WH I T E P A P E R – July 2022

VMware vSphere & VMware vSphere+

Compute Virtualization
Licensing, pricing, and packaging
VMware vSphere Compute Virtualization

Table of contents
Executive summary 3

VMware vSphere overview 3

Licensing overview 3

vSphere 8 licensing: Per processor ................................................................................. 3

vSphere 8 licensing: Per core .......................................................................................... 3

License management ...................................................................................................... 3

Decentralized licensing option ......................................................................................... 4

Packaging overview 5

vSphere main editions ..................................................................................................... 5

vSphere+ ......................................................................................................................... 5

VMware vSphere Hypervisor ......................................................................................... 12

VMware vSphere Desktop ............................................................................................. 12

VMware vSphere Acceleration Kits ............................................................................... 12

VMware vSphere Essentials Kits ................................................................................... 12

VMware vSphere Remote Office Branch Office ............................................................. 13

VMware vSphere Scale-Out................................................................................................. 16

vCenter Server editions ....................................................................................................... 18

Version upgrade entitlements for existing customers 19

Paid edition upgrades 19

WH I T E P A P E R | 2
VMware vSphere Compute Virtualization

Executive summary
This guide provides an overview of the licensing, pricing and packaging for VMware
vSphereTM. The key topics discussed in this guide include:

• VMware vSphere overview

• Licensing overview – Licensing metric and management
• Packaging overview – Packaging options for editions (including VMware vCenter
Server®), kits, vSphere, Bitfusion
• Version upgrade entitlements for existing customers
• Paid edition upgrades from vSphere 8
• vSphere Platinum end of availability

VMware vSphere overview

VMware vSphere is the leading server virtualization platform with the best foundation
for your applications, your cloud and your business.

vSphere helps you get the best performance, availability and efficiency from
your infrastructure and applications. It is the essential building block for modern
cloud infrastructure.

Licensing overview
vSphere 8 licensing: Per processor / Per Core, Per Year
vSphere 8 is licensed on a per-processor basis apply to select editions:
vSphere Standard, vSphere Enterprise Plus, vSphere Acceleration Kits,
vSphere Essential Kits, and vSphere Scale Out. Each physical processor
(CPU) in a server needs to have at least one processor license key assigned to
be able to run vSphere. Also includes per core term licenses for vSphere
Standard and Enterprise Plus w/ Tanzu Standard Runtime

Each per-processor license will cover CPUs with up to 32 physical cores. If the CPU has
more than 32 cores, additional CPU licenses are required. For more information, please
refer to the VMware Product Guide or visit Update to VMware’s per-CPU Pricing Model
([Link]
[Link])

Each per-core license will require a minimum of 16 cores / CPU.

No limit on the number of virtual machines

There are no restrictions on the number of virtual machines (VMs) that can run on each
properly licensed vSphere 8 processor.

vSphere for virtual desktop deployments

VMware vSphere Desktop is specifically designed for licensing vSphere when used to
run virtual desktops. It can only be used as a virtualization platform for virtual desktop
infrastructure (VDI) deployments with either VMware Horizon ® View™ or third-party
connection brokers. For more details, see the Packaging overview section.

License management
vSphere 8 licenses are simple license keys (25-character alphanumeric strings) that
contain encrypted information about the vSphere edition or kit purchased and the
processor quantity. These license keys do not contain any server-specific information
and are not tied to a specific piece of hardware. This means the same license key can be
assigned to multiple vSphere hosts as long as the number of licenses required for
physical processor units on those hosts does not exceed the encoded license quantity

WH I T E P A P E R | 3
VMware vSphere Compute Virtualization

in the license key. To calculate the number of licenses required, consider each per-
processor license includes licensing for up to 32 physical cores in each CPU. If using
per core term licenses, calculate number of cores per CPU. (Requires minimum of 16
cores / CPU for per core licensing)

Centralized licensing with no single point of failure

vCenter Server is the recommended interface for license assignment to vSphere hosts.
When a license key is assigned by vCenter Server, it is copied to the host and saved in
a persistent format. If the host becomes disconnected from vCenter Server, the license
key remains active on the host indefinitely, even after a host reboot. Only a deliberate
licensing operation by the user can remove or replace a host license key.

Decentralized licensing option

VMware recommends that customers assign all vSphere licenses centrally through
vCenter Server however, vSphere customers have the option to assign their license keys
directly to individual hosts. There is no difference between directly and centrally assigned
license keys. When a vSphere host is added to the vCenter Server inventory, any license
key already on the host will become available for management, reporting and assignment
in vCenter Server, just like any license key added directly via vCenter Server. For more
information on licensing, visit the VMware Licensing Help Center.
([Link]

Packaging overview
VMware offers several packaging options designed to meet customers’ specific
requirements for scalability, size of environment and use cases.

