SUSE licensing is the set of terms under which SUSE provides its enterprise Linux, cloud native, edge and AI software. The code of SUSE Products is distributed under the EULA and the open source licences of its components. What SUSE sells is a Subscription, which the SUSE Subscription Terms define as “a time-bound right to receive Technical Support Services, Updates and Upgrades for a SUSE Product”.[1] Subscriptions are counted in Units of the “Unit of Measure” that the Product Appendices set for each SUSE Offering.[1][2]
The binding documents rank in this order: the Transaction Document, any Appendix to the Subscription Terms, the Subscription Terms, the Product Appendices, and the EULA.[1] For a software asset manager, SUSE compliance is a coverage question: every installation and deployment of a SUSE Product must be covered by enough Subscriptions in the right Unit, product and platform. The counting detail is in SUSE Linux Enterprise and Rancher Prime subscriptions; this page summarises the whole landscape and links to it.
Editions
The Product Appendices open with a Matrix of SUSE Products listing each Offering, its Unit of Measure, whether it is Stackable, and the appendix with its rules.[2] The main families:
| Family | Main offerings | Unit of Measure | Appendix |
|---|---|---|---|
| SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) | x86-64, Arm, POWER, z Systems and LinuxONE; with or without Live Patching | 1-2 Sockets or 1-2 Virtual Machines; 1-2 Sockets with Unlimited Virtual Machines; per IFL; groups of 4 Arm Cores | A |
| SLES for SAP Applications | x86-64 and POWER | 1-2 Sockets with Unlimited Virtual Machines | A |
| SLE extensions | High Availability, Geo Clustering | High Availability: same Unit as the underlying SLES; Geo Clustering: separate Subscriptions | B |
| Lifecycle extensions | Long Term Service Pack Support (LTSS), LTSS Extreme Core | Per Code Stream, per IFL | J |
| SLE High Performance Computing | SLE HPC, SLE HPC ESPOS (x86-64, AArch64) | 1-2 Sockets or 1-2 Virtual Machine per Physical Server | K |
| SUSE Linux Micro | x86-64 and AArch64 | 1-16 Virtual Cores | L |
| SUSE Rancher Prime | Rancher Prime, add-ons (Security, Storage, Virtualization, Observability Platform Optimization, Private Registry) | Cores and vCPUs (virtualized) or Sockets and Cores (bare metal) | M |
| SUSE AI | SUSE AI Add-On | Accelerator | O |
All products with “SUSE Linux Enterprise” or “SLE” in their name count as one product for coverage, so owning SLES means SLES for SAP deployments must also be covered.[1] Some Matrix rows show former names in brackets, such as SUSE Security (formerly NeuVector) and SUSE Multi-Linux Support (formerly SUSE Liberty Linux).[2] The SUSE Shop sells SLES online in 1, 3 and 5 year terms with Standard support.[7]
Metrics
The catalog holds sixteen SUSE Units of Measure under SUSE’s own names. The most used are 1-2 Sockets or 1-2 Virtual Machines, 1-2 Sockets with Unlimited Virtual Machines, Physical only, 1-2 Sockets, 1 Virtual Machine, IFL, Socket Pair Equivalent, 1-16 Virtual Cores, Cores and vCPUs (Rancher Prime, Virtualized), Sockets and Cores (Rancher Prime, Bare Metal) and Accelerator. The full table, with where each applies, is in SUSE Linux Enterprise and Rancher Prime subscriptions.
Counting / floors
The core counting rules, from the Subscription Terms (July 2026) and Product Appendices (June 2026), summarised:
- Coverage. Enough Subscriptions must be bought to cover every installation and deployment, including variants and components. Paying a renewal is deemed a statement of the number of Units deployed.[1] Rule: Coverage requirement: every installation and deployment; SLE products counted as one.
- Over-deployment. Units deployed beyond those paid for must be reported and ordered within 30 days of first installation.[1] Rule: Over-deployment: report and order within 30 days.
- No mixing. A Subscription applies only to the exact product and platform bought, and 1-2 Virtual Machine and Unlimited Virtual Machine Subscriptions cannot be mixed on one Physical Server.[1] Rule: No mixing: exact product, platform and VM subscription type per Physical Server.
- Physical servers. 1-2 Socket Subscriptions stack to match or exceed the Socket count, cannot be split across servers, and odd counts round up.[2] Rule: Physical Servers: 1-2 Socket Subscriptions stack and cannot be split across servers.
