VMware updates vSphere 5 Licensing and Pricing

Last month, VMware introduced version 5 of their product suite, introducing new features for their product line and a new licensing model based on the amount of memory allocated for a virtual machine when it is powered on. This new licensing model caused a lot of discussion in the VMware community, and of course competitors of VMware used the new license model to promote their own solution.

Now VMware has announced an update to the license model, making some changes based on the feedback which they massively received.

The changes are:

  • Increase the vRAM entitlement for all vSphere Editions

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  • Introducing a limit to the amount of vRAM which is accounted for. A VM with 1TB vRAM would never cost more than a vSphere Enterprise Plus license
  • Calculation will now be based on a 12-month average of consumed vRAM.
  • Introduction of a vSphere Desktop Edition to address the licensing in a desktop environment. This license is based on the total number of powered on desktop VMs.