vSphere main editions

VMware vSphere+
vSphere+ is the multi-cloud workload platform that brings the benefits of cloud to on-
premises workloads. vSphere+ combines industry-leading virtualization technology, an
enterprise-ready Kubernetes environment, and high-value cloud services to transform
existing on-prem deployments into SaaS-enabled infrastructure that centralizes
management, supercharges productivity, and accelerates innovation. With vSpher e+,
IT admins and developers can easily build, run, manage, protect, and secure their
traditional and next-gen applications. vSphere+ can be purchased through a flexible
subscription plan that better aligns with the business.

vSphere perpetual editions

Customers can choose from two editions: VMware vSphere Standard Edition ™ and
vSphere Enterprise Plus (see Table 1). A support and subscription (SnS) contract is
required for every edition purchased.

vSphere Standard provides an entry-level solution for basic server consolidation to

slash hardware costs while accelerating application deployment.

vSphere Enterprise Plus offers the full range of vSphere features for transforming
data centers into dramatically simplified cloud infrastructures, and for running modern
applications with the next generation of flexible, reliable IT services.

For information on local currency prices for vSphere editions, visit the vSphere
product page ([Link]

WH I T E P A P E R | 4
VMware vSphere Compute Virtualization

vSphere+
FEATURES

vSphere Hypervisor – Provides a robust, production-proven, high-performance virtualization layer •

vSphere vMotion® – Allows live migration of VMs from one ESXi host server to another with no •
disruption to users or loss of service.

vSphere Storage vMotion – Allows movement of VM files from one data storage location to another with no •
disruption to users or loss of service, for example from a local data store to a shared data store.

Cross-vSwitch vMotion – Allows live migration of VMs from one ESXi host server to another, where •
the hosts exist across different virtual switches.

Cross-vSwitch vMotion – Allows cold migration of VMs from one ESXi host server to another, where •
the hosts exist across different virtual switches.

VMware vCenter® Hybrid Linked Mode – Enables unified visibility and management across on- premises vCenter
vCenter and vCenter on a cloud enabled with vSphere, such as VMware Cloud ™ on AWS Server
Standard
vSphere Virtual Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP) – Enables VMs to have multiple virtual CPUs •

vSphere High Availability (HA) – Automatically restarts your VMs following physical machine failure •

vSphere Fault Tolerance – Provides continuous availability of any application in the event of a 8-vCPU
hardware failure with no data loss or downtime; for workloads up to 8-vCPU

VMware vShield Endpoint™ – Secures VMs with offloaded anti-virus and anti-malware solutions, •
without the need for agents inside the VM

vSphere Replication ™ – Enables efficient, array-agnostic replication of VM data over the LAN or WAN, •
and simplifies management by enabling replication at the VM level

Support for 4K native storage – Enhances platform scalability by leveraging high-capacity drives; •
reduces CapEx

vSphere Quick Boot™ – Skips hardware initialization steps and dramatically reduces time required for •
patching and upgrades

vCenter High Availability – Provides native vCenter Server availability vCenter Server
Standard™

vCenter Backup and Restore – Provides native vCenter Server backup and restore vCenter Server
Standard™

vCenter Server Appliance ™ Migration – Provides single-step migration and upgrade of existing vCenter Server
Windows vCenter deployments to vCenter Server Appliance Standard™

TPM 2.0 support and virtual TPM – Supports TPM 2.0 hardware modules and adds a virtual TPM device to •
shield a guest OS from operator or in-guest attacks

FIPS 140-2 compliance and TLS 1.2 support – Provides default enhanced security compliance •

VM encryption – Provides data-at-rest encryption for VM data and disks •

Support for Microsoft virtualization-based security (VBS) – Supports Windows 10 and Windows 2016 •
security features, such as Credential Guard, on vSphere
Per-VM Enhanced vMotion Compatibility – Allows seamless migration across different CPUs across the •
hybrid cloud by persisting the Enhanced vMotion Compatibility mode per VM during migrations across
clusters and during power cycles

WH I T E P A P E R | 5
VMware vSphere Compute Virtualization

vSphere+
FEATURES
VMware Instant Clone – Reduces provisioning times, especially beneficial for VDI applications •

Identity federation with Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) – Provides secure access and •
account management

vSphere Trust Authority ™ – Provides remote attestation for sensitive workloads •

Content Library – Provides simple and effective centralized management for VM templates, virtual •
appliances, ISO images and scripts
APIs for storage awareness •

Storage APIs for array integration and multipathing – Improves performance, reliability and scalability •
by leveraging efficient array-based operations and third-party storage vendor multipath software
capabilities
vSphere Virtual Volumes™ – Virtualizes external storage (SAN and NAS) and provides VM-aware, •
policy-based storage management through vCenter

