northerner01
Contributor
Contributor

Does a powered off guest consume a ROBO license?

As the title says, I've been asked by a customer whether a powered-off guest consumes one of their 25 available licenses?

I cannot find a definitive answer so if anyone has an official document/article to back any answer up that would help tremendously.

Thanks.

Reply
0 Kudos
Sachchidanand
Expert
Expert

Hi,

The answer is:

The license key keeps track of how many powered on virtual machines you have based on the ROBO license key applied to each host.

please see the below document:

http://burdweiser.com/vmware-robo-license-usage/

There are three main licensing models for vSphere:

  • Per CPU licensing that covers one CPU with up to 32 cores.
  • Per virtual machine licensing.
  • Subscription based licensing

Check the below document for "Per Virtual Machine Licensing Model for vSphere"

https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/8.0/vsphere-vcenter-esxi-management/GUID-710CD935-DBF4-4AF...

 

Reply
0 Kudos
northerner01
Contributor
Contributor

Thanks but an external article from 8 years ago isn't authoritative enough in this case.

Nor does the second link answer the question in any way as far as I can see.

It is a very specific question about a very specific use case. Do powered down machines consume a ROBO license?

Reply
0 Kudos
Sachchidanand
Expert
Expert

Hi,

ROBO licensing is based on a per-virtual machine license model and as per definition of per virtual machine license, these are used for powered on vm.

I hope this clarifies your query.

Regards,

Sachchidanand

Reply
0 Kudos
WuGeDe
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

License counts per deployed virtual machine regardless of the power state of the virtual machines. 25 means 25.
If you are unshure about the licensing terms&conditions you can always have it confirmed by the official vmware support.
Just open a non-technical support request. They will also provide the current EULAs for the product to you.


https://customerconnect.vmware.com/support

Reply
0 Kudos
northerner01
Contributor
Contributor

Thanks but that's contradictory to what I was told by a vmware representative - powered VM's only. If a guest is off, it does NOT consume a license.

Reply
0 Kudos