IBM licensing in IBM LPAR infrastructures

  • Release version: Xanadu
  • Updated August 1, 2024
  • 4 minutes to read
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    Summary of IBM licensing in IBM LPAR infrastructures

    This content explains how ServiceNow’s Software Asset Management (SAM) application supports IBM licensing rules specifically for IBM logical partitions (LPARs) within mainframe hardware systems. LPARs are independent subsets of processor hardware with assigned resources such as CPU cores and memory. Managing and licensing IBM software in these environments requires discovery of LPARs and their resources using ServiceNow Discovery patterns for the IBM Hardware Management Console (HMC).

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    Key Features

    • LPAR Discovery and Data Management: ServiceNow Discovery patterns for IBM HMC enable automatic detection of LPARs and their resources. Discovered data is stored in specialized CMDB tables such as cmdbciibmframe, cmdbcilparinstance, and related classes. To enable this, customers must install the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application and the CMDB CI Class Models application from the ServiceNow Store.
    • Support for IBM Licensing Models: The Software Asset Management application supports both full capacity and sub-capacity licensing models, including processor value unit (PVU), resource value unit (RVU), and virtual processor core (VPC) licenses.
    • Full Capacity Licensing: Requires licensing every processor core on the physical hardware that runs the LPARs where IBM software is installed or used. The total cores determine license rights needed per IBM’s PVU, RVU, or VPC license metrics.
    • Sub-Capacity Licensing: Allows licensing only the processor cores assigned to LPARs running IBM software, reducing license costs. It supports both dedicated processor pools (cores assigned to single LPARs) and shared processor pools (cores shared across micro-partitions).
    • LPAR Types Affecting Licensing: Licensing calculations differ based on whether an LPAR is capped (limited to an entitled capacity) or uncapped (can use more processor power up to assigned virtual cores or shared pool maximum).

    Practical Implications for ServiceNow Customers

    By integrating IBM LPAR discovery with ServiceNow SAM:

    • Customers can accurately discover and track LPAR hardware and software assets within their mainframe environments.
    • They can automate compliance with IBM’s complex licensing rules for full and sub-capacity models.
    • Accurate CMDB population ensures reliable license demand calculations and supports cost optimization by leveraging sub-capacity licensing where eligible.
    • Installing the necessary applications from the ServiceNow Store is required to enable discovery and CMDB class extensions for IBM HMC and LPARs.

    This approach helps ServiceNow customers manage IBM software licenses effectively in LPAR infrastructures, ensuring compliance and optimizing license usage aligned with IBM’s licensing policies.

    When you integrate the Software Asset Management publisher pack for IBM with Software Asset Management providers that are authorized to participate in the IBM Authorized SAM Provider (IASP) Program, the Software Asset Management application supports IBM licensing rules for IBM logical partitions.

    A logical partition (LPAR) is a defined subset of processor hardware that supports the operating system. An LPAR contains resources, such as processors, memory, and input or output devices, that operate as an independent system. You can have multiple LPARs within each mainframe hardware system.

    Discovering the LPARs and LPAR resources within your IBM LPAR infrastructure requires ServiceNow Discovery patterns for the IBM Hardware Management Console (HMC), which is the hardware appliance that enables you to manage and configure your LPARs. To access these discovery patterns, you must request and install the Discovery and Service Mapping Patterns application from the ServiceNow Store. For more information on how to configure a discovery on your LPARs, see IBM Virtualization and Hardware Management Console discovery.

    Note:
    The lparstat command pulls a report of LPAR-related information and usage. For more information, see the IBM Knowledge Center.
    When you run a discovery, your discovered LPAR data is populated and stored in the following Configuration Management Database (CMDB) tables on your ServiceNow instance:
    • cmdb_ci_ibm_frame
    • cmdb_ci_aix_server
    • cmdb_ci_lpar_instance
    • cmdb_ci_lpar_resource
    • cmdb_rel_ci
    • cmdb_sam_sw_install
    To populate and store this data, you must request and install the CMDB CI Class Models application from the ServiceNow Store. This application adds or updates CMDB classes for the IBM HMC. For more information on IBM HMC CMDB classes, see IBM Hardware Management Console (HMC) extension classes.

    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 IBM LPAR infrastructures.

    IBM licensing rules in IBM LPAR infrastructures

    Full capacity licensing

    When you use full capacity licensing, you must license each processor core on the underlying hardware system that is running the LPARs on which you have installed and run an IBM software product.

    Using the total number of processor cores on the underlying hardware system, you can 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. To determine the number of rights that are required for a VPC license, see IBM virtual processor core (VPC) licenses.

    Sub-capacity licensing

    When you use sub-capacity licensing, you must license only the processor cores that are assigned to the LPARs on which you install and run an IBM software product.

    You can determine the number of rights that are required for a sub-capacity license based on the type of processor pool and license that you are using for your IBM software product.

    IBM LPARs support both dedicated and shared processor pools. If you are using a dedicated processor pool, in which processor cores are assigned to only one dedicated LPAR, you must license each dedicated processor core that is assigned to the LPAR on which you install or run an IBM software product. If you are using a shared processor pool, in which processor cores are shared across micro-partitions, you must license the processor cores that are shared across the micro-partitions on which you install or run an IBM software product. You can determine the number of processor cores that must be licensed across your micro-partitions based on the LPAR type:
    • Capped LPAR: A capped LPAR is a logical partition that is assigned a maximum entitled capacity, which is the number of CPU resources that the LPAR is entitled to receive. Capped LPARs cannot use more processor power than the assigned entitled capacity.
    • Uncapped LPAR: An uncapped LPAR is a logical partition that can use more processor power than the assigned entitled capacity. Processor power usage is limited by the number of virtual processor cores that are assigned to the LPAR or by the maximum number of processor cores that are available to the shared processor pool.
    For more details, see Sub-capacity (Virtualization) License Counting Rules.

    Using the sum of processor cores that must be licensed across your processor pools, you can 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. To determine the number of rights that are required for a VPC license, see IBM virtual processor core (VPC) licenses.