Understanding software licensing with IBM Power Systems PowerVM virtualization

1

IBM

Materials may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the prior written permission of IBM.

Understanding software licensing in a

Power Systems PowerVM Virtualized Environment

Jay Kruemcke

[email protected]

Kruemcke.com

@chromeaix @cloudrancher

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2© 2013 IBM Corporation

Software in a virtualized environment

• The purpose of this presentation is to help you to understand some of the policies that software vendors use in virtualized environments

• The scenarios in this presentation are not necessarily the policy of IBM or other vendor for every software product but is representative of general policies

• When in doubt – ask your software vendor for their policy for each software product you use in a virtualized environment

• This presentation is tailored to Power Systems virtualization technologies but the underlying ideas are relevant to other virtualization technology

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Common Software Licensing models

• Capacity based perpetual licenses

• Capacity based term limited licenses

• Named User based licenses

• Concurrent user based licenses

• Named host

• Subscription based licenses

• Per Device

• Site licenses

• Enterprise License Agreements

• Usage based licenses

• Pay per use

• Free license, charge for support

• …

Value

Price

Price scales to value

Balance licensing precision with simplicity

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Common Pricing and Licensing Concepts

Value

Price

Price scales to value

Balance licensing precision with simplicity

Users

Price

Processor Capacity available

Price

5


What is Sub-capacity or virtualization Licensing?

Full capacity requires license entitlements for all activated processor cores in a server Sub-capacity licensing limits the license entitlements to the number of processor cores in the

partitions that are available to the software

Full Capacity

Partition with

three processor

cores

Partition with

three processor

cores

License Cores for 6 processor cores

1 2 3 4 5 6

IBM Systems Six processor cores activated

Key Points

1. Not all software products from all vendors offer subcapacity/virtualization licensing

2. Even software that is available with sub-capacity licensing may have a different part number

AppSvr

Sub-capacity

Partition with

three processor

cores

Partition with

three processor

cores

1 2 3 4 5 6

License Cores for 3

processor cores

IBM Systems Six processor cores activated

AppSvr

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IBM Selected Sub capacity Eligible Technologiesftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/software/passportadvantage/SubCapacity/Eligible_Virtualization_Technology.pdf

It’s too small to read on this chart - click on the link above to download the IBM document

ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/software/passportadvantage/SubCapacity/Eligible_Virtualization_Technology.pdf

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Sub-capacity license counting Scenarios

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What limits the capacity available to an application

and the licensing costs?

• How much capacity is in the box

• How much capacity is EVER available to the application in a partition

– Partition configuration

• Capped or Uncapped partitions

• Number of virtual processors

– Pool size

– Multiple sub-capacity pools

– Capacity Regulation (for example, by AIX Workload Manager)

• Reporting interval

• Mobility

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Sub-capacity License Counting – Dedicated LPAR

• License entitlements required are based on processor cores available to the middleware in the partition

• For the example below:– Application Server (AppSvr): 10 cores need to be licensed – Database (DB): 4 cores need to be licensed

n1

i

AppSvr

n2

AIX

AppSvr

DB

n3

Linux

DB

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Server with 12 Processor cores

Partitions

Note: The number of cores available to an application does not take into account other applications that may be

Running on the same cores. In the AIX partition in the example, both the AppSvr and DB would require two cores

licenses.

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Initial

configuration:

Changed

during batch

peak:

Changed for

simulation

work:

Sub-capacity License Counting - Dynamic LPAR• Power Systems provide the capability to dynamically move processor core resources between partitions

• Customer must typically acquire licenses for the highest* number of processor cores available to middleware

i

AppSvr

AIX

AppSvr

DB

Linux

DB

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

i

AppSvr

AIX

AppSvr

DB

Linux

DB

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

i

AppSvr

AIX

AppSvr

DB

Linux

DB

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

License Cores for: 10 AppSvr cores (consistent throughout) + 6 DB cores (from simulation peak)

* greater of a) what the partition starts with or b) the result of a DLPAR operation

