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sourceDocument: Australia Asset Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/australia/it-asset-management

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    - australia

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Australia Asset Management

ft:clusterId :

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workflow :

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---

# IBM licensing in VMware vSphere and Nutanix environments

# IBM licensing in VMware vSphere and Nutanix environments {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Australia  
Updated March 12, 2026  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 4 minutes to read
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## Summary of IBM licensing in VMware vSphere and Nutanix environments

This guidance explains how the Software Asset Management (SAM) application, when integrated with the IBM Client Value Acceleration (CVA) Program authorized providers, supports IBM licensing rules for software running on VMware vSphere and Nutanix virtualization platforms.
These platforms enable IBM software products to run on virtual machines (VMs), and SAM helps manage licensing compliance for these environments.
Show full answer Show less  

## Key Features

* **Supported Licensing Models:** The SAM application supports IBM full capacity and sub-capacity licensing for processor value units (PVU), resource value units (RVU), and virtual processor cores (VPC) in VMware vSphere and Nutanix environments.
* **Discovery and Data Storage:** When you run discovery on these environments, the collected data is stored in specific Configuration Management Database (CMDB) tables within your ServiceNow instance:
  * **Nutanix AHV:** Data stored in `cmdbcinutanixvminstance`, `cmdbcinutanixcluster`, and `cmdbcinutanixhost` tables. The CMDB CI Class Models application from the ServiceNow Store is required to populate these classes.
  * **VMware vSphere:** Data stored in `cmdbcivcenterdatacenter`, `cmdbcivcentercluster`, `cmdbciesxserver`, and `cmdbcivmwareinstance` tables.

## IBM Licensing Models for VMware vSphere and Nutanix

* **Full Capacity Licensing:** Requires licensing each physical processor core on the ESXi host running the VM where IBM software is installed. This applies even if multiple VMs run on the same host. Licensing rights are determined by the total number of physical cores on the host according to the license type (PVU, RVU, or VPC).
* **Sub-Capacity Licensing:** Allows licensing only the virtual cores assigned to VMs running IBM software, but only if a VM manager is configured and specified. The required license rights are the sum of virtual cores across licensed VMs, unless this sum exceeds the physical cores on the host; in that case, physical core count is used. If IBM software is installed both on a VM and the underlying host, both require licensing.

## Practical Considerations for ServiceNow Customers

* Ensure you have installed the necessary CMDB CI Class Models application to support Nutanix AHV data in your CMDB.
* Run discovery on VMware vSphere and Nutanix environments to accurately populate CMDB tables with infrastructure and VM details, enabling precise license entitlement calculations.
* Understand your IBM licensing model (full capacity vs. sub-capacity) to correctly calculate license rights and maintain compliance.
* Specify VM managers appropriately when using sub-capacity licensing to enable correct license tracking in ServiceNow.  
When you integrate the Software Asset Management publisher pack for IBM with Software Asset Management providers that are authorized to participate in the IBM Client Value Acceleration (CVA) Program, the Software Asset Management application supports IBM licensing rules for VMware vSphere and Nutanix.

VMware vSphere
and Nutanix are virtualization platforms through which you can install and run IBM software products on virtual machines (VMs). The Software Asset Management application supports both full capacity and sub-capacity processor value unit (PVU), resource value unit (RVU), and virtual processor core (VPC) licensing for IBM software products in VMware vSphere
and Nutanix environments.

When you run a discovery on a VMware vSphere or Nutanix AHV environment, the discovered data is populated and stored in Configuration Management Database (CMDB) tables on your ServiceNow instance.  
For a Nutanix AHV environment, data is stored in the following tables. For more information on the Nutanix discovery pattern, see [Nutanix Acropolis discovery](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=nutanix-pattern&version=australia&pubname=australia-it-operations-management&ft:locale=en-US).

* cmdb_ci_nutanix_vm_instance
* cmdb_ci_nutanix_cluster
* cmdb_ci_nutanix_host
{#ibm-licensing-vmware-vsphere-environment__ul_vrg_hzm_bkc}

To populate and store the Nutanix AHV data, request and install the CMDB CI Class Models application from the ServiceNow Store. This application adds or updates the CMDB classes required for the Nutanix AHV platform. For more information, see [Nutanix extension classes](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=cmdb-ci-class-models-nutanix&version=australia&pubname=australia-servicenow-platform&ft:locale=en-US).  
For a VMware vSphere environment, data is stored in the following tables. For more information on the VMware vSphere discovery, see [Data collected for VMware Cloud Discovery](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/access?context=data-collected-vmware-cloud-disco&version=australia&pubname=australia-it-operations-management&ft:locale=en-US).