- Rancher Prime. Every Core, vCPU or Socket running a Managed Instance needs a Subscription, and each add-on needs one Subscription per Rancher Prime Subscription held.[2] Rules: SUSE Rancher Prime: per Unit of Cores/vCPUs or Sockets/Cores for every Managed Instance, Rancher Prime add-ons (SUSE Security, formerly NeuVector, and others): one per Rancher Prime Subscription.
- SUSE AI. One Subscription per Accelerator in covered infrastructure, whether or not it runs AI workloads.[2] Rule: SUSE AI: one Subscription per Accelerator in covered infrastructure.
- Extensions and clusters. The High Availability Extension uses the same Unit as the SLES Subscription it extends. All nodes of an SLE HPC Cluster must be on the same Subscription level, and LTSS for one node means LTSS for every node.[2] Rules: SLE High Availability Extension: same Unit of Measure as SLES, benefits inherited, SLE HPC Cluster: every node on the same Subscription level; LTSS on one node means LTSS on all.
Evaluation Subscriptions last 60 days and Developer Subscriptions one year; neither may be used in production.[1] Rule: Evaluation (60 days) and Developer (1 year) Subscriptions: no production use.
Support and lifecycle
The level of Technical Support Services is fixed by the type of Subscription and the tier in the Transaction Document, as described in the Technical Support Handbook valid at purchase.[1] The Handbook describes Standard Entitlement as 12 hours a day, 5 days a week, and Priority Entitlement as 24x7, with shorter response targets for Severity 1 issues.[4][5] Rule: Support tier fixed by Subscription type and Transaction Document: Standard 12x5, Priority 24x7. Subscription Benefits are conditional on registering the Subscription and each system in the SUSE Customer Center (SCC) and on applying the most current Update or Service Pack.[1] Rule: Subscription Benefits require SCC registration and the most current Update or Service Pack.
SUSE states a thirteen-year product lifecycle for most products in the SUSE Linux Enterprise 12 and 15 releases.[3] Customers who stay on an older Service Pack buy lifecycle extensions:
- LTSS extends the lifecycle of a SLES Service Pack by up to three years without an upgrade.[3] Each LTSS Subscription needs a matching Current SLES, SLES for SAP or SLE HPC Subscription and SCC registration.[2] Rules: LTSS requires a matching Current underlying Subscription and SCC registration, LTSS 1-2 Sockets or 1-2 Virtual Machines per Code Stream: stack by Sockets, two VMs on the same Service Pack, not BYOS.
- ESPOS (Extended Service Pack Overlap Support) is bundled into SLES for SAP Applications. SLES for SAP 12 and higher Service Packs get 1.5 years of General Support plus 3 years of ESPOS, so LTSS is needed only for the final Service Pack of a release.[3][2] Rule: SLES for SAP Applications includes ESPOS; LTSS only after ESPOS for the final Service Pack.
- LTSS Core, LTSS Reactive and LTSS Extended Security are further variants. LTSS Core adds three years after standard LTSS for the last Service Pack of a family; LTSS Reactive does the same for earlier Service Packs, with fixes on request.[3] LTSS Extreme Core for SLES 11 SP4 covers only the kernel, openSSL and glibc, for deployments that existed at purchase.[2] Rule: LTSS Extreme Core for SLES 11 SP4: kernel, openSSL and glibc only, for deployments existing at purchase.
Audit and compliance
Section 17 of the Subscription Terms is SUSE’s verification clause. During the term and for two years afterwards, the customer must keep complete and accurate records of all copying and use of SUSE Products.[1] On SUSE’s written request, within 30 days, the customer must run a SUSE-designated tool on the relevant systems and hand over the unaltered report, and allow a SUSE representative or independent auditor to inspect the records, remotely or on site.[1] A shortfall is bought at full list price without discount plus 8% annual interest, and a shortfall of 5% or more also makes the customer pay SUSE’s reasonable verification costs.[1] Rule: Verification: 2-year records; shortfall at full list price plus 8% interest.
SUSE also collects technical usage data about installations and deployments of SUSE Products and SUSE-sponsored open source projects such as K3s and RKE2 (Section 16).[1] Use is limited to internal purposes on infrastructure the customer owns, leases or has managed for it. Subscriptions may not be resold or made available to third parties, but outsourced IT providers may use them to serve the customer.[1] Rule: Internal Use only; outsourced IT providers permitted.