12AMAppSvr=10DB=4

3AMAppSvr=10DB=3

8AM

AppSvr=10DB=6

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Shared Processor Partitioning – Concepts Review

Pool of 6 CPUs

AIX

Lin

ux

AIX

IBM

i

AIX

Capped or Uncapped is the key to understanding the amount of capacity available for software licensing purposes

vC

PU

vC

PU

vC

PU

vC

PU

vC

PU

vC

PU

vC

PU

vC

PU

vC

PU

vC

PU

vC

PU

vC

PU

vC

PU

vC

PU

vC

PU

vC

PU

vC

PU

vC

PU

CP

U

Min

Max

Utilization

Capped partitions are limited by the

Entitled Capacity

Entitled Capacity in Processing Units• In units of 1/100 of a CPU

Minimum processing units

Desired processing units

Maximum processing units

Entitled

Capacity Uncapped partitions are limited by the

number of Virtual Processors

Number of Virtual processors• Minimum Virtual CPU,

• Desired Virtual CPU

• Max Virtual CPU

Uncapped

Partition

Capped

Partition

Cap

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Single Shared Pool with Capped and Uncapped Partitions

n1

i

n2

AIX

n3

LinuxShared Pool (9 processor cores)

1 1 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

n4

Capped

AIX

DB

VP = 6

EC = 4.50

n5

Uncapped

i

AppSvr

VP = 7

EC = 4.5

Database cores to license:• 4.5 from entitled capacity of

capped partition n4

= 5 (rounded up to nearest whole)

Server with 12 processor cores

AppSvr cores to license:• 7 from the number of VP for

uncapped partition n5

License:For Capped Partitions: The Entitled Capacity (EC) is used to determine

the number of licenses.*

For Uncapped Partitions: The number of VP (Virtual Processors)*

In no case will the sum of the licenses for a single product exceed the

number of physical processors available in the shared pool or total in the

system

* The greater of what the partition starts with or the result of a DLPAR operation

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Sub-capacity License Cost with Capped and Uncapped

Partitions

Partitions n1 n2 n3 n4 n5 n6 n7 n8 Total Cores*

Total

Licenses

Required

AppSvr 2 7 3

12

9

(Limited by

the size of

the shared

pool)

9 Cores

DB 2 1.7 2 39 (8.7

rounded up)9 Cores

Server has 12 processor cores

Shared pool 9 cores

9

(Limited by

the size of

the shared

pool)

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Fractional Partitions are Rounded up per server

Consolidated Configuration 8 LPARs each with ½ core of capacityin each LPAR on one server

Total SW licenses:8 X ½ core

= 4 cores

Scale Out Configuration 8 LPARs each with ½ core of capacityin each LPAR on eight servers

Total SW licenses:8 X 1 core (1/2 rounded up to 1 core)

= 8 cores

Consolidation of fractional LPARs on larger servers can save you money!

LPAR 8

LPAR 7

LPAR 6

LPAR 5

LPAR 4

LPAR 3

LPAR 2

LPAR 1

LPAR 8

LPAR 7

LPAR 6

LPAR 5

LPAR 4

LPAR 3

LPAR 2

LPAR 1

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Database cores to license:• 1.7 from EC capped partition n5

• 5 from VP for uncapped partition n8

= 6.7 rounded up to 7

License Counting – Multiple Shared Pool with Capped and Uncapped Partitions

n1

i

n2

AIX

n3

Linux

Physical Shared Pool (9 processor cores)

1 1 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

n4

Capped

i

VP = 2

EC= 1.80

n5

Capped

AIX

DB

VP = 4

EC= 1.7

n6

Capped

Linux

AppSvr

VP = 4

EC = 2.00

n7

Uncapped

i

AppSvr

VP = 5

EC = 2.00

n8

Uncapped

AIX

AppSvr

DB

VP = 5

EC = 1.00

POWER Multiple shared pools:

• Can reduce the number of

software licenses by putting a

limit on the amount of processors

an uncapped partition can use

• Up to 64 shared pools


AppSvr cores to license:• 2 from EC for capped partition n6



= 12, but reduced to 5 (that is the size

of the Virtual shared pool #2)

