Definitions of licensing metrics

Learn more about the licensing metrics that are available for IBM Spectrum® Control.

Three different license metrics are available for IBM Spectrum Control:
SCUs
Licenses are priced by the number of storage capacity units (SCUs) that you need for the capacity to be licensed for the storage system. The number of SCUs is based on the capacity and categories of drives that are used by the storage system. This metric is available for the IBM Spectrum Control and IBM® Virtual Storage Center perpetual licenses.
Total TiB
Licenses are priced by the total usable capacity in tebibytes (TiB) for all storage systems that use the capacity license model. This metric is available for the IBM Virtual Storage Center subscription license.
Total TiB (with limits)
Licenses are priced by the total usable capacity in tebibytes (TiB) for all storage systems that use the capacity license model, with the following limits:
  • Up to 1,500 TiBs of usable capacity
  • No limit I/O groups
This metric is available for the IBM Virtual Storage Center Entry and IBM Storage Software Suite licenses.
Enclosures
Licenses are priced by the number of drive slots and capacity in the storage enclosures. This metric is available for the IBM Spectrum Control™ Select Edition and IBM Virtual Storage Center for Storwize® licenses.
For each enclosure, the number of licenses is calculated by using the following rules. Calculations are rounded up to the nearest whole number.
  1. The number of slots in the enclosure divided by 25.
  2. The sum of the physical capacity of the disks in the enclosure divided by 500 TiB.
  3. The higher number from rule 1 and rule 2 is the number of licenses that are needed for the enclosure.

For examples of using the enclosure pricing model, see Calculating the number of enclosure licenses for your storage systems.

To learn about the licensing of IBM Spectrum Control, click the Announcement in Table 1. Information about licenses is available in the section Charge Metrics.
Table 1. Product announcements for IBM Spectrum Control licenses
License Announcement Revised Announcement
IBM Spectrum Control - Storage Capacity Unit 5.3.0 5.3.6.0
IBM Spectrum Control - Select/Enclosure license 5.3.0 5.3.7.0
IBM Virtual Storage Center (subscription license) 5.4.3