VMware up the vRAM allowance on the vSphere 5.0 ESXi Hypervisor
After some negative feedback from customers, VMware have announced changes to the vSphere 5 licencing model.
A major change in vSphere 5 is the way the software is licenced – based around vRAM entitlements. The original licencing model proposed an 8GB vRAM limit on the free vSphere hypervisor, which increased to 24GB with the purchase of Essentials or Standard licences.
Following a negative response from end users, VMware have reviewed these limits and announced some major changes. The proposed 8GB limit on the free vSphere hypervisor has been increased to 32GB, along with Essentials and Standard licences.
Enterprise and Enterprise Plus licences have also seen an increase in their vRAM entitlements, going from 32GB to 64GB and 48GB to 96GB respectively.
The changes are of great benefit to users of the free vSphere hypervisor, who use the software in test lab environments in the home, for whom the 8GB vRAM limit would have been a huge disadvantage.
Servers Plus will be creating a vSphere 5.0 test lab bundle for these users as soon as the ESXi 5.0 release becomes available for end users.
