VMware TCO Comparison Calculator - Methodology
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VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER
VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology
Contents
VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Overview ......................................................................................... 3
Definitions and Objectives .......................................................................................................................... 3
User Input Selection to the Calculator ........................................................................................................ 4
Host Hardware Server Cost .......................................................................................................................... 7
Server Calculations .................................................................................................................................... 8
Storage Cost .................................................................................................................................................. 9
Storage Calculations .................................................................................................................................. 9
Networking Cost.......................................................................................................................................... 10
Networking Calculations ........................................................................................................................... 10
Power and Cooling Cost............................................................................................................................. 11
Power and Cooling Calculations .............................................................................................................. 12
Datacenter Real Estate Cost ...................................................................................................................... 13
Datacenter Real Estate Calculations ........................................................................................................ 14
Guest Operating System License and Support Cost ............................................................................... 14
Guest Operating System License and Support Calculations .................................................................... 15
VMware Product Edition and Support Costs ............................................................................................ 15
VMware Product Edition and Support Calculations .................................................................................. 15
VMware Management Software and Support Costs................................................................................. 16
VMware Management Software and Support Calculations ...................................................................... 18
Microsoft Software Cost ............................................................................................................................. 18
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V License and Support Costs ............................................... 18
Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 License and Support Costs................................................................ 18
Microsoft Software Calculations ............................................................................................................... 19
Infrastructure Cost for Virtualization Management Solutions................................................................. 20
Cost of Hardware and Databases for VMware Management Servers ...................................................... 20
Cost of Hardware and Databases for Microsoft System Center ............................................................... 21
Operating Expenses for a Two-Year Period.............................................................................................. 22
Operating Expenses for Common IT Scenarios ....................................................................................... 23
Third-Party Software Costs ........................................................................................................................ 24
Third-Party Software Calculations ............................................................................................................ 27
TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER /2VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology
VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Overview
Definitions and Objectives
In evaluating the cost of a virtualization solution, it is essential to use a metric that not only looks at the cost
of licensing the virtualization software, but also takes into account other infrastructure components such as
servers, networking, storage, power, real estate and guest operating system (OS) licensing.
Because centralized management is a fundamental component of any virtualization deployment, hardware
and software costs associated with related management products, such as VMware vCenter Server or
Microsoft System Center, also need to be included. Moreover, software comparisons must be made
accurately across the features each product provides; if feature gaps exist, supplementary third-party
software costs must be examined for a true comparison.
As shown in Figures 1–3, VMware defines total cost of ownership (TCO) as the sum of all these cost items
separated into capital expenditures (CapEx) and operating expenditures (OpEx) over a two-year period; and
cost per virtual machine (VM) as that amount divided by the number of virtual machines in the environment.
Figure 1. Capital Expenses Equation
Host hardware server cost
+ Host networking hardware costs
+ Host storage costs
+ Virtualization software license costs
+ Host operating system license costs
+ Applicable third-party license costs
= Total CapEx costs
Figure 2. Operating Expenses Equation (Two-Year Period)
Power and cooling costs
+ Datacenter space costs
+ Virtualization and management software support costs
+ Host operating system support costs
+ Third-party software support costs
+ Third-party software integration costs
+ IT administrative time costs
= Total OpEx costs (two-year period)
TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER /3VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology
Figure 3. Cost Per Virtual Machine Equation
Total CapEx costs
+ Total OpEx (two-year period)
= Total cost of ownership
/ Number of virtual machines
= Cost per virtual machine
Ultimately, companies care about how much it will cost to run the total set of their business applications and
how efficiently they are using infrastructure. Therefore, in a virtualized IT environment, it is important to see
the costs associated with both purchase and maintenance of the system, including the IT administration time
necessary to operate and manage the platforms. Cost per VM as a metric also provides a more condensed
view of the total costs.
The VMware TCO Comparison Calculator (the Calculator) examines these metrics across two different
scenarios. The first scenario is a net-new deployment, where the model assumes no existing infrastructure
and calculates the total costs associated with deploying a new, fully functional datacenter running VMware
or Microsoft Windows virtualization solutions. The second scenario is a software upgrade, where the model
calculates the cost of upgrading an existing vSphere deployment to a private cloud platform based on either
VMware vCloud Suite or Microsoft Hyper-V and System Center.
The Calculator performs a straightforward two-year TCO calculation by modeling a comprehensive set of
costs for deploying, managing and operating a virtualized infrastructure or private cloud, with the exception
of hardware equipment depreciation. This TCO (defined as CapEx plus OpEx, as shown in Figure 3) and the
cost per VM are simple and accurate metrics to estimate the upfront, two-year expenditures required. For a
detailed longer-term ROI analysis that accounts for both operational savings over conventional infrastructure
and equipment life cycle costs, use the VMware ROI TCO Calculator at http://roitco.vmware.com/.
User Input Selection to the Calculator
After you log in and start the VMware TCO Comparison Calculator, you must decide which scenario to use
for making the comparison—either a new infrastructure deployment or a software upgrade (vSphere to
vCloud Suite).
If you choose the new infrastructure scenario, the Calculator makes a cost comparison between VMware
and Microsoft to achieve the desired deployment criteria as defined by user inputs. The inputs for the new
infrastructure comparison are listed in Table 1.
For the software upgrade scenario, the Calculator makes a cost comparison between upgrading an existing
vSphere deployment to VMware vCloud Suite and migrating an existing vSphere deployment to a Microsoft
Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V and System Center 2012 R2 private cloud. The model assumes no
additional virtualization host server purchases for upgrading to vCloud Suite products; however, it does
include any additional hardware costs associated with new requirements for management servers or
standard practices for VM density when changing virtualization software to a Microsoft product that has
lower VM density. When upgrading an existing vSphere or vSphere with Operations Management
deployment to vCloud Suite, most customers are eligible for the VMware Fair Value Conversion (FVC)
program 1. Through the FVC program, customers can receive credit toward the purchase of a VMware
vCloud Suite Edition by “converting” their existing licenses for VMware vSphere or vSphere with Operations
Management to VMware vCloud Suite licenses.