* cmdb_ci_vcenter_datacenter
* cmdb_ci_vcenter_cluster
* cmdb_ci_esx_server
* cmdb_ci_vmware_instance
{#ibm-licensing-vmware-vsphere-environment__ul_dsn_sdn_bkc}  
{#ibm-licensing-vmware-vsphere-environment__table_ufn_22l_wwb__entry__2}

| Licensing capacity | Licensing model |
|-|-|
| Full capacity | When you install and run an IBM software product on a VM, you must license each processor core on the underlying physical ESXi host that is running the VM. If the physical ESXi host is running multiple VMs simultaneously, you must still license each processor core on the host regardless of how many VMs you install and run the IBM software product on. Use the total number of processor cores on the underlying physical ESXi host to determine the number of rights that are required for your license, based on the license type. To determine the number of rights that are required for a PVU or RVU license, see [IBM processor value unit (PVU) and resource value unit (RVU) licenses](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Bp6PZZcpchozRVeLlJxIrw "If you integrate the Software Asset Management publisher pack for IBM with Software Asset Management providers that are authorized to participate in the IBM Client Value Acceleration (CVA) Program, you can track and manage IBM PVU and RVU licenses. Alternatively, you can track and manage these licenses when you integrate with the IBM License Metric Tool (ILMT) or BigFix Inventory using version 1 or 2 of the integration APIs."). To determine the number of rights that are required for a VPC license, see [IBM virtual processor core (VPC) licenses](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/y63Wqqv2ePyZyKortqaq2w "If you integrate the Software Asset Management publisher pack for IBM with Software Asset Management providers that are authorized to participate in the IBM Client Value Acceleration (CVA) Program, you can track and manage IBM VPC licenses. Alternatively, you can track and manage these licenses when you integrate with the IBM License Metric Tool (ILMT) or BigFix Inventory using version 2 of the integration APIs."). |
| Sub-capacity Note: You can use sub-capacity licensing only if you configure and specify a VM manager for your VMs. For more information on VM managers, see [Specify VMMs for IBM licenses](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Cta54YgB_nB9F5VP0ZircA "Specify the virtual machine managers (VMMs), such as VMware vCenter Servers and IBM Hardware Management Consoles (HMCs), for which you want to track IBM licenses. You can track licenses for IBM software that is discovered within these specified VMMs only."). | You must license only the virtual cores that are assigned to the VMs on which you install and run an IBM software product. Use the sum of virtual cores that must be licensed across your VMs to determine the number of rights that are required for your license, based on the license type. To determine the number of rights that are required for a PVU or RVU license, see [IBM processor value unit (PVU) and resource value unit (RVU) licenses](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/Bp6PZZcpchozRVeLlJxIrw "If you integrate the Software Asset Management publisher pack for IBM with Software Asset Management providers that are authorized to participate in the IBM Client Value Acceleration (CVA) Program, you can track and manage IBM PVU and RVU licenses. Alternatively, you can track and manage these licenses when you integrate with the IBM License Metric Tool (ILMT) or BigFix Inventory using version 1 or 2 of the integration APIs."). To determine the number of rights that are required for a VPC license, see [IBM virtual processor core (VPC) licenses](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/y63Wqqv2ePyZyKortqaq2w "If you integrate the Software Asset Management publisher pack for IBM with Software Asset Management providers that are authorized to participate in the IBM Client Value Acceleration (CVA) Program, you can track and manage IBM VPC licenses. Alternatively, you can track and manage these licenses when you integrate with the IBM License Metric Tool (ILMT) or BigFix Inventory using version 2 of the integration APIs."). Note: By default, the number of required rights is calculated using the sum of virtual cores. If the sum of virtual cores exceeds the total number of processor cores on the underlying physical ESXi hosts that are running the VMs, the number of required rights is calculated using the total number of processor cores on the hosts instead. Note: If you install and run an IBM software product on both a VM and the underlying physical ESXi host that is running the VM, you must also license the installation on the host. |
[Table 1. IBM licensing models on VMware vSphere and Nutanix]

{#ibm-licensing-vmware-vsphere-environment__table_ufn_22l_wwb}