Storage policy-based management – Allows common management across storage tiers and dynamic •
storage class-of-service automation via a policy-driven control plane
Next-generation infrastructure image management – Manages infrastructure images to patch, update •
or upgrade VMware ESXi™ clusters using a desired state model

vSphere Distributed Switch ™ – Centralizes provisioning, administration and monitoring by using •

cluster-level network aggregation

Host Profiles and vSphere Auto Deploy ™ – Captures host-level configuration settings and saves •
them as a template to configure other vSphere hosts; monitors hosts for configuration changes
and automatically alerts vSphere administrators if a host falls out of compliance
vSphere Distributed Resource Scheduler ™ (DRS) and vSphere Distributed Power Management ™ •
(DPM) – Enables usage with business priorities by automatically load balancing across hosts;
optimizes power consumption by turning off hosts during periods of reduced demand

vSphere Storage DRS™ – Enables automated load balancing to look at storage characteristics to •
determine the best place for a given VM’s data when it is created and used over time

vSphere Network I/O Control and vSphere Storage I/O Control – Prioritizes storage and network •
access by continuously monitoring I/O load of a storage volume and over the network, and
dynamically allocating available I/O resources to VMs according to business needs
Single root I/O virtualization (SR-IOV) support – Allows one PCI Express (PCIe) adapter to be •
presented as multiple separate logical devices to VMs; allows users to offload I/O processing and
reduce network latency

vSphere Persistent Memory™ – Leverages persistent memory to provide DRAM-like performance with •
flash-like prices

NVIDIA GRID vGPU – Enables native 2D and 3D graphics performance for VMs; supports multiple •
vGPUs per VM

Predictive DRS – Feature that combines the analytics of vRealize Operations Manager with the •
logic of vSphere. This collaboration between products allows DRS to execute predictive moves
based on the predictive data sent by vRealize Operation
Accelerated graphics for VMs •

WH I T E P A P E R | 6
VMware vSphere Compute Virtualization

vSphere+
FEATURES
Dynamic vSphere DirectPath I/O ™ – Supports vGPU and vSphere DirectPath I/O initial VM •
placement

vCenter Server Profile – Provides desired-state configuration management capabilities for vCenter vCenter Server
Server; helps users to define/validate/apply configuration for multiple vCenters Standard

vCenter Server update planner – Manages the compatibility and interoperability for vCenter Server for
upgrade scenarios; allows users to generate an interoperability and pre-checks report, which helps
plan for upgrades •

vSphere Native Key Provider - A mechanism fully within vSphere to enable data-at-rest protections like
vSAN Encryption, VM Encryption, and vTPM out of the box, making it a lot easier for customers to take
advantage of these security features and improve overall security posture for VM environments. •

Lifecycle management service - Update vCenter instances with minimal impact. Reduced maintenance •
window makes it easier to schedule updates sooner, allowing more rapid access to new features. If
there is a problem, you can easily roll back the update. Address security vulnerabilities quickly.

Cloud Console - Enables IT administrators to consolidate management of all vSphere deployments

through a centralized cloud console. •

Global Inventory Service - Visualizes inventory of vSphere resources and capacity to quickly understand •
resource utilization across vSphere estate.

Event View Service - Consolidates view of events and alerts to quickly triage areas that need attention •
across your vSphere estate

Security Health Check Service - Evaluate the security posture of your entire vSphere infrastructure to •
identify security weaknesses or exposures.

VM Provisioning Service - Quickly create provision VMs from the VMware Cloud™ Console within any •
managed cluster.

Lifecycle Management Service - Simplifies the lifecycle management of vCenter instances with a single •
click. Reduces maintenance window making it easier to schedule updates sooner, allowing more rapid
access to new features.

Configuration Management Service - Standardizes and cascades vCenter configurations across vSphere •
estate. Detects and remediates vCenter configuration drifts automatically.

Tanzu Kubernetes Grid™ Service - The Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Service allows developers to manage •
consistent, compliant, and conformant Kubernetes clusters.

Tanzu Integrated Services - Streamlines the deployment and management of local and in-cluster platform •
services—like logging, monitoring, networking, and storage services—to easily configure and maintain a
production-ready Kubernetes environment.

Tanzu Mission Control™ Essentials - Provides global visibility across your entire Kubernetes footprint,and •
automates operational tasks such as lifecycle.

VMware vSphere® Distributed Services EngineTM – Install and update ESXi images simultaneously on •
DPU and CPU. Set alarms for hardware alerts and get performance metrics on core, memory and network
throughput, from vCenter. Accelerate vSphere Distributed Switch on the DPU.

vSphere Green Metrics - Get power consumed by workloads, infrastructure services and idling time, at the •
host level

WH I T E P A P E R | 7
 VMware vSphere Compute Virtualization

TABLE 1.0. vSphere+

WH I T E P A P E R | 8
VMware vSphere Compute Virtualization

vSPHERE
vSPHERE ENTERPRISE
FEATURES STANDARD PLUS

vSphere Hypervisor – Provides a robust, production-proven, high-performance virtualization layer • •

vSphere vMotion® – Allows live migration of VMs from one ESXi host server to another with no • •
disruption to users or loss of service.

vSphere Storage vMotion – Allows movement of VM files from one data storage location to another with no • •
disruption to users or loss of service, for example from a local data store to a shared data store.

Cross-vSwitch vMotion – Allows live migration of VMs from one ESXi host server to another, where •
the hosts exist across different virtual switches.