1
https://www.vmware.com/support/support-resources/licensing/vcloud-suite-fair-value-conversion/overview
TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER /4VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology
The software upgrade scenario also includes a 2-hour-per-VM IT time cost to migrate each VM from
vSphere to Microsoft Windows Server Hyper-V. This cost is added on the Microsoft side of the comparison.
The inputs for the software upgrade scenario are listed in Table 2.
Table 1. Creating a New Infrastructure: User-Selectable Inputs
INPUT DESCRIPTION
Number of virtual Select the number of virtual machines to deploy. Usually one or more virtual machines are
machines deployed for each virtualized application.
Virtualization host type Virtualization hosts are the servers on which users will install the hypervisor and run
virtualized applications. The following virtualization hosts are available:
• Server A: $7,250 for 2-socket, six-core processors, 32GB RAM, 4 network adapters
• Server B: $9,000 for 2-socket, six-core processors, 128GB RAM, 8 network adapters
• Server C: $30,000 for 4-socket, six-core processors, 256GB RAM, 8 network adapters
Servers B and C are more powerful than Server A and will typically run more virtual machines
than Server A. The server price does not include shared storage such as host bus adapters
(HBAs), SAN switches, or disks; networking infrastructure (such as switches); electricity;
cooling or space costs.
Storage type Users can select the type of shared storage that meets their business needs.
Shared storage options for virtual disks on virtual machines include the following:
• Fibre Channel (FC) storage area network (SAN): Assumes disk cost of $9/GB (cost for
HBAs; SAN switches are additional and included in the total cost for storage).
• iSCSI SAN: Assumes disk cost of $8/GB.
• Network-attached storage (NAS): Assumes disk cost of $6/GB.
• VMware Virtual SAN (vSAN): Available for VMware products only, assumes a storage
cost of $4.50/GB.
Product edition The Calculator allows users to select the VMware product edition that best meets their
business goals. Each edition differs in features and pricing, and you can use the product
selection wizard to help narrow down the choices by feature. The full list of VMware product
editions in the new infrastructure scenario is as follows:
• vSphere Essentials
• vSphere Essentials Plus
• vSphere with Operations Management Standard
• vSphere with Operations Management Enterprise
• vSphere with Operations Management Enterprise Plus
Comparisons are made with Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V and System Center
2012 R2. Depending on the VMware product selected, additional third-party software may be
added to the Microsoft costs to more accurately compare capabilities across the two products.
Management deployed Virtualization management software can be deployed either on physical servers or in virtual
on physical or virtual machines. The Calculator allows users to select the preferred deployment strategy.
machines Selecting Physical means that all applicable VMware and Microsoft management software will
run on individual host servers. Required databases also will be deployed on physical servers.
Selecting Virtual means that the VMware and Microsoft management software will be run in
virtual machines, with the VMware and Microsoft components running on their respective
hypervisors. Required databases also will be deployed in virtual machines.
Electricity Approximate cost per commercial kWh in the region where the datacenter is located. The
Calculator allows users to choose from three alternatives:
• Low: $0.080/kWh (–20 percent of U.S. national average)
• Average: $0.101/kWh (U.S. average)
• High: $0.120/kWh (+20 percent of U.S. national average)
TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER /5VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology
INPUT DESCRIPTION
Real estate Approximate cost of datacenter space in the region where the datacenter is located. The
Calculator allows users to choose from three alternatives:
• Low: Fully burdened datacenter real estate cost of $248/sq. ft. per year (-20 percent of
U.S. average).
• Average: Fully burdened datacenter real estate cost of $310/sq. ft. per year (U.S.
average).
• High: Fully burdened datacenter real estate cost of $372/sq. ft. per year (+20 percent of
U.S. average).
“Fully burdened datacenter real estate” cost includes capital cost of facilities for space build-
out, power and cooling equipment capital cost and factors in weighted depreciation.
VMs per CPU The number of virtual machines per host server CPU (or socket) to be deployed. Users can
select from four through 20 VMs per CPU.
Additional VMware VMs The incremental number of VMs to run per CPU on the VMware vSphere hosts. Users can
per CPU select from one through 10 VMs. This value represents the greater VM density users expect to
obtain on VMware vSphere. The smallest value of one additional VM per CPU represents a
minimum VM density advantage as supported by user reports, independent analyst opinion
and independent lab testing (data available from VMware upon request).
Table 2. Upgrading an Existing Infrastructure: User-Selectable Inputs
INPUT DESCRIPTION
Current vSphere product Select a vSphere product that is currently in use in your environment. Available options are:
• vSphere Essentials
• vSphere Essentials Plus
• vSphere Standard
• vSphere Enterprise
• vSphere Enterprise Plus
• vSphere with Operations Management Standard
• vSphere with Operations Management Enterprise
• vSphere with Operations Management Enterprise Plus
Number of current host Enter the number of CPUs (cores) currently running vSphere products. The Calculator will use
machine CPUs this amount to determine the number of product licenses to purchase in the software upgrade.
Number of VMs in the Enter the number of virtual machines running in your environment. The Calculator uses this as
current environment the number of desired VMs.
Number of physical Enter the number of physical servers running management and monitoring software for the
servers running environment. The model assumes that these existing servers will be repurposed for any new
management software management software required. (If additional management servers are required, they will
show up as additional hardware expenses.)
vCloud Suite upgrade Enter the vCloud Suite product you are interested in upgrading to and comparing with
Microsoft Windows Server Hyper-V and System Center. Available upgrade editions are:
• vCloud Suite Standard
• vCloud Suite Advanced
• vCloud Suite Enterprise
Fair Value Conversion pricing is available for upgrades to vCloud Suite editions depending on
the vSphere product currently in use. 2
2
https://www.vmware.com/support/support-resources/licensing/vcloud-suite-fair-value-conversion/overview
TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER /6VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology
INPUT DESCRIPTION
Virtualization host type Virtualization hosts are the servers on which users will install the hypervisor and run
virtualized applications. The following virtualization hosts are available:
• Server A: $7,250 for 2-socket, six-core processors, 32GB RAM, 4 network adapters
• Server B: $9,000 for 2-socket, six-core processors, 128GB RAM, 8 network adapters
• Server C: $30,000 for 4-socket, six-core processors, 256GB RAM, 8 network adapters
Servers B and C are more powerful than Server A and will typically run more virtual machines
than Server A. The server price does not include shared storage such as host bus adapters
(HBAs), SAN switches, or disks; networking infrastructure (such as switches); electricity;
cooling or space costs.
