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Core factors

For some software, manufacturers like Microsoft and Oracle use core factors for licensing on particular hardware configurations. The core factor is a numerical value that is associated with a specific physical processor type, and is multiplied with the actual number of processor cores to calculate the license requirement.

Software that can be licensed based on a core factor is automatically defined in Snow License Manager, and information can be found here:

  • In Application details:

    • On the Information tab, see if the application can be Licensed based on core factors (Yes/No).

    • On the Licenses tab, click Tracking to see a list of all license consumers. Click the arrow in the Required column to see if a core factor has been used in the license requirements calculation.

    • On the Compliance tab, see information on any Core factor adjustment in the Required licenses section.

  • In the All applications report, add the column Licensed based on core factors.

Microsoft

With the release of SQL Server 2012, Microsoft introduced a new model for licensing of server software based on computing power. In this licensing model, physical processor cores are used as metric instead of, as previously, physical processors. This Per Core model can be used for installations of SQL Server and BizTalk Server.

For more information on the Per Core model and the current Microsoft Core Factor Table, refer to documentation from Microsoft.

Licensable cores

Snow License Manager uses the Microsoft Core factor table to calculate the number of Licensable cores for a particular hardware configuration (and a physical processor type) where:

Licensable cores = Processors cores x Core factor

In Snow License Manager, the number of licensable cores are automatically calculated for all physical computers running server operating systems. In this way the customers are able to get an indication of the license requirement for a core-based application prior to a deployment. The licensable cores figure is only applied when there is a product to be covered.

In Snow License Manager, information for the computer can be found here:

  • In Computerdetails and on the Information tab, see information on Microsoft Core Factor and number of Licensable Cores

  • In the Applications per computer report, add the columns Core factor, Core factor table, and Licensable cores from the column selector. For comparison, add also the columns Processors and Processor cores.

Oracle

Snow License Manager uses the Oracle Processor Core Factor Table to show the current Core Processor Licensing Factor for a particular physical hardware configuration where Oracle software is installed. In Snow License Manager, information on this licensing factor can be found here:

  • In Computer details and on the Information tab, see information on the current Oracle Processor Core Factor.

  • In the column Core factor of the reports All Oracle database servers, All Oracle databases per server, and Unused Oracle options per server.

For more information on the Core Processor Licensing Factor, refer to documentation from Oracle.