VMware vSphere 9 Standard and Enterprise Plus – Not Anymore?

We knew this gonna happen, and the truth is, everyone has expected that. A new VMware licensing PDF confirming the fact that there is no more vSphere 9 Standard and vSphere 9 Enterprise Plus versions of VMware product. The only two options you have right now is VMware vSphere Foundation 9 (VVF 9) and VMware Cloud Foundation 9 (VCF 9). Other than that, if you're still on v7, is to migrate to vSphere 8 at max while still be able to stay on the Standard or Enterprise Plus.

vSphere Standard and vSphere Enterprise Plus are only offered up to version 8 Update 3, as noted in recent discussions. VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) 9.0 is the primary offering for vSphere 9, bundling advanced features for modern enterprise workloads. Already back in April this year, we knew that VMware will implement significant changes to its licensing policies. A key update is the requirement for a minimum 72-core order quantity for VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) purchases. Additionally, VMware will discontinue the sale of vSphere Standard.

What is happening is that customers would be paying for features that they do not use, when they would want to migrate to v9.

Quote from the Product Line Comparison PDF.

VMware vSphere is available in two standalone editions, VMware vSphere Standard and VMware vSphere Enterprise Plus, and is also included as a component in VMware Cloud Foundation and VMware vSphere Foundation. Note that vSphere Standard and vSphere Enterprise Plus are only available as versions up to the 8 Update 3 release. Currently, vSphere 9.0 features are only available as part of VMware vSphere Foundation 9.0 and VMware Cloud Foundation 9.0.

Get the document here.

That is the current state. Unless Broadcom changes the licensing, the smaller clients would have to weight what's cheaper. Stay on VMware and pay (tripple) premium or have a (one-time cost) migration to elsewhere and change hypervisor platform? Time will tell. When you see that even the bigger guys are thinking about vendor lock-in scenarios, imho, the smaller ones have already decided.

Key Features in vSphere Foundation 9.0 Not in Standard or Enterprise Plus (v8)

VVF 9.0 includes all Enterprise Plus (v8) features plus new and exclusive capabilities:

• NVMe Memory Tiering: Automatically tiers cold memory to NVMe SSDs, reducing DRAM costs by up to 38% for memory-intensive workloads like VDI. Not available in Standard or Enterprise Plus.
• Zero Downtime vGPU vMotion: Up to 6x faster migration for GPU-backed VMs, critical for AI/ML workloads, with no downtime. Absent in Standard and Enterprise Plus.
• Monster VM Scale: Supports VMs with up to 960 CPUs, optimized for AMD Zen 5 and Intel Granite Rapids processors, ideal for large-scale analytics or databases. Not supported in Standard or Enterprise Plus.
• TLS 1.3 by Default: Enforces modern encryption (FIPS 140-2 compliant) across all management endpoints, reducing attack surface. Not default in Standard or Enterprise Plus.
• Expanded Live Patching: Builds on v8U3, enabling faster security updates without operational impact. Limited or absent in Standard and Enterprise Plus.
• vSAN Included: 100 GiB/core vSAN Enterprise license included, with global deduplication for storage efficiency. Requires separate purchase in Standard and Enterprise Plus.
• Aria Suite Standard: Provides predictive and proactive operations management for enhanced visibility and efficiency.
• Automated Installation: New VCF Installer automates deployment with pre-checks and JSON templates for consistent multi-site rollouts.
• Enhanced Tanzu Kubernetes Grid: Simplified Kubernetes cluster setup and independent upgrades, optimized for containers. Basic TKG in Enterprise Plus, none in Standard.

Licensing & Support

vSphere Standard (v8): Per-core licensing, no add-ons, limited to basic virtualization needs. Support via subscription (SnS mandatory).

vSphere Enterprise Plus (v8): Per-core licensing, includes vCenter Standard, supports some add-ons (e.g., vSAN separately). Support via SnS.

vSphere Foundation 9.0: Per-core licensing, includes vCenter Standard, vSAN (100 GiB/core), Aria Suite Standard, and TKG. Supports multiple add-ons (e.g., VMware Live Recovery, Private AI Foundation). Solution license key unlocks most features (vSAN requires separate key post-Nov 22, 2024).

Few Notes

• vSphere Standard and Enterprise Plus are not available in vSphere 9.0; features are folded into VVF 9.0 or VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0
• Customers using vSphere 7.x face end-of-support in October 2025, making VVF 9.0 a key upgrade path.
• VVF 9.0 offers cost savings (up to 50% for 3-year subscriptions) for Enterprise Plus users transitioning

Final Words