Virtual Shared pool #1

7 processors

Virtual Shared pool #2

5 processors





number of real processors available in the shared pool or total in the

system


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License Counting – POWER Shared Dedicated Processors

n1

AIX

1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

n6

Capped

Linux

AppSvr

DB

VP = 4

EC = 2.00

n5

Capped

AIX

DB

VP = 4

EC= 2.00

n8

Uncapped

AIX

AppSvr

DB

VP = 3

EC = 1.00

n7

Uncapped

i

AppSvr

VP =8

EC = 3.00

n4

Uncapped

i

VP = 6

EC= 1.00

POWER6 Shared Dedicated

Processor• Can improve system

utilization by temporarily

donating unused capacity

from a dedicated processor

partition to the shared pool


AppSvr cores to license:• 2 from EC for capped partition n6



= 13, but reduced to 12 (that is the

size of the shared pool with the

donated capacity from partition n1)

DB cores to license:• 2 from EC of capped partition n5

• 2 from EC of capped partition n6


= 7

3 processors of unused capacity are loaned

to the physical shared pool

Physical Shared Pool (9 processor cores + 3 donated) =12





number of real processors available in the shared pool or total in the

system


Physical Shared Pool (9 processor cores + 3 donated) =12

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License Counting – PowerVM Partition Mobility

POWER Live Partition

Mobility• Allows an entire LPAR

(including the OS and

any applications) to be

relocated to another

physical system with

no loss of service

Database cores to license:• 4 from EC capped partition n1 on system 1

• 8 from VP for uncapped partition n2 on system 1

because it is limited by the size of the pool

Total = 8 cores to be licensed to DB

When n2 is relocated to system #2 the license

charge would increase because the pool on

system #2 is 10 processors for a total of 12

DB licenses after the relocation

n2

Uncapped

AIX

DB

VP = 8

EC= 2.00

n1

Capped

AIX

DB

VP = 4

EC= 4.00

System #1 with 8 processor cores


1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

n3

Uncapped

AIX

VP = 3

EC= 2.00



1 2 3 4 5 6 9 10

Movement

of a LPAR

a different

server with

no loss of

service

n2’

Uncapped

AIX

DB

VP = 8

EC= 2.00

7 8

n4

Capped

AIX

VP = 3

EC = 2.00

License:Since the application (in the partitions that is relocated) is

only executing on a single system at any point in time, the

application only needs to be licensed for a single system, not

both.

The number of licenses needed should be calculated using

the sub-capacity licensing guidelines.

NOTE: Not all vendors view mobility as a sub capacity eligible technology

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License Counting – Unregulated AIX Workload Partitions


n1

Capped

AIX

VP = 6

EC = 4.00

n2

Uncapped

AIX

VP = 4

EC = 4.00

n3

Uncapped

AIX

VP = 2

EC = 2.00

Database cores to license:• 4 for WPAR #1

• 4 for WPAR #2

=8, but limited to 4 because that is

the total amount available in the

LPAR n2

Server with 12 processor coresAIX Workload Partitions• A single AIX instance can be

subdivided into separate

WPARs that are isolated

from each other but share a

the common image

• WPARs can be resource

regulated. This means that a

WPAR can be limited to less

CPU capacity than the LPAR

that it is running in

• WPARs can run on AIX on

POWER4, 5, & POWER6

WPAR #1

DB

(unregulated)

WPAR #2

DB

(unregulated)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

License:WPARs without regulation – the number of licenses is equal to the number of

licenses needed for the LPAR

In no case will the sum of the licenses for a single product exceed the number of

physical processors available

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AIX Workload Partitions – Regulated Hard Maximum


n1

Capped

AIX

VP = 6

EC = 4.00

n2

Uncapped

AIX

VP = 4

EC = 4.00

n3

Uncapped

AIX

VP = 2

EC = 2.00

Database cores to license:• 1 for WPAR #1 (25% of 4 VP)

• 1 for WPAR #2 (25% of 4 VP)