Cross-vSwitch vMotion – Allows cold migration of VMs from one ESXi host server to another, where • •
the hosts exist across different virtual switches.

VMware vCenter® Hybrid Linked Mode – Enables unified visibility and management across on- premises vCenter Server vCenter
vCenter and vCenter on a cloud enabled with vSphere, such as VMware Cloud ™ on AWS Standard™ Server
Standard
vSphere Virtual Symmetric Multiprocessing (SMP) – Enables VMs to have multiple virtual CPUs • •

vSphere High Availability (HA) – Automatically restarts your VMs following physical machine failure • •

vSphere Fault Tolerance – Provides continuous availability of any application in the event of a 2-vCPU 8-vCPU
hardware failure with no data loss or downtime; for workloads up to 8-vCPU

VMware vShield Endpoint™ – Secures VMs with offloaded anti-virus and anti-malware solutions, • •
without the need for agents inside the VM

vSphere Replication ™ – Enables efficient, array-agnostic replication of VM data over the LAN or • •
WAN, and simplifies management by enabling replication at the VM level

Support for 4K native storage – Enhances platform scalability by leveraging high-capacity drives; • •
reduces CapEx

vSphere Quick Boot™ – Skips hardware initialization steps and dramatically reduces time required for • •
patching and upgrades

vCenter High Availability – Provides native vCenter Server availability vCenter Server vCenter Server
Standard™ Standard™

vCenter Backup and Restore – Provides native vCenter Server backup and restore vCenter Server vCenter Server
Standard™ Standard™

vCenter Server Appliance ™ Migration – Provides single-step migration and upgrade of existing vCenter Server vCenter Server
Windows vCenter deployments to vCenter Server Appliance Standard™ Standard™

TPM 2.0 support and virtual TPM – Supports TPM 2.0 hardware modules and adds a virtual TPM device to • •
shield a guest OS from operator or in-guest attacks

FIPS 140-2 compliance and TLS 1.2 support – Provides default enhanced security compliance • •

VM encryption – Provides data-at-rest encryption for VM data and disks •

vSphere Green Metrics - Get power consumed by workloads, infrastructure services and idling time, at the • •
host level

WH I T E P A P E R | 9
VMware vSphere Compute Virtualization

vSPHERE
vSPHERE ENTERPRISE
FEATURES STANDARD PLUS

Support for Microsoft virtualization-based security (VBS) – Supports Windows 10 and Windows 2016 • •
security features, such as Credential Guard, on vSphere

Per-VM Enhanced vMotion Compatibility – Allows seamless migration across different CPUs across the • •
hybrid cloud by persisting the Enhanced vMotion Compatibility mode per VM during migrations across
clusters and during power cycles
VMware Instant Clone – Reduces provisioning times, especially beneficial for VDI applications • •

Identity federation with Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS) – Provides secure access and • •
account management

vSphere Trust Authority ™ – Provides remote attestation for sensitive workloads •

Content Library – Provides simple and effective centralized management for VM templates, virtual • •
appliances, ISO images and scripts

APIs for storage awareness • •

Storage APIs for array integration and multipathing – Improves performance, reliability and • •
scalability by leveraging efficient array-based operations and third-party storage vendor multipath
software capabilities

vSphere Virtual Volumes™ – Virtualizes external storage (SAN and NAS) and provides VM-aware, • •
policy-based storage management through vCenter

Storage policy-based management – Allows common management across storage tiers and dynamic • •
storage class-of-service automation via a policy-driven control plane

Next-generation infrastructure image management – Manages infrastructure images to patch, update • •

or upgrade VMware ESXi™ clusters using a desired state model

vSphere Distributed Switch ™ – Centralizes provisioning, administration and monitoring by using •

cluster-level network aggregation

Host Profiles and vSphere Auto Deploy ™ – Captures host-level configuration settings and saves them •
as a template to configure other vSphere hosts; monitors hosts for configuration changes and
automatically alerts vSphere administrators if a host falls out of compliance

vSphere Distributed Resource Scheduler ™ (DRS) and vSphere Distributed Power Management ™ •
(DPM) – Enables usage with business priorities by automatically load balancing across hosts;
optimizes power consumption by turning off hosts during periods of reduced demand

vSphere Storage DRS™ – Enables automated load balancing to look at storage characteristics to •
determine the best place for a given VM’s data when it is created and used over time

vSphere Network I/O Control and vSphere Storage I/O Control – Prioritizes storage and network •
access by continuously monitoring I/O load of a storage volume and over the network, and
dynamically allocating available I/O resources to VMs according to business needs

Single root I/O virtualization (SR-IOV) support – Allows one PCI Express (PCIe) adapter to be •
presented as multiple separate logical devices to VMs; allows users to offload I/O processing and
reduce network latency

vSphere Persistent Memory™ – Leverages persistent memory to provide DRAM-like performance with •
flash-like prices

NVIDIA GRID vGPU – Enables native 2D and 3D graphics performance for VMs; supports multiple •
vGPUs per VM