Additional VMware VMs The additional number of VMs to run per CPU on the VMware vSphere hosts. The baseline
per CPU number of additional VMs is calculated based on user VM density and can scale up to 10
additional VMs per CPU. This value represents the greater VM density users can
conservatively expect to obtain on VMware vSphere. The smallest value of one additional VM
per CPU represents the minimum VM density advantage that is supported by user reports,
independent analyst opinion and independent lab testing (data available from VMware upon
request).
Host Hardware Server Cost
Host hardware server cost represents the capital expenditure for server hardware. The model includes the
following types of servers in the total server cost:
• Virtualization hosts: Servers used to run virtual machines.
• Virtualization management servers: Servers used to run virtualization management software (included
only if users select physical machines as a deployment option for virtualization management software—
see Table 3).
• Database servers: Servers used to run the databases required by virtualization management software
(included only if users select Physical as a deployment option for virtualization management software—
see Table 3).
Table 3. Input to Server Cost Calculation
INPUT DESCRIPTION VALUE SOURCE
Number of virtual Estimated number Between 5 and 5,000 (or more, in the upgrade User input
machines of virtual machines scenario)
that the user plans
to deploy
Hosts unit cost Cost of a Value depends on server-type selection: User input
virtualization host • Server A: $7,250 for 2-socket, six-core
inclusive of processors, 32GB RAM, 4 network adapters
hardware support • Server B: $9,000 for 2-socket, six-core
processors, 128GB RAM, 8 network adapters
• Server C: $30,000 for 4-socket, six-core
processors, 256GB RAM, 8 network adapters
Cost of three years of hardware support is added to
the unit price (assumed to be 15 percent of unit price
for all server types).
For more details, see Appendix B of “VMware TCO
Comparison Calculator – Results Report.”
Unit cost of virtualization host = server price +
3-year support cost
TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER /7VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology
INPUT DESCRIPTION VALUE SOURCE
Number of virtual Number of virtual Baseline value set to 7 VMs per CPU for VMware Based on VMware
machines per machines per product editions and to 6 VMs per CPU for Microsoft customer averages,
host (i.e., virtual virtualization host product editions in the new infrastructure scenario. independent analyst
machine density) In the upgrade scenario, the baseline value is set to opinion (see
the user input VM density (with a lower bound at 4.0 http://www.gartner.c
VMs/CPU) for the VMware density and to 18 percent om/id=2604521) and
lower than the user input for the Microsoft density independent studies
(with a lower bound at 1.0 VMs/CPU). (available from
VMware upon
For more details, see “VMware TCO Comparison
request).
Calculator – Results Report.”
Management Cost of a Value is fixed and the same for both management Industry average
servers and DB management server and DB servers (identical to Server A):
servers unit cost and a database • $7,250 for 2-socket, six-core processors, 32GB
server inclusive of RAM, 4 network adapters
hardware support Cost of three years of hardware support is added to
the unit price (assumed to be 15 percent of unit
price).
For more details, see Appendix B of “VMware TCO
Comparison Calculator – Results Report.”
Unit cost of management server = server price +
3-year support cost
Unit cost of DB server = server price +
3-year support cost
Server Calculations
1. Number of hosts = number of virtual machines / number of virtual machines per host.
2. Number of management and DB servers: The value depends on the size of the environment (number
of virtual machines and number of managed hosts), the product edition selected and on the input
selection for management deployment. For virtual management servers, the calculated number of
management and DB servers is added to the number of VMs to be supported.
3. Cost of servers = (number of hosts * host unit cost) + (number of management servers * management
server unit cost) + (number of DB servers * DB server unit cost)
Note: Numbers are rounded up to the closest integer.
Assumptions
Server price is inclusive of internal disk storage for system software and controllers. It does not include cost
of host bus adapters (included in storage cost) and operating system costs (included in operating system
software cost).
In the upgrade scenario, for all users at 4.0 VMs/CPU density and higher, the Calculator assumes that the
density is the same for the new software and that no additional servers are needed. However, there are
differences in density capabilities between Microsoft and VMware. For this reason, it may be necessary to
purchase additional virtualization hosts to accommodate the lower density when migrating to Windows
Server 2012 Hyper-V and System Center 2012.
TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER /8VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology
Storage Cost
Storage type represents the capital expenditure for storage hardware given the number of virtual machines
specified as input to the Calculator. The following storage technologies are available in new infrastructure
scenario:
• Fibre Channel
• iSCSI
• NAS
• VMware Virtual SAN (VSAN) - VMware-specific storage option
Note: For comparison purposes, users must select from either Fibre Channel, iSCSI or NAS for the
Microsoft side.