=2


License:WPARs with hard maximum for processor – the number of licenses is equal to

the number of effective processors available to the WPARs (for example: two

WPARs @ 25% of a LPAR with 4 processors = 2 licenses needed)

WPARs without regulation – the number of licenses is equal to the number of

licenses needed for the LPAR

In no case will the sum of the licenses for a single product exceed the number of

physical processors available

AIX Workload Partitions• A single AIX instance can be




the common image







POWER4, 5, & POWER6

WPAR #1

DB

CPU=25%

WPAR #2

DB

CPU=25%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

NOTE: Not all vendors view WPARs as a sub capacity eligible technology

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License Counting – AIX Workload Partitions


n1

Capped

AIX

VP = 6

EC = 4.00

n2

Uncapped

AIX

VP = 4

EC = 4.00

n3

Uncapped

AIX

VP = 2

EC = 2.00

Database cores to license:• 2 for WPAR #1 (50% of 4 VP)

• 2 for WPAR #2 (50% of 4 VP)

• 2 for WPAR #2 (50% of 4 VP)

• 2 for WPAR #2 (50% of 4 VP)

= 8, but reduced to 4 (that is the amount of

processor resources available to n2)


License:WPARs with hard maximum for processor – the number of licenses is

equal to the number of effective processors available to the WPAR (for

example: 25% of a LPAR with 4 processors = 2 licenses needed)

WPARs without regulation – the number of licenses is equal to the

number of licenses needed for the LPAR


number of physical processors available





the common image







POWER4, 5, & POWER6

WPAR #1

DB

CPU=50%

WPAR #2

DB

CPU=50%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

WPAR #4

DB

CPU=50%

WPAR #3

DB

CPU=50%


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License Counting – AIX Workload Partitions– RSET regulated


n1

Capped

AIX

VP = 6

EC = 4.00

n2

Uncapped

AIX

VP = 4

EC = 4.00

n3

Uncapped

AIX

VP = 2

EC = 2.00

Database cores to license:• 2 for WPAR #1 (processors 0 and 2 only)

• 1 for WPAR #2 (processor 1 only)

=3


License:WPARs with an rset – the number of licenses is equal to the number of

in the rset associated with the WPAR (for example: rset of 0,2 = 2 cores

of capacity)


number of physical processors available





the common image







POWER4, 5, & POWER6

WPAR #1

DB

rset=0 2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

WPAR #2

DB

rset=1


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Database cores to license:• 1 from EC capped partition n1 on system 1

• 3 for WPAR #1 (50% of 6 VP of partition n2

• 3 from VP for uncapped partition n4 on system 2

An additional charge for WPAR#1 when it is

relocated to partition n3 in system #2 because it has

moved to a partition that has more capacity (10)

than on the source partition – 2 more licenses

are needed

n3

Uncapped

AIX

VP = 10

EC= 2.00

License Counting – AIX Live Application Mobility

AIX 6 Application Mobility• Allows a WPAR (including

all applications running in it)

to be relocated to another

AIX instance in another

physical system with no loss

of service

• Application Mobility can

occur between AIX instances

running on POWER4,

POWER5, & POWER6

systems but only between

like systems

(e.g. POWER5 to POWER5)

License:Since the application (in the WPAR that is relocated) is only

executing on a single system at any point in time, the

application only needs to be licensed for a single system, not

both.

The number of licenses required may change if the target

system has more or less capacity than the source system.

The number of licenses needed should be calculated using

the sub-capacity licensing guidelines.

n2

Uncapped

AIX

VP = 6

EC= 2.00

n1

Capped

AIX

DB

VP = 1

EC= 1.00



1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

n4

Uncapped

AIX

DB

VP = 3

EC= 2.00


WPAR #1

DB

CPU=50%

WPAR #1

DB

CPU=50%


1 2 3 4 5 6 9 107 8

n5

Capped

AIX

VP = 3

EC = 2.00


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Handling differences in platform capability

• IBM – Processor Value Units and sub-capacity licensing

– http://www.ibm.com/software/lotus/passportadvantage/subcaplicensing.html

• Oracle Core factor Table

– http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/contracts/processor-core-factor-table-070634.pdf

http://www.ibm.com/software/lotus/passportadvantage/subcaplicensing.html

http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/contracts/processor-core-factor-table-070634.pdf

