPU threads per database[1] | 10 NUP per server (when NUP is bought) | 2024-06-15 |
| Oracle | CPU | Each chip = 1 CPU, no core factor[1] | None stated | 2024-06-15 |
| Oracle | Socket | Each occupied socket (VirtualBox Enterprise)[1] | None in the booklet | 2024-06-15 |
| Microsoft | Per Core (SQL Server) | Physical Cores, or Virtual Cores per Virtual OSE[8] | 4 per physical processor; 4 per Virtual OSE | 2026-08-10 |
| Microsoft | Per Core/CAL (Windows Server) | Physical Cores plus CALs for access[11] | 8 per processor; 16 per server; 8 per Virtual OSE | 2026-08-10 |
| Broadcom | per Core (VCF, VVF, vSphere) | Every core incl. BIOS-disabled[5] | 16 per processor | 2026-06-19 |
| Broadcom | per Core (VCF Edge) | Every core at an Edge Location[17] | 8 per processor; 256 cores per Edge Location maximum | 2026-05-29 |
| IBM | Processor Value Unit (PVU) | Activated cores × PVUs per core[10] | One whole core | 2024-09-25 |
| IBM | Virtual Processor Core (VPC) | 1 VPC = 1 vCPU[13] | One whole core | 2022-05-10 |
| SAP | Cores | Physical or virtual cores running the software[9] | Integer count only | 2026-04-20 |
| Red Hat | Socket-pair | Up to two occupied sockets, stackable[6] | One Socket-pair per system | 2026-02-01 |
| Red Hat | Core-pair (OpenShift) | 2 physical cores or 4 vCPUs[15] | One Core-pair | 2026-01-01 |
| Citrix | Per socket (Citrix Hypervisor) | CPU sockets; cores not counted[7] | None stated | 2026-08-05 |
The rules that turn these metrics into license counts are catalogued separately:
| Vendor | Rule | Kind | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oracle | Processor Core Factor | Counting | 2024-06-15 |
| Microsoft | SQL Server Per Core floor | Floor / minimum | 2026-08-10 |
| Microsoft | Windows Server physical core floor | Floor / minimum | 2026-08-10 |
| Microsoft | SQL Server Core Factor not used (2016+) | Restriction | 2026-08-31 |
| Broadcom | 16 Cores per Processor floor | Floor / minimum | 2026-06-19 |
| Broadcom | VCF Edge 8 Cores per Processor floor | Floor / minimum | 2026-06-19 |
| Broadcom | BIOS-deactivated Cores must be licensed | Counting | 2026-06-19 |
| IBM | PVU table application (not a reprint of every CPU) | Counting | 2024-09-25 |
| IBM | Minimum one whole processor core | Floor / minimum | 2026-08-31 |
| IBM | Sub-capacity — no SMT/hyperthread adjustment | Counting | 2026-08-31 |
| Red Hat | Exhibit 1.B — 1 Core = 2 vCPUs (hyper-threading) | Counting | 2026-02-01 |
| Red Hat | Socket-pair stacking / cannot split across systems | Restriction | 2025-11-04 |
| Citrix | Per socket counting (Citrix Hypervisor) | Counting | 2026-08-05 |
Illustrative comparison
The following arithmetic is commentary, not a vendor statement. It applies the cited rules to two hypothetical two-socket servers built on an Intel Xeon family that the Oracle table lists at 0.5.
| Server | Oracle Processor | Windows Server (per core) | SQL Server (Per Core) | VMware Cloud Foundation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 × 16 cores (32 cores) | 32 × 0.5 = 16 | 32 | 32 | 32 |
| 2 × 8 cores (16 cores) | 16 × 0.5 = 8 | 16 (8 per processor, 16 per server) | 16 | 32 (16 per processor) |
The second row shows why minimums matter on small hosts: Broadcom’s per-processor floor doubles the count, while Oracle’s factor halves it. On a four-socket server, IBM’s PVU bucket for the same Xeon family would rise from 70 to 100 PVUs per core.[4]
Relationship to other license models
Processor metrics set the floor for some user metrics. Oracle requires 25 Named Users Plus per Processor for Oracle Database Enterprise Edition, so the processor count computed above also fixes the minimum user count; see Named user licensing.[1] Microsoft pairs its Windows Server core licenses with Client Access Licenses for access, a combination described in Concurrent and device licensing.[11]
Core counting also changes when software is virtualized. IBM lets eligible products license the lower of virtual and physical cores only under its sub-capacity rules, and Oracle recognizes only listed hard-partitioning technologies as a way to limit processor counts. These overlays are covered in Virtualization and partitioning. In public clouds, vendors publish separate vCPU mappings; see Cloud BYOL and authorized cloud environments. Oracle’s own core factor table, for example, states that on the x86 platform one Processor license covers two OCPUs in Oracle Cloud.[2]
Criticism and challenges
The vendor documents themselves show where processor counting is hard to apply:
- Conflicting socket definitions. Citrix’s License types page counts populated sockets, while its Product specific terms state that under the CPU Socket model licenses must be bought for all CPU sockets “regardless of whether the socket contains a CPU.”[7] The catalog records the conflict without resolving it.
- Disabled cores. Broadcom counts BIOS-deactivated cores.[5] Microsoft’s OEM terms exempt cores disabled by the manufacturer, but the exemption does not reduce the 16 and 8 minimums.[11]
- Peaks, not averages. IBM states that its terms “do not allow for averaging processor core capacity or temporary spikes in workload”; the peak is the count.[16]
- Tables change. Oracle’s factor table has been revised repeatedly since 2009, and IBM’s PVU table is applied by processor model, so a hardware refresh can change the count without any change in use.[2][4]
Out of scope
This article does not cover hardware asset management, processor performance benchmarks, or list prices. Mainframe capacity metrics and IBM container licensing details are summarized only where they touch core counting. Vendor-specific procedures are on the vendor articles, such as Oracle Database licensing, Windows Server licensing, SQL Server licensing and VMware vSphere and VMware Cloud Foundation licensing.