In VMware Aria Operations for Networks, Advanced, Enterprise, and Universal licenses are calculated using either core or socket entitlements as the unit of measure.

In Per Core license usage calculation, the number of licenses you need is determined by the number of CPU cores. For a calculation example, see KB-89116.

In Socket-based license usage calculation, the number of licenses you need is determined by the number of CPU sockets.

Note:

You cannot combine Per Core licenses with Socket-based (CPU) licenses for VMware Aria Operations for Networks. When you add a Per Core license for the first time in the VMware Aria Operations for Networks user interface, all your existing Socket-based licenses will be replaced with Per Core licenses.

To switch to a Socket-based license, you must raise a support request.

Per Core License Usage Calculation

The minimum purchase unit is 16 cores per processor.

The Per Core license usage is calculated based on the following ratio:

Object Description License Calculation
VMware vSphere

Each core in a processor (CPU) requires a Per Core license.

Any processor with less than 16 cores also requires 16 Per Core licenses.

 Minimum purchase unit is 16 cores per processor.

Calculate the license count using:

Math.max(CPU cores,16)
VMware Cloud on AWS

The total number of VMware Cloud (VMC) hosts.

Each core in a host processor requires one Per Core license. If a host has 2 CPUs and each CPU has 8 cores, then the host requires a total of 32 Per Core licenses.

 Calculate the license count using:

Math.max(CPU cores,16)
Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure vCPUs Total number of vCPUs in Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure instances.

1 vCPU = 1 Per Core license.

There is no minimum limit on the number of vCPUs.
Network devices

Total number of network devices discovered by VMware Aria Operations for Networks. **

Each network device requires 16 Per Core licenses. If you want to cover more network devices, then you need to add additional 16 core licenses for each network device.

For example, if you have an Advanced, Enterprise, or Universal license of 100 core count, you can add up to six network devices (100 divided by 16). You can purchase more core licenses to cover additional network devices as needed at 16 core licenses for every network device.

1 network device = 16 Per Core licenses.

Socket-based License Usage Calculation

Socket-based license usage is calculated based on the following ratio:

Object Description License Calculation
VMware vSpheres

One software license is used on a processor (CPU) with up to 32 CPU cores.

If the processor has more than 32 CPU cores, one additional software license is required for every 32 CPU cores in the processor.

Calculate the license count using:

Math.ceil((CPU cores / CPU sockets) * (1/32)) * (CPU sockets)
VMware Cloud on AWS Total number of VMware Cloud (VMC) hosts.

One VMC host requires two Socket-based licenses.

 Total number of VMware Cloud (VMC) hosts divided by 0.5.

For example, if you had 10 VMC hosts, then you calculate the license requirement as:

10 / 0.5 = 20 licenses (CPU)
Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure vCPUs Total number of vCPUs in AWS or Azure instances. Total number of vCPUs in Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure instances divided by18.

For example, if you have 180 vCPUs in your Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure instances, then you calculate the license requirement as:

180 / 18 = 10 licenses (CPU).
Network devices

Total number of network devices discovered. **

Each network device requires one socket license. Therefore, if you have an Advanced, Enterprise, or Universal license for 100 sockets count, then you can add up to 100 network devices.

 1 network device = 1 Socket-based license.
Note:

  • ** Network devices are added as data sources in VMware Aria Operations for Networks, or discovered attached to added data sources. For example, a Cisco UCS network fabric added as a data source in VMware Aria Operations for Networks can have many fabric interconnects attached to it. Each fabric interconnect is counted as a network device.

    When you add a data source in VMware Aria Operations for Networks, the license usage is calculated based on the number of network devices attached to the data source. For example, if a Cisco ACI has eight leaf-spine switches, then the number of Socket-based licenses required is eight, and the number of Per Core licenses required is 128 (8 network devices * 16 cores per network device = 128 cores).

  • VMware Aria Operations for Networks also considers deactivated data sources during the calculation of license usage. Delete these data sources if you do not want them to be counted.
  • The VMware SD-WAN license key has the unit of measure as 'Edges'. Different VMware SD-WAN license types exist for different bandwidth of edges. You must use the VMware SD-WAN license key that meets the bandwidth of your setup.
VMware follows an honor system for VMware Aria Operations for Networks licensing for on-premises platform deployments. If you violate the license count, you see a warning message on the user interface, but you are not restricted from using the available features.
Note: The Universal solution tracks usage and charges overage fees.

You see the license warning messages on the UI in the following scenarios:

Scenario Action

You have exceeded the license usage.

Add additional licenses to support your requirements.

You have added both Advanced and Enterprise licenses. Or, upgraded from the Advanced edition to the Enterprise edition.

Delete the Advanced license manually by navigating to the Settings > License and Usage page.

Ensure that you have sufficient number of Enterprise licenses to use the Enterprise features.