As shown in Table 4, the following items are included in storage type:
• Host bus adapters (HBAs): For Fibre Channel SAN only
• SAN switches: For Fibre Channel SAN only
• Disk storage
Table 4. Input to Storage Cost Calculation
INPUT DESCRIPTION VALUE SOURCE
Number of HBAs per Number of HBAs in each 2 Default established to support
host virtualization host redundancy
HBA unit cost Price of one HBA $1,250 Industry average
Number of ports per 24 Survey of several HBAs (Fibre
SAN switch Channel) from CDW
(www.cdw.com)
SAN switch unit cost Price of a SAN switch $6,000 Survey average of several
SAN Fibre Channel switches
from U.S. online national
resellers
Average disk space Disk storage space (GB) 100GB Industry average and VMware
capacity per virtual disk needed on the SAN for the experiential estimate
per virtual machine (GB) number of virtual machines
specified as input
Cost of disk storage Cost of 1 GB of disk storage FC = $9/GB Survey of storage from online
($/GB) space national U.S. reseller for mid-range
iSCSI = $8/GB SAN, RAID DAS
NAS = $6/GB
vSAN = $4.50/GB
Storage Calculations
1. Number of HBAs = number of virtualization hosts * number of HBAs per virtualization host
2. Cost of HBAs = number of HBAs * HBA unit cost
3. Number of SAN switches = 2 * number of hosts / number of ports per switch
4. Cost of SAN switches = number of SAN switches * SAN switch unit cost
5. SAN disk storage capacity = number of virtual machines * average disk space capacity per virtual disk
per virtual machine
6. Cost of SAN disk storage = SAN disk storage capacity * cost per GB of SAN disk storage
7. Storage cost = cost of HBAs + cost of SAN switches + cost of SAN disk storage
Note: Number of SAN switches is rounded up to the closest integer.
TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER /9VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology
Assumptions
• All virtualization hosts are connected to networked storage or implement VSAN storage.
• All virtual machine virtual disks have the same fixed amount of disk space allocated.
• Each host has two single channel HBAs for redundancy (for Fibre Channel SAN case only).
• SAN switches are doubled for redundancy (for Fibre Channel SAN case only).
• No new storage is required in the upgrade scenario; the model assumes that any new hardware makes
use of the existing storage solution.
Networking Cost
Networking cost represents the capital expenditure for network switches given the number of applications
and virtual machines specified as input to the Calculator (Table 5). In calculating networking cost, we include
networking switches.
Table 5. Input to Networking Cost Calculation
INPUT DESCRIPTION VALUE SOURCE
Number of NICs per Value depends on Industry average for workload
virtualization host selection of server type: production servers and VMware
• Server A: 4 NICs per experiential estimate
host
• Server B: 8 NICs per
host
• Server C: 8 NICs per
host
Number of NICs per 4 Industry average for low end for
management and DB non- production workload servers
servers and VMware experiential estimate
Number of ports per NIC 2 Industry average
Number of ports per 24 Average from survey of VMware
networking switch customers
Networking switch unit Price of a networking $4,000 Surveyed customers and
cost switch various switches at large
U.S. resellers online.
Networking Calculations
1. Total number of NICs = (number of NICs per virtualization host * number of virtualization hosts) +
(number of NICs per management and DB server * number of management and DB servers)
2. Number of networking switches = total number of NICs * number of ports per NIC / number of ports per
networking switch
3. Networking cost = number of networking switches * networking switch unit cost
Note: Number of networking switches is rounded up to the closest integer.
Assumptions
Other networking costs such as cabling are omitted for simplicity.
TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER /10VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology
Power and Cooling Cost
Table 6 lists inputs for calculating power and cooling costs in the Calculator. Power consumption in the
datacenter is divided into three main categories:
• Operating power for the computing Infrastructure (IT loads): Server hardware, network switches,
SAN components, etc.
• Network-critical physical infrastructure (NCPI) for non-IT loads: Transformers, uninterruptible power
supplies (UPS), power wiring, fans and lighting
• Cooling power for air conditioners, pumps and humidifiers
Virtualization reduces the need for physical servers and related networking, storage and datacenter
infrastructure, meaning less power consumption for operations and cooling. Use of fewer servers in turn
drives substantial reductions in annual power service costs and important “green” savings (such as lower
carbon emissions). A complete model would account for each asset consuming power as listed above, but
for simplicity, the methodology focuses only on the direct operating and cooling power consumed by server
hardware, leaving out potential power and cooling consumption for networking, storage and other datacenter
infrastructure.
The operating power consumed by server hardware can be calculated by adding up the power ratings of
each server in the datacenter. Because this number represents maximum power used, it should be de-rated
to achieve steady-state power consumption. The steady-state constant was determined empirically.
According to American Power Conversion Corporation “…the nameplate rating of most IT devices is well in
excess of the actual running load by a factor of at least 33 percent.” 3 Forrester Research, Inc. corroborates
this idea, indicating that idle x86 servers consume between 30–40 percent of maximum (rated) power. 4
In addition to operating power, servers produce heat and require substantial cooling to keep them running at
prescribed temperatures. According to experiments completed in HP Laboratories, cooling equipment
consumes 0.8W of power for every 1W of heat dissipation in the datacenter (designated in this document as
the Load Factor, or L). Forrester Research confirmed this figure, which estimates that 0.5W to 1.0W of
power is required to dissipate 1W of heat.
Energy costs vary by worldwide region and state or province. IT equipment energy costs need to reflect
cooling costs that can be as much as twice those of the actual IT equipment, depending on power usage
effectiveness (PUE) of the datacenter.
Besides the annual operating and cooling power costs, many organizations are becoming more conscious of
the environmental impact of datacenter power consumption. According to an enterprise storage forum
article, the U.S. national average CO2 emission for electrical power is 1.341lbs per kWh. 5 For comparison, a
typical gallon of gasoline (octane level varies) will on average generate about 20 pounds of CO2.
Virtualization can help to not only reduce operating and cooling but stop the costly rise in carbon emissions,
estimated such that 100 servers retired is equivalent to taking 122 cars off the road per year.
