IBM Sub-Capacity Licensing Metrics
- Measures resource usage at a granular level.
- Charges are based on peak usage, not full capacity.
- Supports flexible cost management for fluctuating workloads.
- Reduces overall licensing cost in virtualized environments.
- Provides tracking for software usage by partition.
What is IBM Sub-Capacity Licensing?
IBM Sub-capacity licensing allows organizations to license IBM software based on the capacity of the virtualized environment rather than the full physical hardware capacity.
This means you only pay for what you use rather than the entire server power. This flexibility can lead to significant cost savings, but it also demands careful tracking and accurate reporting to remain compliant.
Sub-Capacity Licensing is particularly useful in:
- Virtual Environments: When using virtual machines to deploy applications, Sub-Capacity Licensing means you don’t need to license an entire physical server—just the specific cores or processors assigned to that virtual machine.
- Dynamic Workloads: In cloud environments where resources can be shifted dynamically, licensing based on virtual capacity can help ensure your costs align with your actual usage.
- Hybrid Cloud Setups: If you have a hybrid cloud infrastructure with both on-premises and cloud workloads, Sub-Capacity Licensing allows you to adjust licenses dynamically as workloads shift between environments.
- Testing and Development: Organizations that use virtualized environments for testing and development can greatly benefit, as they often don’t need to license full server capacity during testing phases.
Key Concepts Behind Sub-Capacity Licensing
Before we calculate and report sub-capacity, it’s important to understand the underlying concepts.
Here are the key terms you need to know:
- Physical vs. Virtual Capacity: Physical capacity refers to the entire computing power of your server hardware, while virtual capacity refers to the computing power allocated to a particular virtual machine.
- Processor Value Unit (PVU): This is IBM’s metric for measuring licensing costs. Each processor type is assigned a PVU rating, which determines how much you pay for licensing. For instance, modern multi-core processors might have a different PVU value than older single-core processors.
- ILMT (IBM License Metric Tool): This tool is required by IBM to track and report sub-capacity usage. Without ILMT, you are automatically required to license full physical capacity, which can lead to substantial cost increases.
How Sub-Capacity Licensing Metrics Work
In a nutshell, Sub-Capacity Licensing metrics are based on the PVU ratings of the processors being used by your IBM software. Let’s break this process down into a simple example:
Imagine you have a server with 16 cores. You use virtualization to allocate only 8 of those cores to an IBM product. In this situation, with Sub-Capacity Licensing, you only need to license the capacity of those eight cores instead of the full 16.
The metrics are influenced by:
- Number of Cores Allocated: The virtual cores assigned to the software.
- Processor Type and PVU Value: Each processor has an assigned PVU value that determines how much capacity you need to license.
For example:
- Step 1: Identify the type of processors and note their PVU value (e.g., Intel Xeon might be 100 PVUs per core).
- Step 2: Count the number of assigned cores (e.g., eight).
- Step 3: Multiply the cores by the PVU value (e.g., eight cores * 100 PVUs per core = 800 PVUs).
This gives you the total PVU count you must license for that particular IBM software product under sub-capacity.
What is ILMT, and Why is It Important?
IBM License Metric Tool (ILMT) is critical to IBM Sub-Capacity Licensing. IBM requires customers to use ILMT to accurately track the capacity of their products in virtualized environments. If you don’t use ILMT, IBM will default you to full-capacity licensing.
Here’s why ILMT is important:
- Compliance: ILMT is mandatory for all IBM customers using Sub-Capacity Licensing. Not having ILMT installed and running can cause compliance issues during an audit.
- Accurate Usage Tracking: ILMT continuously monitors virtual environments, giving accurate measurements of software usage.
- Reporting Requirements: ILMT produces quarterly reports, which IBM expects you to retain for at least two years for audit purposes.
- Proactive Audits: ILMT also helps prepare for potential IBM audits. Having an accurate tool to track your software usage can ensure that you won’t be caught off guard during an audit.
How to Set Up ILMT for Accurate Sub-Capacity Reporting
Setting up ILMT can initially feel daunting, but once it’s in place, it ensures you’re paying exactly what you need to without risking non-compliance.