WH I T E P A P E R | 10
VMware vSphere Compute Virtualization

vSPHERE
vSPHERE ENTERPRISE
FEATURES STANDARD PLUS
Predictive DRS – Feature that combines the analytics of vRealize Operations Manager with the •
logic of vSphere. This collaboration between products allows DRS to execute predictive moves
based on the predictive data sent by vRealize Operation
Accelerated graphics for VMs •

Dynamic vSphere DirectPath I/O ™ – Supports vGPU and vSphere DirectPath I/O initial VM placement • •

vCenter Server Profile – Provides desired-state configuration management capabilities for vCenter vCenter Server
Server; helps users to define/validate/apply configuration for multiple vCenters Standard

vCenter Server update planner – Manages the compatibility and interoperability for vCenter Server
for upgrade scenarios; allows users to generate an interoperability and pre-checks report, which •
helps plan for upgrades

vSphere Native Key Provider - A mechanism fully within vSphere to enable data-at-rest protections like
vSAN Encryption, VM Encryption, and vTPM out of the box, making it a lot easier for customers to take • •
advantage of these security features and improve overall security posture for VM environments.

VMware vSphere® Distributed Services EngineTM – Install and update ESXi images simultaneously on
DPU and CPU. Set alarms for hardware alerts and get performance metrics on core, memory and network
throughput, from vCenter. Accelerate vSphere Distributed Switch on the DPU. •

TABLE 1.1. vSphere 8 main editions

WH I T E P A P E R | 11
VMware vSphere Compute Virtualization

VMware vSphere Hypervisor

vSphere Hypervisor is a free product that provides a simple way to get started with
virtualization at no cost. It provides only basic virtualization capabilities, allowing
customers to virtualize servers and run applications in VMs in a matter of minutes.
vSphere Hypervisor cannot connect to vCenter Server and therefore cannot be centrally
managed. Users can remotely manage individual vSphere Hypervisor hosts using the
VMware vSphere Client. There are no restrictions on the number of physical CPUs per
host and on the amount of RAM per server/host. The maximum vCPUs per VM is eight.

VMware vSphere Desktop

vSphere Desktop is designed for licensing vSphere in VDI deployments. vSphere Desktop
provides all the functionalities of vSphere Enterprise Plus. It can only be used for VDI
deployments and can be leveraged with both Horizon View and third-party VDI
connection brokers.

vSphere Desktop is licensed based on the total number of powered-on desktop VMs and
can be purchased either standalone in a pack of 100 desktop VMs or included with the
Horizon View bundle. For detailed information on pricing, visit
[Link]/products/[Link]

VMware vSphere Acceleration Kits

vSphere Acceleration Kits are all-in-one convenience bundles that provide a simple way
for customers to purchase all the necessary components to set up a new VMware
environment. Each kit consists of six processor licenses for vSphere and a license for one
instance of vCenter Server Standard.

Customers can choose from two editions: vSphere Standard Acceleration Kit and vSphere
Enterprise Plus Acceleration Kit. An SnS contract is required for every edition purchased.

vSphere Acceleration Kits decompose into their individual kit components after purchase.
This allows customers to upgrade and renew SnS for each individual component on its
own schedule. Visit the VMware Store ([Link] or contact your local
reseller for more specific information on the latest available offerings.

VMware vSphere Essentials Kits

vSphere Essentials Kits are all-in-one solutions for small environments (up to three hosts
with up to two CPUs each) available in two editions: vSphere Essentials Kit and vSphere
Essentials Plus Kit (see Table 2). Each kit consists of six processor licenses for vSphere
and a license for one instance of vCenter Server for Essentials™. Scalability limits for the
kits are product-enforced and cannot be extended other than by upgrading the whole kit
to an Acceleration Kit (see the Paid edition upgrades section). vSphere Essentials Kits and
vSphere Essentials Plus Kits are self-contained solutions and may not be decoupled or
combined with other vSphere editions.

vSphere Essentials Kit is an all-in-one solution ideal for small offices. It enables
consolidation and management of applications to reduce hardware and operating costs,
all with a low upfront investment. This kit must be purchased along with a one-year
subscription to software patches and updates. Support is optional and available on a per-
incident basis.

vSphere Essentials Plus Kit adds features such as vSphere vMotion, vSphere HA and
vSphere Data Protection ™ to vSphere Essentials to enable always-on IT for the small
environment. This kit is ideal for small businesses that, in addition to hardware and
operational cost savings, are looking for maximization of application availability and
business continuity with a low upfront investment. SnS for vSphere Essentials Plus is sold
separately. A minimum of one year of SnS is required.