3
Sawyer, Richard, “Calculating Total Power Requirements for Data Centers,” American Power Conversion, 2004
4
Fichera, Richard, “Power And Cooling Heat Up The Data Center,” Forrester Research, Inc., March 8, 2006
5
Shulz, Gary, “Storage Power and Cooling Issues Heat Up,” May 21, 2007, http://www.enterprisestorageforum.com/
TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER /11VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology
Table 6. Input to Power and Cooling Cost Calculation
INPUT DESCRIPTION VALUE SOURCE
Server nameplate Peak rated server power Value depends on server type Available from server
operating power consumption selection: manufacturer’s Web site. 6
• Server A: 460 watts/CPU
• Server B: 460 watts/CPU
• Server C: 600 watts/CPU
Electricity price per Commercial price per hour • Low: $0.080/kWh Energy Information
hour of 1 kW of electricity (–20 percent of U.S. national Administration 7
average)
• Average: $0.100/kWh (U.S.
average)
• High: $0.120/kWh (+20
percent of U.S. national
average)
Nameplate to The steady-state constant 0.67 American Power
steady-state power used to convert nameplate Conversion. 8 On average,
conversion power consumption to nameplate ratings are 33
steady-state percent higher than
steady-state load
Cooling load factor Estimated cooling load 0.8 Empirically determined in
factor (watts of cooling HP Laboratories
electricity needed to
dissipate 1 watt of heat)
Airflow redundancy The airflow redundancy 125 percent A 25 percent increment
required to cool the over current airflow needed
datacenter to support proper cooling.
(SearchDataCenter.com) 9
Airflow de-rating The percentage of airflow 80 percent SearchDataCenter.com
that is available for cooling (see previous row)
server heat
Datacenter The product of hours per 8736 hours on average Annual operating hours for
operating hours day, days per week, weeks (24x7x52) per year—x2 for the typical 24x7x52 operation
per year, and number of two-year period
years that the datacenter is
operational (“server on”
hours)
Power and Cooling Calculations
1. Actual operating power = nameplate power * nameplate to steady-state conversion factor
2. Actual cooling power = actual operating power * cooling load factor * (1 + airflow redundancy required in
datacenter) / airflow de-rating
3. Power and cooling cost = (number of virtualization hosts + number of management and DB servers) *
(actual operating power + actual cooling power) * electricity price per hour / 1000 * datacenter operating
hours per year * two years
6
HP Power Advisor configuration:
http://www8.hp.com/us/en/products/servers/solutions.html?compURI=1439951&jumpid=reg_r1002_usen_c-
001_title_r0005
7
Energy Information Administration, http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epm/table5_6_a.html
8
Sawyer, Richard, “Calculating Total Power Requirements for Data Centers,” American Power Conversion, 2004
9
McFarlane, Robert, “Let’s Add an Air Conditioner,” SearchDataCenter news article, published November 30, 2005.
http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/columnItem/0,294698,sid80_gci1148906,00.html
TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER /12VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology
Assumptions
This calculation is for operating power consumed during two years of operation only and includes the
operating costs of the power delivery and cooling systems.
Datacenter Real Estate Cost
Savings in datacenter real estate are achieved by reducing the number of physical servers consuming
valuable datacenter space. Reducing the number of physical servers enables reclaiming of current
datacenter space so future datacenter facilities build-out can be avoided or deferred.
Due to the special infrastructure (racks, cooling, power systems, acoustics and disaster resilience) required
in datacenters, datacenters are often significantly more expensive to build than standard commercial
properties. According to industry research, a datacenter rated at 40W per square foot costs approximately
$400 per square foot. 10 As datacenters today consume at least 270W per square foot, current datacenters
are costing an average of $2,700 per square foot. At the Computerworld 2009 projection of 500W per
square foot, the same datacenter would cost $5,000 per square foot to build.
VMware can reduce a company’s physical server count and datacenter footprint today and reduce the need
for future construction of new datacenters—compared to virtualization products that provide lower VM
density. The TCO Comparison Calculator accounts for the total yearly datacenter carrying costs; it combines
the monthly real-estate rental cost, datacenter facilities cost and power and cooling build-out costs (Table 7).
Table 7. Input to Datacenter Real Estate Calculation
INPUT DESCRIPTION VALUE SOURCE
Rack size Average rack size • 2 CPU = 1U Typical server configurations from manufacturer
consumed per for current server (server type A) Web sites.
server hardware (in • 2 CPU = 2U
number of U per (server type B)
server) • 4 CPU = 2U
(server type C)
Unit space per rack Average units Set to 24 by default Typical usable datacenter rack space,
which can be accounting for a 42U rack, but 43 percent
installed in a rack consumed with needed power distribution, cable
management, keyboard / display and spacing
(source: VMware).
Space per rack Square feet per 7 square feet Typical rack size including space for the rack
rack (approximately) (VMware estimates).
Capital cost for Capital cost for • Low: $1,200 per According to Computerworld (see reference in
facilities datacenter facilities square foot the introduction to this section), a datacenter
space build-out datacenter space • Average: $1,500 rated at 40W per square foot costs
(per square foot) build-out per square foot approximately $400 per square foot. At the 2009
• High: $1,800 per projection of 500W per square foot, the same
square foot datacenter would cost $5,000 per square foot to
build. Using these data points, estimates are that
today, datacenter space costs at least $2,700
per square foot to construct. Accounting for the
infrastructure only nets an estimated $1,200 per
square foot for build-out. These costs are
amortized over 10 years in this model.
10
Anthes, Gary, “Data Centers Get a Makeover”, Computerworld news article, published November 1, 2005.
http://www.computerworld.com/databasetopics/data/datacenter/story/0,10801,97021,00.html?SKC=home97021
TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER /13VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology
INPUT DESCRIPTION VALUE SOURCE
Years to amortize Average weighted 10 years Estimates of useful life for typical datacenter
build-out costs depreciation to build-out.
use for build-out
and equipment (in
years)
Capital cost for Capital cost for • Low: $960 per Per server, additional cost is needed for power
power and cooling power and square foot and cooling equipment, estimated to be $1,500
equipment (per cooling • Average: $1,200 per server, for a total of $2,700 per square foot.
square foot) equipment per per square foot These costs are amortized over 10 years in this
server • High: $1,440 per model.
square foot
Cost for the space Cost for the $40.00 per square Average space for datacenter lease space in
(lease, rent, space (lease, foot per year U.S. (may vary based on datacenter location and
mortgage) in rent, mortgage) in region).
square feet per square feet per
year year
Datacenter Real Estate Calculations
1. Total number of racks = round up (number of servers (by type) * rack size consumed per server / unit
space per rack)
2. Total area consumed by servers = number of racks * square feet of single rack
3. Average fully burdened datacenter cost per square foot per year = (cost to build datacenter facilities +
cost for datacenter power and cooling infrastructure) / years to amortize build-out costs + annual space
lease or allocated annual real estate cost per square foot
4. Datacenter real estate cost = total area consumed by servers * average fully burdened datacenter cost
Assumptions
This calculation is for two years of expenses related to datacenter space consumed by servers only.