Here’s a guide to get ILMT up and running:
1. Install ILMT
- System Requirements: Ensure your environment meets ILMT’s hardware and software prerequisites.
- Database Configuration: ILMT needs a database to store the metrics. It supports DB2, MS SQL, or Oracle. Make sure your database is properly configured.
- High Availability Considerations: If your environment requires high availability, consider deploying ILMT in a redundant setup, ensuring that any single point of failure doesn’t disrupt the data collection.
2. Connect ILMT to Your Environment
- Agents Installation: ILMT requires agents on each virtual host to collect usage data.
- Server Discovery: Run a discovery scan to identify all systems running IBM software in your environment. This step is crucial for creating an inventory.
- Environment Tagging: Tagging servers or environments within ILMT can help categorize different systems, such as development, production, or testing. This ensures that the correct resources are being tracked appropriately.
3. Schedule Regular Scans
- Weekly or Monthly: Set ILMT to perform regular scans, typically once per week or at least monthly. This frequency will ensure that you always have up-to-date data.
- Avoid Compliance Gaps: Missing scans can create gaps in your data, potentially leading to problems during an audit.
- Automate Scheduling: Automate scan scheduling to avoid the risk of missing crucial data points. Set up email notifications for missed or failed scans to address issues immediately.
4. Generate and Retain Reports
- Quarterly Reports: IBM requires that you generate sub-capacity reports at least every quarter.
- Retention Policy: Keep these reports for at least two years, as IBM may ask for them during an audit.
- Automated Report Generation: Set ILMT to automatically generate these quarterly reports, minimizing manual workload while ensuring consistent compliance.
Calculating Sub-Capacity Usage with ILMT
ILMT makes it easier to calculate sub-capacity usage.
Here’s a simplified version of how this calculation works:
- Discovery: ILMT first scans your environment to determine all instances of IBM software running on your servers.
- PVU Calculation: The tool automatically matches each virtual machine’s processor type with the correct PVU rating, then multiplies by the number of virtual cores assigned.
- Aggregation: It aggregates the data across all virtual environments and instances to generate an overall PVU count that reflects your actual usage.
- Reporting: A final report is generated, listing all PVU metrics and showing the total sub-capacity for all IBM products.
Best Practices for Sub-Capacity Compliance
Complying with IBM’s sub-capacity licensing rules requires diligence and planning. Here are some best practices to help:
- Regular Scans and Updates: Ensure ILMT scans your environment regularly and always applies updates to both the ILMT tool and agents.
- Manual Reviews: Review ILMT reports regularly to catch errors early. Automated tools can miss things, and human oversight can prevent surprises during an audit.
- Documentation: Maintain thorough documentation of your environment and keep all ILMT reports and any changes made to the infrastructure.
- Retain Reports for Two Years: IBM may request reports from previous quarters during an audit, so always have at least two years of reports handy.
- Audit Preparation: Conduct internal mock audits periodically. These checks ensure that your reports and environments meet IBM’s compliance requirements.
- Training and Awareness: Ensure your IT and compliance teams are trained on ILMT usage, data collection, and audit preparation. This prevents mishaps due to misunderstandings of IBM’s requirements.
Common Challenges and How to Handle Them
IBM Sub-Capacity Licensing can offer great cost savings, but users often face several challenges.
Here are a few common ones and tips on handling them:
1. Virtual Environment Changes
- Challenge: Changes in your virtual environment—such as moving virtual machines between hosts—can make it difficult to keep accurate sub-capacity reports.
- Solution: Make sure ILMT agents are correctly installed on all new hosts, and verify that scans are scheduled immediately after making changes to your environment.
- Dynamic Changes: In dynamic cloud environments, where virtual machines are frequently moved or adjusted, consider deploying automation scripts to ensure ILMT agents are always up-to-date with environment changes.
2. Agent Installation Issues
- Challenge: Missing or incorrectly configured ILMT agents can cause gaps in data.
- Solution: Develop a checklist for agent installation and verification. Consider automating checks using scripts to confirm agent activity on all hosts.
