Understand How vSphere and vCenter are Licensed
VMware vSphere Standard, Advanced, Enterprise, and Enterprise Plus
These editions are licensed on a per processor basis where a processor is defined as a populated socket with one or more physical processor cores. The number of processor cores licensed by the software depends on the edition. VMware vSphere Standard and Enterprise define a processor as up to 6 cores while VMware vSphere Advanced and Enterprise Plus define a processor as up to 12 cores.
View the VMware Multi-Core and Licensing Policy
VMware vSphere defines the features enabled for each physical host in the virtual infrastructure. VMware vCenter Server is the central management server for managing vSphere hosts. One instance of vCenter Server is required.
VMware vSphere Essentials and Essentials Plus
These editions are all-in-one packages for small office environments that include everything required for consolidating servers and for virtualization management. This includes licensing for three physical vSphere hosts and vCenter Server for Essentials, the central management server. Each physical server may contain up to two phycial processors with up to 6 cores per processor.
These editions are for three physical hosts and may not be broken apart or combined with any other vSphere or vCenter Server edition.
VMware vCenter Server
vCenter Server is licensed per instance. One instance is required in a vSphere deployment to enable centralized management and deployment of core vSphere features such as VMware VMotion, VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler, and more.
Learn more about VMware licensing.
VMware vSphere and VMware vCenter Server Pricing
Suggested retail pricing for U.S. editions of VMware vSphere and vCenter Server available below. Contact your local reseller partner for specific pricing. Visit the VMware vSphere 4 Editions page for information on each edition.
VMware vSphere Editions for Small Business |
U.S. Suggested List Price per Instance |
|---|---|
| VMware vSphere Essentials Includes license and 1 year of subscription. Optional Support sold separately. |
$995  |
| VMware vSphere Essentials Plus Includes license. Support and subscription sold separately |
$2995 |
VMware vSphere Editions for Mid-Size & Enterprise Business |
U.S. Suggested List Price per Processor |
|---|---|
| VMware vSphere Standard Includes license. Support and subscription sold separately. |
$795 |
| VMware vSphere Advanced Includes license. Support and subscription sold separately. |
$2245 |
| VMware vSphere Enterprise Includes license. Support and subscription sold separately. |
$2875 |
| VMware vSphere Enterprise Plus Includes license. Support and subscription sold separately. |
$3495 |
VMware vCenter Server Editions |
U.S. Suggested List Price per Instance |
|---|---|
| VMware vCenter Server Foundation | $1495 |
| VMware vCenter Server Standard Includes Linked Mode and vCenter Orchestrator |
$4995 |
Support and Subscription
Support and Subscription (SnS) contracts are available for VMware vSphere and VMware vCenter Server. One year of SnS is required. Learn more about support.