Guest Operating System License and Support
Cost
A guest operating system is the OS that runs in a virtual machine. The cost of guest OSs includes the cost
of both licensing and support. Pricing and packaging for licensing and support depend on vendor of choice.
Virtualization solutions do not support the same number of guest OSs and can offer different levels of
support for the same guest OS (capabilities of a virtualization platform can be different depending on the
guest OS). Before determining the cost associated with licenses and support for the guest OS of choice, it is
fundamental to verify that the OS is included in the virtualization vendor’s support list. VMware offers the
broadest support for guest OSs; more details can be found through the informational wizard at
http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php?deviceCategory=software.
For simplicity, this model assumes that all VMware and Microsoft virtualization hosts are licensed for
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter Edition, which is priced per 2 CPUs and includes rights to
run an unlimited number of Windows Server virtual machines. All VMs are assumed to run Windows Server
as the guest OS. Pricing details can be found at http://mla.microsoft.com/default.aspx. The model also
accounts for the cost of two years of support that Microsoft offers through the Software Assurance program.
Microsoft Software Assurance is billed at 25 percent of license price per year and does not include 24x7
phone access to Microsoft technical support, as does the VMware Support and Subscription (SnS) that is
included with the VMware licenses by the Calculator. The model also assumes that customers purchase
TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER /14VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology
Microsoft Premier Support separately from Microsoft ($245 per hour). VMware Support and Subscription
entitles customers to not only all software releases and updates but also VMware Technical Support.
Guest Operating System License and Support Calculations
1. Number of Windows Server 2012 Datacenter licenses = number of virtualization hosts * number of
CPUs per host / 2 (Windows Server 2012 is priced per 2 CPUs)
2. Total cost of guest OS license and support = number of Windows Server 2012 Datacenter licenses *
(Windows Server 2012 Datacenter Edition unit license cost + Software Assurance unit cost)
Assumptions
• For Microsoft products, “Open, No Level” list pricing is used.
• Two years of Software Assurance costs roughly 50 percent of the license price.
• Baseline Microsoft Premier Support hours are estimated at 24 per year, plus 2.5 hours per 100 VMs per
year.
• Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 prices are based on the listed prices in this datasheet:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/B/4/A/B4A98A4E-2F43-489D-8761-
5362C8C2C328/System_Center_2012_R2_Licensing_Datasheet.pdf.
• Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 prices are based on the listed prices here:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/products/windows-server-2012-
r2/default.aspx#fbid=A_GbarDZPw4.
• Software prices are listed at retail cost and do not include discounts.
VMware Product Edition and Support Costs
VMware offers a diverse array of industry-leading virtualization platforms for building virtual infrastructures.
vSphere Essentials, vSphere with Operations Management, and vCloud Suite product editions enable users
to run business-critical applications with confidence and respond faster to business needs.
The licensing model for VMware product editions is per-processor (socket). The Calculator derives the
number of required licenses by totaling the number of processors for all virtualization hosts. In the new
infrastructure scenario, this calculation is based on user input for number of VMs and for desired density. In
the upgrade scenario, the Calculator takes the user input for existing host CPUs with vSphere products
installed as the number of licenses to upgrade. VMware vCenter Management Server licenses are included,
as determined by the number of VMs and hosts under management.
The model also takes into account the cost of two years of VMware Production Support and Subscription.
Pricing details can be found at http://www.vmware.com/products/datacenter-virtualization/vsphere/
pricing.html for the vSphere with Operations Management Standard, Enterprise and Enterprise Plus
editions, as well as the vSphere Essentials and vSphere Essentials Plus editions. vCloud Suite pricing can
be found at https://www.vmware.com/products/vcloud-suite/pricing.html. This pricing also appears in
Appendix A of “VMware TCO Comparison Calculator – Results Report.” FVC pricing approximations can be
found at https://www.vmware.com/support/support-resources/licensing/vcloud-suite-fair-value-
conversion/overview.
VMware Product Edition and Support Calculations
1. Number of VMware product licenses = (number of virtualization hosts * number of CPUs per host)
2. For non-vCloud Suite product editions: Total cost of VMware product licenses and support = number of
VMware product licenses * (VMware product license cost + 2 years production service and support unit
cost)
3. For vCloud Suite product editions in the upgrade scenario: FVC pricing = vCloud Suite edition price –
(.9*current product edition price).
TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER /15VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology
Assumptions
• For the new infrastructure scenario, software prices are list and do not include discounts.
• For the software upgrade scenario, many upgrade paths are available to receive credit through the
VMware Fair Value Conversion program, detailed here: https://www.vmware.com/support/support-
resources/licensing/vcloud-suite-fair-value-conversion/overview.
• The associated Acceleration Kits for vSphere with Operations Management editions are not included in
the Calculator.
VMware Management Software and Support Costs
VMware vCenter Server is a centralized management solution for vSphere hosts, and is priced by the
number of management hosts it will be running on. For deployments that require fewer than six CPUs, the
model assumes vCenter Server Foundation, and for larger deployments, vCenter Server Standard. vSphere
Essentials and Essentials Plus include a vCenter Server Foundation license. Pricing details can be found at
http://www.vmware.com/products/datacenter-virtualization/vsphere/pricing.html or in Appendix A of “VMware
TCO Comparison Calculator – Results Report.”
Each physical instance of vCenter Server supports as many as 1000 vSphere hosts, or as many as 10,000
VMs, and is licensed per server. If the deployment configuration is less than six vSphere hosts and less than
51 VMs, then the Calculator assumes a free SQL Server Express database included with vCenter Server will
be used. For larger deployments, each instance of vCenter Server requires an accompanying SQL Server
instance. 11 For deployments of six or fewer CPUs, the Calculator assumes the use of vCenter Server
Foundation instead of vCenter Server Standard.