Virtualization & partitioning
SLES has two virtualization models. A “1-2 Sockets or 1-2 Virtual Machines” Subscription covers either a 1-2 Socket server or up to two VMs. A “1-2 Sockets with Unlimited Virtual Machines” Subscription covers unlimited VMs per 1-2 Sockets, and must be bought for every Virtualization Host capable of running SUSE Products in the Virtualization Environment.[2] Rules: Low-density virtualization: 2 VMs per 1-2 Sockets or 1-2 VMs Subscription, High-density virtualization: Unlimited VMs per 1-2 Sockets on every capable host. SAP workloads on KVM hosts need SLES for SAP with Unlimited Virtual Machines.[2] Rule: SAP workloads on KVM hosts require SLES for SAP 1-2 Sockets with Unlimited VMs. IBM Power servers may use Sub-Capacity counting in Socket Pair Equivalents, and z Systems are counted per IFL.[2] Rules: IBM Power Sub-Capacity: Socket Pair Equivalent with rounding up, IBM z Systems and LinuxONE: per IFL, unlimited instances per IFL. A Physical Server is one physical system regardless of software partitioning.[1] Subscriptions can be moved to new or different Physical Servers.[2] Rule: Subscriptions transfer to new or different Physical Servers. See Virtualization and partitioning.
Cloud / BYOL
SUSE’s portability program is Bring Your Own Subscription (BYOS). SUSE Products may run in the SUSE-certified public clouds listed on SUSE’s Eligible Public Clouds page, after the Subscription is registered in SCC and the customer consents to the cloud vendor reporting usage to SUSE.[1] SUSE’s BYOS page names AWS, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud.[6] “Physical only” and “1 Virtual Machine” Subscriptions are not eligible, and LTSS 1-2 Socket or 1-2 Virtual Machine Subscriptions are not eligible either.[2] Rules: BYOS to Eligible Public Clouds: register in SCC and consent to reporting, LTSS 1-2 Sockets or 1-2 Virtual Machines per Code Stream: stack by Sockets, two VMs on the same Service Pack, not BYOS. SUSE may remove a cloud vendor from the list on 60 days’ notice.[1] Rule: Removal of an Eligible Public Cloud vendor on 60 days notice. Purchases on the AWS, Azure, Google Cloud or Oracle marketplaces fall under the Marketplace Terms in Appendix 1 of the Subscription Terms.[1] See Cloud BYOL.
Programs
- SUSE Subscription. Each Offering has a fixed term set by the Transaction Document and renews automatically for the same length unless either party gives notice at least 90 days before renewal. Renewal fees use SUSE’s then-current price list less the original percentage discount.[1] Rule: Automatic renewal unless 90 days notice; renewal priced from then-current list.
- Integrated Use. Available only where the Transaction Document grants it, for an Integrated Solution that adds a material value-added application and restricts users’ access to the SUSE Product. The partner remains responsible for open source licence compliance and for supporting its own customers.[1]
- BYOS and Marketplace. See Cloud / BYOL.
Recent licensing changes
- Subscription Terms, July 2026. Each renewal or new purchase is governed by the then-current version of the Subscription Terms.[1] The July 2026 version includes a section on SUSE AI Products, which it describes as infrastructure management software that is “not themselves AI”.[1]
- Product Appendices, June 2026. The current Matrix uses new names for several products, including SUSE Security (formerly NeuVector), SUSE Storage (formerly Longhorn), SUSE Virtualization (formerly Harvester) and SUSE Multi-Linux Support (formerly SUSE Liberty Linux). SUSE states that the name change does not affect entitlement to support under Offerings bought under the previous name.[2]
- Live Patching variants, 2021-07-01. From that date the Live Patching variants replaced the plain 1-2 Sockets with Unlimited Virtual Machines Subscriptions for SLES and SLES for SAP on x86-64 and Power.[2]
Guides
The articles on SUSE licensing, in reading order:
- SUSE Linux Enterprise and Rancher Prime subscriptions: Units of Measure, coverage and no-mixing rules, low and high density virtualization, IBM Power and z Systems, Arm, SUSE Linux Micro, Rancher Prime, SUSE AI and BYOS.
- SLES for SAP Applications licensing: what a SLES for SAP Subscription may run, the SAP-on-KVM host rule, IBM Power Socket Pair Equivalents, BYOS limits, ESPOS and LTSS, and SUSE Rancher for SAP Applications.
Out of scope
- SUSE Shop list prices and part numbers. Shop prices are geolocated, and the Product Appendices publish no part numbers.
- SUSE SaaS offerings, third-party Vendor Software and professional services, which have their own terms.
- openSUSE and other community projects.