WH I T E P A P E R | 12
VMware vSphere Compute Virtualization

vSPHERE
vSPHERE ESSENTIALS
FEATURES ESSENTIALS PLUS

vSphere Hypervisor – Provides a robust, production-proven, high-performance virtualization layer • •

vCenter High Availability – Provides native vCenter Server availability

vCenter Backup and Restore – Provides native vCenter Server backup and restore vCenter Server for vCenter Server for
Essentials Essentials

vCenter Server Appliance Migration – Provides single-step migration and upgrade of existing vCenter Server for vCenter Server for
Windows vCenter deployments to vCenter Server Appliance Essentials Essentials

vShield Endpoint – Secures VMs with offloaded anti-virus and anti-malware solutions, without the •
need for agents inside the VM

vSphere Replication – Enables efficient, array-agnostic replication of VM data over the LAN or WAN, •
and simplifies management by enabling replication at the VM level

vSphere Quick Boot – Skips hardware initialization steps and dramatically reduces the time required •
for patching and upgrades

vSphere vMotion – Allows live migration of VMs from one ESXi host server to another with no •
disruption to users or loss of service

Cross-vSwitch vMotion – Allows cold migration of VMs from one ESXi host server to another, where the •
hosts exist across different virtual switches.
vSphere HA – Automatically restarts your VMs following physical machine failure •

FIPS 140-2 compliance and TLS 1.2 support – Provides default enhanced security compliance •

Support for Microsoft VBS – Supports Windows 10 and Windows 2016 security features, such as •
Credential Guard, on vSphere

Next-generation infrastructure image management – Manages infrastructure images to patch, update •

or upgrade ESXi clusters using a desired state model

vSphere Native Key Provider - A mechanism fully within vSphere to enable data-at-rest protections like
vSAN Encryption, VM Encryption, and vTPM out of the box, making it a lot easier for customers to take • •
advantage of these security features and improve overall security posture for VM environments.
TPM 2.0 support and virtual TPM – Supports TPM 2.0 hardware modules and adds a virtual TPM device • •
to shield a guest OS from operator or in-guest attacks

vSphere Green Metrics - Get power consumed by workloads, infrastructure services and idling time, at • •
the host level

TABLE 2. vSphere 8 Essentials Kit and Essentials Plus Kit editions

VMware vSphere Remote Office Branch Office

VMware vSphere Remote Office Branch Office ™ is designed specifically for an IT

infrastructure located in remote, distributed sites and delivers improved service levels,
standardization, availability and compliance. These editions include 25 VM licenses of
vSphere Remote Office Branch Office.

The flexible per-VM pricing model also allows customers to deploy only the number of
workloads they require in each remote site. Customers can deploy a maximum of 25 VMs
per vSphere Remote Office Branch Office site. Server hosts can be managed by vCenter
Server Foundation ™ or vCenter Server Standard, purchased separately.

vSphere Remote Office Branch Office Standard – Remote site server virtualization

WH I T E P A P E R | 13
VMware vSphere Compute Virtualization

platform with business continuity and backup features.

vSphere Remote Office Branch Office Advanced – Remote site server virtualization
offering business continuity and backup with advanced features, such as standardization
of host configurations.

vSphere Remote Office Branch Office Enterprise – Remote site server virtualization
offering business continuity and backup, standardization of host configurations and data
security through encryption.

See Table 3 for details on which features are included in each vSphere Remote Office
Branch Office edition.

vSPHERE vSPHERE vSPHERE

REMOTE OFFICE REMOTE OFFICE REMOTE OFFICE
BRANCH OFFICE BRANCH OFFICE BRANCH OFFICE
FEATURES STANDARD ADVANCED ENTERPRISE

vSphere Hypervisor – Provides a robust, production-proven, high- • • •

performance virtualization layer

vSphere vMotion – Allows live migration of VMs from one ESXi host server • • •
to another with no disruption to users or loss of service

vSphere Virtual SMP – Enables VMs to have multiple virtual CPUs • • •

vSphere HA – Automatically restarts your VMs following physical • • •

machine failure

vSphere Storage vMotion – Allows movement of VM files from one data • • •

storage location to another with no disruption to users or loss of
service, for example from a local data store to a shared data store.
Cross-vSwitch vMotion – Allows live migration of VMs from one ESXi host • • •
server to another, where the hosts exist across different virtual switches.

vSphere Fault Tolerance – Provides continuous availability of any application 2-vCPU 8-vCPU 8-vCPU
in the event of a hardware failure with no data loss or downtime; for
workloads up to 8-vCPU

vShield Endpoint – Secures VMs with offloaded anti-virus and anti-malware • • •

solutions, without the need for agents inside the VM

vSphere Replication – Enables efficient, array-agnostic replication of VM • • •

data over the LAN or WAN, and simplifies management by enabling
replication at the VM level

vSphere Quick Boot – Skips hardware initialization steps and dramatically • • •

reduces the time required for patching and upgrades

TPM 2.0 support and virtual TPM – Supports TPM 2.0 hardware modules and • • •
adds a virtual TPM device to shield a guest OS from operator or in-guest
attacks