If users select virtual management servers, the Calculator assumes use of the vCenter Server Appliance
VM, which supports up to 100 vSphere hosts or 3,000 VMs per appliance.
The Calculator also assumes the use of vCenter Operations Manager, which requires two management VMs
for every 6,000 monitored VMs, regardless of user selection for virtual or physical management servers. 12
The Calculator assumes the vCenter Operations Manager vApps are deployed in the balanced profile mode
and each collects about 2.2 million metrics for 6,000 VMs.
For the vCloud Suite upgrade scenario, the additional management software includes vCloud Automation
Center, vCloud Director, and Site Recovery Manager (for vCloud Suite Enterprise comparisons only).
vCloud Automation Center Server requirements are detailed in Table 8.
Table 8. vCloud Automation Center Licensing/Server Amounts
NUMBER OF
NUMBER OF NUMBER OF NUMBER OF
NUMBER OF WINDOWS
WORKLOAD MANAGEMENT DATABASE ADDITIONAL
SERVERS SERVER 2012
SERVERS SERVERS SQL LICENSES
LICENSES
Up to 1,000 3 2 Web servers 1 vCAC 3 1
VMs (1 active Web Database
server, 1 server for
failover; Manager
Service is cohosted
with the Web
components)
11
vCenter Server requirements documentation: http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2021202,
http://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/files/2013/09/vSphere-5.5-Quick-Reference-0.5.pdf,
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere5/r55/vsphere-55-configuration-maximums.pdf
12
vCenter Operations Manager requirements documentation: https://www.vmware.com/support/vcops/doc/vcops-572-
vapp-release-notes.html#compatibility
TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER /16VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology
NUMBER OF
NUMBER OF NUMBER OF NUMBER OF
NUMBER OF WINDOWS
WORKLOAD MANAGEMENT DATABASE ADDITIONAL
SERVERS SERVER 2012
SERVERS SERVERS SQL LICENSES
LICENSES
Up to 10,000 4 2 Web servers, 1 vCAC 4 1
VMs 1 vCAC Manager Database
Server
More than 5 3 Web servers, 1 vCAC 5 1
10,000 VMs 1 vCAC Manager Database
Server
For vCloud Director, one license is assumed for each vCenter Server Standard/Foundation license.
For Site Recovery Manager, SRM system requirements depend on the storage type the user selects. It is
also assumed that only 10 percent of the total number of VMs are being protected.
Table Key
SRM – SRM Management Server
VRMS – vSphere Replication Management Server (same as vSphere Replication Appliance)
VRS – vSphere Replication Server
Case A: For User Inputs of Fibre Channel SAN or iSCSI SAN
Server requirements: 1 SRM per 1,000 protected VMs
Workload (number of protected VMs) Number of management servers
Total number of management servers Total number of VMs/10,000 (rounded up)
Number of SRM servers Total number of VMs/10,000 (rounded up)
Number of DB servers 0
Number of vCenter Server licenses 0
Number of Windows Server licenses Total number of VMs/10,000 (rounded up)
Case B: For User Inputs of NAS or VMware Virtual SAN (VSAN)
Server requirements: 1 SRM, 1 VRMS, 4 VRS per 500 protected VMs (1 SRM, 1 vCenter Server, 1 VRMS
and 4 VRS at protected)
Workload (number of protected VMs) X = (Total number of VMs/10)
Total number of management servers Number of SRM + Number of VRMS + Number of VRS
Number of SRM servers Total number of VMs/5,000 (rounded up), virtual or physical
Number of VRMS servers Total number of VMs/5,000 (rounded up), virtual only
Number of VRS servers [Total number of VMs-(Total number of VMs/5,000 rounded
up)*100)]/100 rounded up—or 0—whichever is higher (virtual only)
Number of DB servers 0
Number of vCenter Server licenses 0
Number of Windows Server licenses Total number of VMs/5,000 (rounded up)
TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER /17VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology
VMware Management Software and Support Calculations
1. Number of vCenter server licenses and physical hosts = (number of vSphere hosts) / 1,000 or (number
of VMs) / 10,000
2. Or, number of vCenter Server licenses and appliance VMs = (number of vSphere hosts) / 100 or
(number of VMs) / 3,000
3. Number of vCenter Operations Manager vApps = 2 * (number of VMs) / 6,000
Assumptions
• Software prices are list and do not include discounts.
• VMware vSphere Essentials Plus includes VMware vCenter Server and does not require additional
licensing for VMware vCenter Server.
• Only 10 percent of the VMs are assumed to be protected by VMware Site Recovery Manager.
• Replication is provided by the storage vendor if the user selects FC SAN or iFSCI SAN as network
storage type.
• For other storage types, replication is provided by vSphere replication service.
• For more detailed information regarding Site Recovery Management compatibility, see Site Recovery
Manager Compatibility Matrices.
Microsoft Software Cost
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V License and Support Costs
Microsoft Windows Server Hyper-V is the server virtualization hypervisor from Microsoft. Hyper-V is bundled
with Windows Server 2012 R2 and does not require additional licensing.
As described previously, the model assumes Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter Edition with Hyper-V is
licensed on all virtualization hosts. Consequently, there are no additional costs required to license Hyper-V.
Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 License and Support Costs
Microsoft System Center is a systems management software suite from Microsoft. It includes Virtual
Machine Manager, Operations Manager, Configuration Manager, Data Protection Manager, Service
Manager, Orchestrator, Endpoint Protection and App Controller. Each System Center module provides a
subset of the functionalities and features required to manage a virtual infrastructure. For more details, refer
to http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/en/us/default.aspx.
Like VMware vCenter Server, System Center is not strictly required to run Hyper-V, but because centralized
virtualization management is part of the majority of today’s deployments of server virtualization, this
calculator only provides cost comparisons that include management software and its required infrastructure.
