As the technology landscape continues to evolve, staying informed and adaptable is crucial. Recently, the VMware by Broadcom acquisition has brought about significant changes impacting their licensing models and overall operations. To help our valued customers navigate these changes, we planned a webinar titled “Spilling the Beans on VMware & Broadcom” to provide insights and answer any questions.
However, due to the evolving situation, we have made the decision to cancel the webinar originally scheduled for June 11th, 2024. This decision allows us to gather more comprehensive information, ensuring a more informative and productive session for all participants. Rest assured, the event will be rescheduled, and we will keep you informed about the new date.
In the meantime, we have compiled some essential information and FAQs to keep you updated on what we currently know. Below is a summary of the updates along with answers to some of the most common questions we have received.
What We Know (Updated June 6, 2024)
As many of you are aware, VMware was acquired by Broadcom in late 2023, leading to significant shifts from perpetual licensing to a subscription-based model. Here are key points to understand:
Licensing and Support
- Support for Perpetual Contracts: Existing perpetual contracts will continue to be supported until the end of their term. Even those that expired during the Broadcom transition will receive continued support.
- Subscription-Based Licensing: All new licenses are subscription-based, available in 1, 3, or 5-year terms. The cost is determined by a price per physical core on processors in your VMware hosts, with a 16-core minimum per CPU socket. Longer-term subscriptions (3 and 5 years) offer better pricing per core.
- Discontinuation of Free Edition: VMware Free edition is no longer available; all VMware hypervisor hosts will now require a subscription license.
- Inclusion of VCenter: VCenter does not require a separate license anymore; it is included in your subscription.
Subscription Offerings
- Essentials Plus: Cheapest cost per core, sold in a 96-core kit.
- Standard: Standard offering with essential features.
- Foundation: Equivalent to Enterprise Plus.
- Cloud Foundation: Includes more VSAN licensing per core and other enterprise-level VMware products.
Impact on Enterprise Plus Users
Due to cost increases in licensing, some customers with Enterprise Plus level perpetual licenses are considering switching to Standard, which may reduce available features such as DRS and Distributed Switching.
Hardware Considerations
- Licensing Costs and Hardware Refresh: Since licensing costs are based on physical cores, careful planning is required when refreshing hardware. Processor configurations can significantly impact costs for both Microsoft and VMware.
- Evaluating Alternatives: Some customers are exploring alternatives to VMware. This evaluation is best done during hardware updates or purchases. Bear in mind that migrating to a new solution could affect other aspects of your environment, including backup solutions, disaster recovery, infrastructure usage, hardware integrations, and compatibility.
High Point Networks is ready to assist in evaluating your environment and suggesting suitable alternatives, ensuring a seamless transition if you decide to change your hypervisor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What happens to my perpetual contracts?
A: Perpetual contracts will continue to be supported until the end of the contract term, including those that expired during Broadcom’s transition.
Q: When will quote requests from Broadcom be operational?
A: Quote requests from Broadcom are expected to be fully operational by June 15th, 2024.
Q: What is the cost structure for new licenses?
A: New licenses are subscription-based, with costs determined by a price per physical core on processors in your VMware hosts, with a 16-core minimum per CPU socket. Better pricing is available for 3 and 5-year terms.
Q: Is VMware Free edition still available?
A: No, the VMware Free edition is no longer available. All VMware hypervisor hosts will require a subscription license.
Q: What does the subscription include?
A: All subscription offerings include VCenter, High Availability, and VMotion.
Q: How will hardware refreshes affect my licensing costs?
A: Licensing costs are based on physical cores, so hardware refreshes should be carefully planned. HPN can evaluate your environment to provide trending metrics and data to assist in making informed decisions.
Q: What alternatives are available if I want to switch from VMware?
A: There are several alternatives to VMware, but switching can be complex. HPN can help evaluate your environment and determine the best solution, considering factors like backup solutions, disaster recovery, hardware integrations, and overall compatibility.
Engage with Us
We value your participation and interest in our webinars, and we appreciate your understanding during this time of transition. To stay informed, we encourage you to sign up to receive updates via email by filling out the form below, making sure the sign up box is checked.
Thank you for your continued partnership with High Point Networks. We look forward to providing a more comprehensive and valuable webinar experience soon. Stay tuned for the rescheduled webinar date!
