System Performance Value Unit (SPVU) Frequently Asked Questions
Which operating system platforms support the SPVU meter?
The SPVU meter is available for UNIX (Solaris, HP-UX, and AIX), Linux (all Linux), Solaris x86-64, and Windows.
What customer problems are we addressing?
Our customers have been telling us about their changing technology environments, their shift to virtualization, and their need to perform more precise and accurate charge-backs. CPU tier licensing was introduced to address the need for fractional server licensing. But with increasing virtualization, customers prefer finer granularity than CPU - at the core level or even at the fractional core level.

We're introducing a simple, flexible, and future-proof meter to address our customer's needs.
What are the technology drivers?
Two major technology trends impacts customer environments:
  • Availability of high performance, multi-core processors that do not fit with the current CPU tiers. To run on newer CPU models, customers that are standardized on current CPU tier licenses need to transfer to new licenses.
  • Increasing server virtualization that lets customers allocate processor resources at per core or even fractional core levels. If a customer uses a multi-core processor, they only want to license as many processor cores as they use.
Per core licensing makes it easier for you to manage licenses, inventory, and transfers.

Per core pricing is designed for virtualized environments.
What are server, processor, and processor core?
A server consists of one or more sockets that are populated with processors. It is identified by its make and model number (for example, Sun SPARC ENTERPRISE T5240). You can license servers based on the tier to which they are mapped.

Sockets are populated with processors. A processor can be single core or multi-core, and is identified by its make and model number (for example, UltraSPARC T2).

In a processor, the core performs the computation. Until recently, processors only had one core, so they were not separately identified. Modern processors contain multiple independent cores. Cores are identified the same way processors are: by the make and model.
What is the meter called?
The meter implemented by System Performance Value Units (SPVUs) lets customers license Storage Foundation software at a per core level without tier constraints. Instead of classifying processor cores into rigid tiers, we classify them by allocating them different SPVUs based on their performance.

With CPU tier licenses, customers used to buy a specific SKU for the tier. With this new meter, customers buy a set of SPVUs corresponding to the number of cores they license.

For instance, consider a processor model with eight cores, and its cores are assigned 40 SPVUs. If a customer wants to license two cores, they need 80 SPVUs.
Where do I find the System Performance Value (SPVU) per core for different processor models?
It's easy to find the SPVU allocation per core for different processor models. The Support Operations Readiness Tools (SORT) website includes a calculator you can use to determine the SPVUs you need for your processor models. As new processors become available, the calculator is updated.

The calculator also makes it easy for you to find SPVUs for multiple CPU models and export the results to a spread sheet.
How do I find the Processor make or model information that I need for the SPVU calculator?
You can execute the commands in the table below on your corresponding platform to get the processor make or model.

Note: Get the make or model from the command output and use the info as a reference for SPVU calculation.
Platform Command
Solaris # /usr/sbin/psrinfo -pv

or

# /usr/sbin/prtdiag
Linux on Power PC # cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep 'cpu\s*:'
Linux on x86 # cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep 'model name\s*:'
HP-UX on Itanium # /usr/contrib/bin/machinfo
HP-UX on PA-RISC # echo 'selclass qualifier cpu;info;wait;infolog' | /usr/sbin/cstm
AIX # /usr/sbin/prtconf | grep 'Processor Type\s*:'
Windows # msinfo32

or

# systeminfo
How do I find the Server make or model information that I need for the SPVU calculator?
You can execute the commands in the table below on your corresponding platform to get the server make or model.

Note: Get the make or model from the command output and use the info as a reference for SPVU calculation.
Platform Command
Solaris # uname -i

or

# /usr/sbin/prtdiag | grep 'System Configuration\s*:'
Linux on Power PC # cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep 'machine\s*:'
Linux on x86 # /usr/sbin/dmidecode | grep 'Manufacturer\s*:'

and

# /usr/sbin/dmidecode | grep 'Product Name\s*:'
HP-UX on Itanium # /usr/bin/model
HP-UX on PA-RISC # /usr/bin/model
AIX # /usr/bin/uname –M
Windows # msinfo32

or

# systeminfo
How do I find the number of processors per server information that I need for the SPVU calculator?
You can execute the commands in the table on your corresponding platform to get the number of processors per server.
Platform Command
Solaris # /usr/sbin/psrinfo –p
Linux on Power PC # cat /proc/ppc64/lparcfg | grep 'partition_active_processors\s*='
Linux on x86 # cat /proc/cpuinfo | grep -c '^processor'
HP-UX on Itanium # /usr/sbin/ioscan -fnkC processor | grep -c 'processor'
HP-UX on PA-RISC # machinfo | grep 'processor'
AIX # /usr/sbin/prtconf | grep 'Number Of Processors\s*:'
Windows # wmic computersystem get NumberOfProcessors
Are the SPVU SKUs different for different products, like Storage Foundation and Cluster Server?
Yes. The SPVU SKUs are different for different products, the same as the server tier SKUs and the old CPU tier SKUs. SPVU SKUs are created for each software product and operating system it supports. For example, there are separate SPVU SKUs for Storage Foundation and VCS for UNIX and Linux.
Can I continue to buy and use full server licenses for UNIX?
Yes. If you have a physical environment (or certain virtual environments), full server licensing is likely a better choice for you. There are no changes to full server licensing.
Can I continue to buy and use Windows operating system edition-based licenses?
Yes. There are no changes to Windows operating system edition-based licensing.
What tools and resources are available to manage the new licenses?
To determine whether server tier or per core licensing suits you better, and to calculate the number of SPVUs you may need, use the SPVU calculator pages on the SORT website.