Although cost comparisons should be made between solutions with the same feature sets, there isn’t a
System Center setup that perfectly matches VMware vCenter Server capabilities. To make a realistic
comparison, three components of the Microsoft System Center suite are required when comparing with
VMware vCenter: System Center Virtual Machine Manager, System Center Operations Manager, and
System Center Configuration Manager.
System Center 2012 licenses are processor-based, with each license covering as many as two physical
processors. Server management licenses are required for managed devices that run server operating
system environments. The number of server management licenses required for each managed server is
determined by the number of physical processors in the server for System Center Datacenter Edition. For
the purposes of this calculator, System Center 2012 Datacenter Server Licenses are used for all Hyper-V
host servers. For more details, visit the Microsoft Server and Cloud Platform Web site at
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/system-center/datacenter-management.aspx.
TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER /18VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology
The number of System Center management servers depends on the size of the managed environment
(number of managed servers and virtual machines). For more information, see Microsoft TechNet
Deployment Guide.
Microsoft management software suite deployment guidelines:
1. System Center Virtual Machine Manager: For deployments of 150 hosts or fewer, one Virtual
Machine Manager instance is required. For deployments of more than 150 hosts, two instances are
required—one Virtual Machine Manager management server and one Virtual Machine Manager library
server. Virtual Machine Manager is included with System Center licenses, but requires a separate
Windows Server license for each instance to run on. The Calculator assumes that the Server Type A
management host passes the minimum specifications required to run all components of Virtual Machine
Manager.
2. System Center Operations Manager: The Calculator assumes the standard distributed deployment for
Operations Manager, one baseline Operations Manager instance, plus one additional Operations
Manager instance per 3,000 VMs. Operations Manager also requires one database server for fewer
than 500 VMs, and three database servers for more than 500 VMs. These servers do not require
additional System Center licenses, but do require additional Windows Server Standard Edition licenses
for each instance.
3. System Center Configuration Manager: The Calculator assumes one Configuration Manager
instance per 100,000 managed VMs and two for deployments greater than 100,000 VMs (assuming
SQL Server is remote from the site server computer). Configuration Manager does not require
additional System Center licenses, but does require Windows Server Standard Edition licenses for each
instance. 13
The model also accounts for the cost of two years of support that Microsoft offers through the Software
Assurance program. Additionally, it assumes the cost of two years of Microsoft Premium support, with hours
scaled based on the size of the virtual machine environment (Figure 4). For more information about cost
assumptions associated with Microsoft Premier Support, see Microsoft TechNet, “Using Microsoft Product
Support Services” at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd346877.aspx.
Figure 4. Microsoft Premium Support Costs
Baseline incidents Additional Cost
per year incidents based
on deployment
size
24 2.5 incidents per $245/phone
year per 100 VMs incident
Microsoft Software Calculations
1. Number of System Center Management licenses for managed hosts = (total number of CPUs of
virtualization hosts) / 2
2. Total cost of System Center license and support = (cost of System Center licenses + cost of Software
Assurance) * number of System Center instances + cost of Premier Support * number of instances per
year * two years
Assumptions
• Two years of Software Assurance costs; roughly 50 percent of the license price.
• Software prices are retail listings and do not include discounts.
13
System Center Configuration Manager hardware configurations: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-
us/library/hh846235.aspx
TECHNICAL WHITE PAPER /19VMware TCO Comparison Calculator Methodology
Infrastructure Cost for Virtualization Management
Solutions
In addition to licenses and support for each virtualization management solution, the model accounts for the
cost of the hardware and software infrastructure (operating systems and databases) necessary to deploy
each management solution.
The model offers the possibility to choose from two deployment scenarios:
1. Physical: The model estimates infrastructure costs as if all applicable management and database
software were deployed on dedicated physical servers as opposed to virtualization hosts. The number
of management and database servers depends on the management solution and on the number of
managed virtualization hosts and virtual machines. The model assumes that each management and
database server runs on Windows Server 2012 Standard Edition and that the database software is
Microsoft SQL Server. Because hardware requirements for management solutions are generally less
demanding than those for production servers of virtualized applications, the model assumes that
management and database servers will be deployed on the low-end configuration, Server A.
Note: VMware vCenter Operations Management server is available only as a vApp virtual appliance.
For more details about the specs of management and database servers, see Appendix B of “VMware
TCO Comparison Calculator – Results Report.”
2. Virtual: The model estimates infrastructure costs assuming management and database software are
deployed in virtual machines. Such virtual machines will run on the virtualization hosts in addition to the
applications. Each management and database virtual machine can be considered the physical-to-virtual
conversion of a corresponding management or database server. Consequently, the number of
management and database virtual machines is the same as the number of management and database
physical servers in the Physical deployment scenario (with the exception of the vCenter Operations
Manager servers.) Because the model assumes that all virtualization hosts are licensed with Windows
Server 2012 Datacenter Edition, unlike the Physical deployment scenario, there is no additional
operating system cost for management and database servers. The cost for Microsoft SQL Server
licenses and support is still present.
Cost of Hardware and Databases for VMware Management Servers
The number of VMware management servers depends on the size of the managed environment (number of
managed servers and virtual machines).
The model determines the cost of infrastructure hardware and software necessary for deploying the
management software based on Tables 9 and 10.
Table 9. VMware vCenter Server Physical Deployment Requirements
NUMBER OF SERVERS FOR PHYSICAL
ADDITIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE
DEPLOYMENT OF VM WARE VCENTER
SOFTWARE
SERVER
NUMBER OF WINDOWS
VMWARE MICROSOFT SQL
VIRTUAL DATABASE SERVER 2012
VCENTER SERVER
MACHINES OR SERVERS STANDARD
SERVERS LICENSES
HOSTS EDITION
As many as 50 VMs 1 - 1 0 (uses SQL Server
Express)
More than 50 VMs 1 for every additional 1 for every additional 1 for every vCenter 1 for each database
1000 vSphere hosts 1000 vSphere hosts or Server instance server instance
or 10,000 VMs 10,000 VMs
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