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IBM Processor Value Units (PVU)

• A way to index the cost of running software on platforms of different capability

– Software costs go up for more capable platforms

– Offset by the need for fewer cores on faster platforms

– Only applicable for software that is sub-capacity priced

• The number of effective cores is multiplied by a PVU value for that specific platform

– For example:

• 100 for POWER5 based systems

• 120 for POWER7 large servers

• 100 for POWER7 Mid-range servers

• 70 for POWER7 low end server

• 70 for Sun Ultrasparc T3

• Count up the cores of capacity and multiple by the PVU value for the platform to get the number of PVUs you are using

http://www-306.ibm.com/software/lotus/passportadvantage/pvu_licensing_for_customers.html

25


IBM Software PVU Tablehttp://www.ibm.com/software/lotus/passportadvantage/pvu_licensing_for_customers.html

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Other IBM Licensing - Resource Value Units

• Some IBM software is now licensed based on Resource Value Units (RVU) instead of Processor Value Units (PVU)

– RVU being used for management products such as Tivoli Monitoring, Tivoli Service Automation, Tivoli Service Delivery Manager

• The key difference between PVU and RVU pricing whether the price is based on the server where the software is installed, versus the servers that are being managed

• With PVU priced products, you are charged for the server where the software is installed

• With RVU priced products, you are charged for the servers that are being managed by the software.

– RVUs may use different measures such as gigabytes of storage, number of endpoints, and others as units of measure.

– The price of the license is based on the number of RVUs required. The RVU calculation may be complex

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IBM Software pricing for VMWare:Definitions

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License counting in a “Single Server”

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License counting in a VMWare “Cluster”

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Other License types

SaaS

• Salesforce.com

– $100 per user per month

• Adobe Creative Suite

– $50 per user per month

• Microsoft Office 365

– $4.10 - $16.10 per user per month

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Power Software License Transfers

• AIX and PowerHA are generally transferrable between machines

– Restrictions:

• Must be within the same client. No transfers to another company

– This includes outsourcing and in-sourcing

– AIX & PowerHA license do no transfer when selling server

• Additional fee required when moving to a higher tier server

• No refund when moving to a lower tier server

• SWMA transfers possible as long as within same country

– Manual effort required to get records in sync

• PowerVM licenses transfer with the machine

– Move with hardware when server sold to another company

– Receiving company will need special bid to avoid After License Charge when initiating SWMA purchase

• PowerVM licenses cannot be transferred to another machine

– PowerVM is a hardware feature and stays with the machine

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33© 2013 IBM Corporation33

For more information about…•IBM Software Processor Value Units Licensing

• http://www.ibm.com/software/lotus/passportadvantage/pvu_licensing_for_customers.html

•Oracle sub-capacity licensing information• http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/pricing/specialty-topics/index.html

Oracle Database Licensing Policies

Oracle Technology Hosting Policies

Oracle Licensing Policies for Partitioning

•IBM Partitioning and IBM Power Systems• http://www.ibm.com/systems/p/lpar/

•For general questions on licensing of Oracle on IBM servers

• Contact the IBM Oracle International Competency Center at

[email protected]

(the ICC will answer or route your question to the appropriate Oracle or IBM contact)

http://www.ibm.com/software/lotus/passportadvantage/pvu_licensing_for_customers.html

http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/pricing/specialty-topics/index.html

http://www.ibm.com/systems/p/lpar/

mailto:[email protected]?subject=Oracle%20Licensing%20question/concern

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Summary:

Licensing in virtualized environments • Software licenses based on the number of cores or other

capacity based measurements are complex to calculate in virtualized environments (not just Power Systems)

• Don’t assume that the products or virtualization technologies you are using are eligible for subcapacity licensing

• Few No vendors have consistent licensing policies across all their products

• Always get the software price calculation (not just the final price) IN WRITING

• Special bids may be required to get the terms you want

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I hope this didn’t leave you crying like…

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