To track your licenses by host and operating system, use the Veritas InfoScale Operations Manager (VIOM) License Deployment Reporter or the SORT License/Deployment report to track the new licenses per host and per operating system.
How are server tier licenses renewed?
There are no changes for server tier licenses.
How are CPU tier licenses renewed?
Each unit of tier-based SKU is replaced with a fixed number of SPVU SKUs so that you remain in compliance without new licenses.
When can customers get new SPVU based entitlements?
Non-Eflex customers who are current on their maintenance receive Version Upgrade notification letters the week Storage Foundation 6.0 becomes generally available. These letters include license keys for all their upgrades.

For Eflex customers, the self-serve tool offers the upgrade option.
How is the SPVU SKU priced?
Each unit of SPVU SKU has a meter count of 10. This means one unit of SKU gives you 10 SPVUs. SPVUs are priced differently for different products.
What about Eflex support?
Eflex customers can access the new SPVU-based SKUs as part of their contract in addition to their server tier and CPU tier SKUs.
Can I transfer SPVUs across processors?
Yes. You can transfer SPVUs for a product across processors without transfer cost and without notifying Veritas. However, this transfer rule only applies to the same product running on the same operating system.

For example, you can move 100 SPVUs of Storage Foundation Enterprise UNIX from the SPARC T2 processor to SPARC T3 without loss.

If the newer set of cores needs more SPVUs, you must ensure that they are in compliance by either buying SPVUs or allocating them from a previous purchase.

If the newer set of cores needs fewer SPVUs, you can use the remaining SPVUs for other installations without loss of value.
Can I pool SPVUs from multiple old processors to use for a newer one?
Yes. You can pool SPVUs for a product that were used for multiple different processor cores and use them for newer processor cores without transfer cost and without notifying Veritas.

For example, Storage Foundation Enterprise UNIX product customers can combine SPVUs from four POWER 5 processors to use on a POWER7 processor.
How are virtual machine deployments licensed?
SPVU allocation per core does not depend on whether the software is deployed on physical servers or in virtual machines. This table summarizes the most common virtualization scenarios:
ScenarioExampleLicensing options
Hardware partitioning A physical server is partitioned into two or more partitions with one or more partitions running Storage Foundation (SF)/Cluster Server (VCS) software. You can either buy a server tier license that covers all UNIX partitions on the server or buy SPVUs based on the number of cores allocated to each partition. One example of this scenario is HP nPartitions.
Operating system container SF/VCS software runs on the host operating system. You can either buy a single server tier license or buy SPVUs based on the number of cores allocated to each partition. Examples include Solaris Zone and AIX WPAR.
Hypervisor SF/VCS software runs in one or more virtual machines (VMs), and, if the host operating system is present, the virtual machine may have an instance of the software as well. You can either buy a server tier license that covers all UNIX instances, or buy SPVUs based on number of cores allocated to each VM (and host operating system). Examples include AIX LPAR and VMware ESX.
See also: How are cores counted for virtual machine (VM) deployments?
How are cores counted for physical deployments?
To determine the number of cores you need for a physical deployment:

1. Determine the number of populated CPU sockets.

2. Find the number of cores per processor for the CPU model your server uses (for example, four cores, eight cores, and so on.)

3. Use this formula to determine the number of licenses you need:
    number_of_core_licenses = number_of_CPUs * number_of_cores_per_processor

You can use the online calculator to find the SPVU per core value for the CPU model.
How are cores counted for virtual machine (VM) deployments?
Core counting for VM deployments is designed so that you only need to license as many cores you use.

1. Determine the number of physical cores available to the VMs.

2. Find the number of virtual cores assigned per VM. Group the virtual machines by the guest operating system they run. The number of cores to license for a guest operating system is the minimum of virtual cores assigned to all VM instances running that guest operating system and the number of physical cores available to them.

For example, assume there are three virtual machines, two running Linux and one running Windows. Each VM is assigned four virtual CPUs (vCPUs) and the host has six physical cores, and each vCPU has one Virtual Core (i.e. one vCPU can be assigned a maximum of one physical core). The two Linux VMs run Storage Foundation Enterprise edition.

The two Linux VMs have a total of eight virtual cores but they only have access to a maximum of six physical cores.

The number of cores to license is the lesser of the number of virtual cores and physical cores, or six.

Note: VMware allows a vCPU to be configured to have multiple virtual cores to mirror the physical processor. In such cases, make sure to count the number of Virtual Cores but not vCPUs.
How are SPVUs allocated to processor models?
Veritas continuously evaluates new processors as they enter the market, and assigns SPVUs using multiple industry benchmarks and our software performance. Veritas also takes into account factors like relative performance of cores when core density increases and ease of administration.
The server model I am looking for is not available for server tier licensing. What are my options?
The calculator may not have server tier information about your server because:
  • The server model is relatively new and we have not assigned it to a server tier yet. Use the SORT Support link on the online calculator page to send us the information.
  • Certain newer server models may not be available for server tier licensing because they may not fit well within our tier structure. You can only license these types of servers on a per core basis.