Major Update for VMware Customers: minimum purchase requirement of 72 cores per product

If you’re managing VMware licenses, this development demands your immediate attention.

Starting April 10, 2025, VMware customers will face significant licensing changes following Broadcom’s updated policies. The update introduces a minimum purchase requirement of 72 cores per product, not a per-CPU licensing requirement of 72 cores as initially reported.

What’s Changing?

• Per-CPU Licensing Rule Remains: Each processor must still be licensed for a minimum of 16 cores. This rule has not changed.
• New Minimum Purchase Requirement: VMware customers must now purchase a minimum of 72 cores per product. This is a licensing purchase threshold, not a technical or per-CPU requirement.
• Product-Specific Core Counts: You cannot combine core counts across different products to meet the 72-core minimum. For example, 40 cores of VCF and 32 of VVF do not count as 72. You need 72 cores of each.
• No Change in Per-CPU Minimum: Even with the 72-core purchase minimum, you still must license each CPU for at least 16 cores.
• Late Renewals Penalty: If your license renewal is not completed on time, you’ll pay 20% more than the list price. For comparison, Microsoft’s similar policy only adds a 3% penalty.

What This Means for You

This change primarily impacts smaller environments or customers with low core requirements. If your total VMware usage doesn’t meet the 72-core threshold per product, you’ll still need to license for 72 cores, potentially leading to over-provisioning and higher costs.

Next Steps

• Assess Your Environment: Understand your current core usage per VMware product.
• Plan Purchases Wisely: Factor in the new 72-core minimum when budgeting and forecasting.
• Stay Compliant: Make sure renewals happen on time to avoid the 20% penalty.

For those managing VMware licensing, especially in smaller environments, these updates are critical to understand.

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🤙🏻 Need assistance navigating this change? Contact us, we’ve supported numerous enterprises in minimizing audit risks and optimizing VMware licensing on a large scale.