- Verification Mechanism: Set up automated alerts to notify you when ILMT agents are inactive or misconfigured, ensuring immediate corrective action.
3. Keeping ILMT Up-to-Date
- Challenge: IBM regularly updates ILMT, and failing to apply updates can result in compliance risks.
- Solution: Establish a quarterly maintenance window to apply ILMT updates, ensuring you remain compliant.
- Test Updates: Before deploying ILMT updates in production, test them in a non-production environment to prevent unexpected disruptions.
4. Data Accuracy and Consistency
- Challenge: The accuracy of ILMT reports can be compromised if the environment isn’t adequately managed or scans fail.
- Solution: Cross-verify data from ILMT with other management tools to validate accuracy. Use automated monitoring to ensure scans are completed on schedule.
5. Handling Audits
- Challenge: IBM can request an audit anytime, and unpreparedness could lead to costly compliance issues.
- Solution: Prepare mock audits and practice your response to ensure all documentation and reports are ready. Keep a dedicated compliance folder where all relevant documents, reports, and logs are stored for easy access.
- Audit Response Team: Designate a team responsible for managing IBM audits and ensure they are trained in retrieving and presenting ILMT data effectively.
Read about IBM User-Based Licensing.
Optimizing Sub-Capacity Licensing with ILMT
To get the most out of Sub-Capacity Licensing, it’s not just about compliance—it’s about optimization.
Here are ways to optimize your usage:
- Rightsizing Virtual Environments: Review ILMT reports to identify where virtual resources are over-provisioned. If a particular instance has more cores assigned than needed, reducing these can help save on licensing costs.
- Consolidating Software Instances: If you’re running multiple instances of IBM software across many virtual environments, consider consolidating these onto fewer servers. By consolidating, you reduce the overall PVU requirement, thereby reducing licensing costs.
- Optimizing Hardware Configurations: Certain processor types have lower PVU values. Review your server hardware and consider standardizing on processors that offer lower PVU ratings for a given workload.
- Review and Rationalize: Regularly review the list of IBM products installed and rationalize unused software. Removing unused software can reduce the PVU metrics, ultimately saving on costs.
- Leverage Reports for Better Capacity Planning: Use the insights from ILMT reports to make better decisions on capacity planning for your virtual environments. If you notice patterns in peak usage, you can better plan when to allocate or de-allocate resources.
IBM Sub-Capacity Licensing Metrics FAQ
What is IBM Sub-Capacity Licensing?
The model charges based on actual resource usage rather than full system capacity.
How does sub-capacity licensing help reduce costs?
It allows businesses to pay only for peak usage, lowering costs in virtualized environments.
What software qualifies for sub-capacity licensing?
IBM middleware like DB2, WebSphere, and some other products are eligible.
How is peak usage calculated?
Peak usage is based on a 24/7 rolling average of resource usage over a month.
Does sub-capacity licensing apply to all servers?
No, it’s mainly for virtualized or partitioned environments using eligible IBM software.
Can I use sub-capacity licensing in the cloud?
Yes, as long as you meet IBM’s eligibility requirements, including proper reporting.
What is the License Metric Tool (ILMT)?
ILMT is a tool IBM requires to measure and report sub-capacity usage accurately.
Do I need ILMT for all IBM software?
Only for software products licensed under sub-capacity terms, typically in virtualized setups.
How often should ILMT reports be submitted?
IBM requires quarterly reporting to ensure accurate licensing and compliance.
What if I fail to submit ILMT reports?
Non-compliance may lead to full-capacity charges rather than sub-capacity pricing.
Can I adjust license metrics to meet changing needs?
Yes, sub-capacity licensing flexes with fluctuating resource demands within partitions.
How do I verify eligibility for sub-capacity?
Check IBM’s licensing documentation and ensure systems meet specified requirements.
Is IBM Passport Advantage required?
Yes, IBM Passport Advantage is the program through which sub-capacity licensing is managed.
What is the advantage of virtualized setups for sub-capacity?
Virtualization allows more control over resources, optimizing costs under sub-capacity terms.
How does sub-capacity impact license compliance?
IBM mandates strict adherence to measurement and reporting to maintain compliance.
