Specifications

If you try to assign a license key that has insufficient capacity to license all physical processors on the host, the
license assignment is unsuccessful. In such case, you need to assign a different license key with a larger
processor capacity. You need to use a different license key in your inventory or combine your license key with
another license key to create a new license key with a larger processor capacity.
You can assign and reassign the processor capacity of a vSphere 5.0 license key to any combination of ESXi 5.0
hosts. For example, suppose that you purchase a vSphere 5.0 license key for 10 processors. You can assign the
license key to any of the following combinations of hosts:
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Five 2-processor hosts.
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Three 2-processor hosts and one 4-processor host.
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Two 4-processor hosts and one 2-processor host.
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One 8-processor host and one 2-processor host.
Dual-core and quad-core processors, such as Intel processors that combine two or four independent processors
on a single chip, count as one processor.
vRAM Entitlement and Pooling
Every vSphere 5.0 edition includes a vRAM capacity entitlement. vRAM entitlements are pooled across all
assigned vSphere 5.0 licenses of the same edition for a vCenter Server instance or in a Linked Mode group.
Only powered-on virtual machines consume vRAM capacity in an amount that is equal to the sum of their
configured memory.
The vRAM capacity of a vSphere 5.0 license key equals the vRAM entitlement of the license edition multiplied
by the processor capacity of the license key. For example, vSphere 5.0 Standard entitles to a 32GB of vRAM. A
license key of vSphere 5.0 Standard with capacity for 10 processor entitles to a vRAM capacity of 320GB.
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vRAM Pooling on page 70
The amount of vRAM that vSphere 5.0 license keys provide is aggregated into vRAM pools for every
license edition when the license keys are assigned to ESXi 5.0 hosts.
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Calculating the vRAM Usage on page 71
The vRAM usage equals the sum of memory that is configured on powered-on virtual machines that run
on ESXi 5.0 hosts. The vRAM usage is calculated for every vRAM pool that is available in a vCenter
Server system or a Linked Mode group.
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Compliance Rules on page 71
No restriction exist for the number of virtual machines that can consume the available capacity in a vRAM
pool. No restriction exists on how virtual machines are distributed across all hosts in a vRAM pool either.
However, you must maintain the ESXi 5.0 in your environment in compliance with the vSphere 5.0
licensing model.
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Extending a vRAM Pool on page 72
If the amount of vRAM that is available in the vRAM pools in your virtual environment is insufficient,
you can extend the vRAM pools to keep them in compliance with the licensing model of vSphere 5.0
products.
vRAM Pooling
The amount of vRAM that vSphere 5.0 license keys provide is aggregated into vRAM pools for every license
edition when the license keys are assigned to ESXi 5.0 hosts.
When you assign a vSphere 5.0 license key to one or more ESXi 5.0 hosts, the key adds its vRAM capacity to a
vRAM pool. For example, if you assign a license key of vSphere 5.0 Standard with a capacity of 10 processors
and vRAM capacity of 320GB, the key adds 320GB of vRAM to the pool for vSphere Standard.
vCenter Server and Host Management
70 VMware, Inc.