WH I T E P A P E R | 14
VMware vSphere Compute Virtualization

vSPHERE vSPHERE vSPHERE

REMOTE OFFICE REMOTE OFFICE REMOTE OFFICE
BRANCH OFFICE BRANCH OFFICE BRANCH OFFICE
FEATURES STANDARD ADVANCED ENTERPRISE

vCenter High Availability – Provides native vCenter Server availability vCenter Server vCenter Server vCenter Server
Standard Standard Standard

vCenter Backup and Restore – Provides native vCenter Server backup vCenter Server vCenter Server vCenter Server
and restore Standard Standard Standard

vCenter Server Appliance Migration – Provides single-step migration vCenter Server vCenter Server vCenter Server
and upgrade of existing Windows vCenter deployments to vCenter Standard Standard Standard
Server Appliance

FIPS 140-2 compliance and TLS 1.2 support – Provides default enhanced • • •
security compliance

Support for Microsoft VBS – Supports Windows 10 and Windows 2016 • • •

security features, such as Credential Guard, on vSphere

Identity federation with ADFS – Provides secure access and • • •

account management

Content Library – Provides simple and effective centralized management for • • •

VM templates, virtual appliances, ISO images and scripts

APIs for storage awareness • • •

vSphere Virtual Volumes – Virtualizes external storage (SAN and NAS) and • • •
provides VM-aware, policy-based storage management through vCenter

Storage policy-based management – Allows common management across • • •

storage tiers and dynamic storage class-of-service automation via a policy-
driven control plane

Next-generation infrastructure image management – Manages • • •

infrastructure images to patch, update or upgrade ESXi clusters using
a desired state model

Host Profiles and vSphere Auto Deploy – Captures host-level configuration • •

settings and saves them as a template to configure other vSphere hosts;
monitors hosts for configuration changes and automatically alerts vSphere
administrators if a host falls out of compliance

vSphere Distributed Switch – Centralizes provisioning, administration and • •

monitoring by using cluster-level network aggregation

Limited DRS (maintenance mode only) •

VM encryption – Provides data-at-rest encryption for VM data and disks •

vSphere Native Key Provider - A mechanism fully within vSphere to enable

data-at-rest protections like vSAN Encryption, VM Encryption, and vTPM out of • • •
the box, making it a lot easier for customers to take advantage of these security
features and improve overall security posture for VM environments.
vSphere Green Metrics - Get power consumed by workloads, infrastructure • • •
services and idling time, at the host level
TABLE 3. vSphere 8 Remote Office Branch Office editions

WH I T E P A P E R | 15
VMware vSphere Compute Virtualization

VMware vSphere Scale-Out

VMware vSphere Scale-Out™ is a solution that packages all the core vSphere features
required for big data and high-performance computing (HPC) workloads at an attractive
price point.

vSphere Scale-Out is licensed specially for big data and HPC workloads and sold in packs
of eight CPUs.

See Table 4 for details on which features are included in vSphere Scale-Out.

vSPHERE
FEATURES SCALE-OUT

vSphere Hypervisor – Provides a robust, production-proven, high-performance virtualization layer •

vSphere vMotion – Allows live migration of VMs from one ESXi host server to another with no disruption to users or •
loss of service

vSphere Storage vMotion – Allows movement of VM files from one data storage location to another with no disruption to •
users or loss of service, for example from a local data store to a shared data store.

Cross-vSwitch vMotion – Allows live migration of VMs from one ESXi host server to another, where the hosts exist across •
different virtual switches.

vShield Endpoint – Secures VMs with offloaded anti-virus and anti-malware solutions, without the need for agents inside •
the VM

vSphere Quick Boot – Reduces time required for patching and upgrading •

vCenter High Availability – Provides native vCenter Server availability vCenter Server
Standard

vCenter Backup and Restore – Provides native vCenter backup and restore vCenter Server
Standard

vCenter Server Appliance Migration – Provides single-step migration and upgrade of existing vCenter Server vCenter Server
deployments to vCenter Server Appliance Standard

FIPS 140-2 compliance and TLS 1.2 support – Provides default enhanced security compliance •

Support for Microsoft VBS – Supports Windows 10 and Windows 2016 security features, such as Credential Guard, on •
vSphere

Identity federation with ADFS – Provides secure access and account management •

Content Library – Provides simple and effective centralized management for VM templates, virtual appliances, ISO •
images and scripts

APIs for storage awareness •

Storage APIs for array integration and multipathing – Improves performance and scalability by leveraging efficient array- •
based operations

vSphere Distributed Switch – Centralizes provisioning, administration and monitoring by using cluster-level network •
aggregation

Host Profiles and vSphere Auto Deploy – Helps IT administrators simplify host deployment and compliance, so hosts can •
be deployed on the fly

vSphere Virtual Volumes – Virtualizes external storage (SAN and NAS) and provides VM-aware, policy-based storage •
management through vCenter

WH I T E P A P E R | 16
VMware vSphere Compute Virtualization

vSPHERE
FEATURES SCALE-OUT

Storage policy-based management – Allows common management across storage tiers and dynamic storage class-of- •
service automation via a policy-driven control plane

vSphere Network I/O Control and vSphere Storage I/O Control) – Prioritizes access by monitoring I/O load and •
dynamically allocating available I/O resources to VMs according to business needs

SR-IOV support – Allows users to offload I/O processing and reduce network latency •

Next-generation infrastructure image management – Manages infrastructure images to patch, update or upgrade ESXi •
clusters using a desired state model

vSphere Native Key Provider - A mechanism fully within vSphere to enable data-at-rest protections like vSAN Encryption,
VM Encryption, and vTPM out of the box, making it a lot easier for customers to take advantage of these security features and •
improve overall security posture for VM environments.
vSphere Green Metrics - Get power consumed by workloads, infrastructure services and idling time, at the host level
•

TABLE 4. vSphere 8 Scale-Out

VMware vSphere Bitfusion

vSphere Bitfusion allows for the sharing of GPUs in a similar fashion to the way vSphere
allowed the sharing of CPUs many years ago.
vSphere Bitfusion is an add-on to vSphere Enterprise Plus, licensed per-CPU as perpetual
license
Up to two-GPUs can be licenses per each vSphere Bitfusion per-CPU license.

vCenter Server editions

vCenter Server provides unified management for vSphere environments and is a required
component of a complete vSphere deployment. One instance of vCenter Server is
required to centrally manage VMs and their hosts, and to enable all vSphere features.

vCenter Server is available in the following packages:

• vCenter Server for Essentials – Integrated management for vSphere Essentials Kits.
• vCenter Server Foundation – Powerful management tool for smaller environments
looking to rapidly provision, monitor and control VMs.
• vCenter Server Standard – Highly scalable management with rapid provisioning,
monitoring, orchestration and control of all VMs in a vSphere environment. vCenter
Server High Availability does not require a separate vCenter Server Standard license
for the passive or witness node.

vCENTER SERVER FOR ESSENTIALS vCENTER SERVER FOUNDATION vCENTER SERVER STANDARD

Number of hosts Up to 3 Up to 4 Unlimited

vSphere licenses vSphere Essentials and vSphere vSphere Standard, vSphere vSphere Standard, vSphere
managed Essentials Plus Enterprise Plus and VMware Enterprise Plus and vCloud Suite
vCloud Suite®

TABLE 6. vCenter Server editions.

WH I T E P A P E R | 17
VMware vSphere Compute Virtualization

Version upgrade entitlements for existing customers

vSphere customers with an active SnS contract are entitled to a version upgrade to
vSphere 8 at no extra charge. All version upgrades to vSphere 8 require acceptance of the
new end-user licensing agreement (EULA).

Visit the vSphere Upgrade Center ([Link]

[Link]) for more information and to determine the appropriate upgrade path for
your organization.

Version downgrades for vSphere

vSphere can version downgrade.

Reinstatement options for customers with inactive SnS contracts

Customers who have an expired SnS contract must pay reinstatement fees to purchase
supported upgrades. Reinstatement fees are based on the following criteria:

• The applicable SnS fees for the current contract term

HOW TO BUY • Fees that would have been paid for the period of time that the customer’s SnS contract
Visit the vSphere product page was not active
([Link] • A 20 percent fee on the sum of the fees in the preceding two criteria
sphere) for information on local
currency prices
Paid edition upgrades
for vSphere 8 products.
Customers may purchase and upgrade to a higher vSphere edition. For example,
To purchase vSphere, use the VMware vSphere Standard customers may upgrade to vSphere Enterprise Plus. When customers
Partner Locator upgrade supported licenses to a higher edition, the original license key is deactivated,
([Link] and a new license key is issued for the upgraded edition. An SnS contract for the edition
to find an authorized reseller in your upgraded to must be purchased at the time of the upgrade purchase. This new SnS
area. contract will be extended by the original SnS contract value remaining on the edition
from which the customer upgraded. SnS contracts as short as two months are available
You can also visit the VMware Store
for customers with a significant value remaining in their existing contract. This process
([Link]
ensures that only a single license key exists that has a single SnS contract with a single
to determine which kit or edition of
termination date.
vSphere is right for your organization.
Because vSphere Acceleration Kits decompose into individual kit components after
FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO
purchase, customers upgrade using the same upgrade paths as vSphere customers.
PURCHASE VMWARE PRODUCTS
There are no Acceleration Kit to Acceleration Kit upgrades.
Call 877-4-VMWARE (outside of
North America, +1-650-427-5000),
visit [Link]/products or search
online for an authorized reseller. For
detailed specifications and systems
requirements, refer to the VMware
vSphere documentation.

WH I T E P A P E R | 18
VMware, Inc. 3401 Hillview Avenue Palo Alto CA 94304 USA Tel 877-486-9273 Fax 650-427-5001 [Link].
Copyright © 2020 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property laws. VMware products are covered by one or more patents
listed at [Link]/go/patents. VMware is a registered trademark or trademark of VMware, Inc. and its subsidiaries in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned
herein may be trademarks of their respective companies. Item No: 471312aq-wp-word-vsphr-comp-virt-uslet-101-proof 3/20