Oracle Cloud VMware Solution FAQs
General
What is Oracle Cloud VMware Solution?
Oracle Cloud VMware Solution (OCVS) enables customers to run VMware-based software-defined data centers (SDDCs directly on dedicated bare metal infrastructure in Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). Customers use OCVS to deploy, manage, and operate VMware environments using familiar VMware tools and processes while benefiting from OCI’s global cloud platform.
OCVS supports core VMware components including vSphere, vSAN, NSX, vCenter, and HCX to address compute, storage, and networking requirements for use cases such as data center migration, capacity expansion, disaster recovery, and virtual desktop infrastructure. VMware licenses may be provided through Oracle or brought by customers, depending on the applicable offering and transition phase.
In which OCI regions is Oracle Cloud VMware Solution available?
Oracle Cloud VMware Solution is available in all OCI public cloud regions (commercial, government, sovereign) or a dedicated region in your data center.
Is Oracle Cloud VMware Solution a managed VMware service?
No. Oracle Cloud VMware Solution is a customer-managed service that gives you full administrative access and control of a VMware SDDC, just like your on-premises VMware environment.
Supported shapes
Which bare metal OCI shapes support Oracle Cloud VMware Solution?
- BM.DenseIO.E5, BM.DenseIO.E4, and BM.DenseIO.52 provide local NVMe storage.
- BM.Standard.E5, BM.Standard.E4, BM.Standard3, and BM.Standard2 don’t provide local NVMe storage and require OCI Block Volumes storage.
- BM.GPU.A10.4 is designed for hardware-accelerated GPU workloads.
What are the models of CPU, GPU, and other specifications (number of cores, memory, networking bandwidth) for each of these shapes?
- BM.Standard.E5, BM.Standard.E4, andBM.DenseIO.E4 are based on AMD CPUs.
- BM.Standard3, BM.Standard2, and BM.DenseIO.52 are based on Intel CPUs.
- BM.GPU.A10.4 is based on Intel CPU and NVIDIA GPU.
For more information on models of CPU and GPU, number of cores, memory, and networking bandwidth, please visit the OCVS documentation page.
Deployment
Which versions of VMware vSphere does Oracle Cloud VMware Solution support?
Oracle Cloud VMware Solution supports vSphere 8.x. Please visit the OCVS documentation page for version name and version number of each component (ESXi, vCenter, NSX, HCX, others).
What is the maximum number of ESXi hosts that can be deployed?
The maximum number of ESXi hosts you can create in a cluster depends on the bare metal OCI shapes that support Oracle Cloud VMware Solution. BM.DenseIO.E5, BM.DenseIO.E4, and BM.DenseIO.52 support up to 64 ESXi hosts. BM.Standard.E5, BM.Standard.E4, BM.Standard3, and BM.Standard2 support up to 32 ESXi hosts.
What is the minimum number of ESXi hosts that can be deployed?
The minimum number of ESXi hosts you can create in a cluster depends on the bare metal OCI shapes that support Oracle Cloud VMware Solution, which supports a single ESXi host SDDC for a single node SDDC when using BM.DenseIO.E4, and BM.DenseIO.52. All other shapes require a minimum of three ESXi hosts for a multihost SDDC.
How many single host SDDCs can I provision?
A single host SDDC is limited to a global maximum of 10 across tenancies and regions.
Can I run a single host SDDC indefinitely?
Yes, but there are limitations as shown below. A single host SDDC is intended as a lower-cost entry point for testing, workload validation, and migrating to a full production deployment.
What are the key limitations for a single host SDDC?
- Single host SDDCs don't expire, but they're limited to the hourly and monthly billing options.
- Oracle support is limited to commercially reasonable support. VMware support is available only for the first 60 days for a single-node SDDC deployment.
- The following features are not supported, since they require more than
one host
- Distributed management components
- High availability (HA) for VMware clustering
- Distributed resource management (DRM) for VMware clustering
- Please refer to the service descriptions (PDF) for the limitations of single host SDDCs.
Is Oracle responsible for patching and managing the customer’s Oracle Cloud VMware Solution SDDC?
No. With Oracle Cloud VMware Solution, the customer gets complete administrative control over a VMware SDDC, similar to their on-premises VMware environment. As such, the customer or the customer’s operating partner is responsible for operations and maintenance.
Is it possible to use Oracle Bring Your Own License (BYOL) to license Oracle Cloud VMware Solution components?
Yes. The BYOL VMware license model will be supported for Oracle Cloud VMware Solution through the OCI console and APIs once the support is GA.
What is the Oracle licensing policy for running Oracle software on Oracle Cloud VMware Solution?
The licensing policies for running Oracle software on virtualized environments, including Oracle Cloud VMware Solution, are subject to the Oracle Partitioning Policy (PDF).
How can I migrate workloads to Oracle Cloud VMware Solution?
There are many ways to migrate your workloads to Oracle Cloud VMware Solution based on your requirements and configuration. Use VMware HCX for complex migration projects. Use vMotion between VMware vCenter Servers to migrate your workload live. Please see this Solutions Playbook for more details.
Patching and upgrades
How do I upgrade, update, or patch my SDDC to a newer version?
The Oracle Cloud VMware Solution upgrade feature provides automation, tools, and procedures to enable Oracle Cloud VMware Solution deployments installed with VMware vSphere version 6.x or older to patch, update, and upgrade to VMware vSphere 8.x. The upgrade includes a download link for binaries. Licenses are included if you are using license-included SKUs. Please refer to the Oracle Cloud VMware Solution documentation for detailed, step-by-step instructions.
What’s the download link for the rolling upgrade?
During the SDDC upgrade process, as the management cluster is upgraded to a chosen version, the user is directed to Download Binaries. Licenses are included for license-included option. The download link is a preauthenticated, read-only object storage bucket URL that points to the vCenter component bundle and NSX-T Data Center bundle.
How do I upgrade ESXi hosts?
During the SDDC upgrade process, once the SDDC and the ESXi cluster are upgraded, users are directed to upgrade each host in the cluster from the list of ESXi hosts and upgrade them to the latest version. The new host that’s created will have the existing configuration. Once you’ve migrated workloads from the old hosts to the new hosts, you must delete the old hosts. The new host will be billed hourly; there’s no minimum eight-hour charge on this host, unlike with the regular hourly SKU. Any term commitments assigned to the old host will be moved to the new host when the old host is deleted and will include the same terms as the original.
What happens if I don’t delete the old ESXi hosts?
You’ll receive a notification for the old hosts to be deleted; the new hosts will be billed hourly until the old hosts are deleted.
Can I use vSphere Lifecycle Manangement (vLCM) to upgrade an Oracle Cloud VMware Solution–deployed SDDC from 7.x to 8.x?
No, you shouldn’t use vLCM to upgrade from 7.x to 8.x. The Oracle Cloud VMware Solution rolling upgrade process provides the relevant licenses for license-included option and binary required to update your SDDC. The rolling upgrade is the supported method to upgrade your current SDDC deployments.
How can I upgrade VMware HCX?
VMware HCX can be upgraded online using the HCX console until April 30, 2025. After April 30, 2025, HCX upgrades will follow an offline upgrade process, as documented by Broadcom. The HCX upgrade process depends on the current HCX version and the upgrade path interoperability matrix.
Can customers request binaries/updates for individual components of the VMware Cloud Foundation bundle (vCenter, HCX, NSX)?
Oracle Cloud VMware Solution releases binaries through regular minor patch updates or upgrades, as well as when security updates are available. These binaries are aligned with the compatibility matrix and are associated with a specific VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) cohort. We recommend using binaries from the same VCF cohort to ensure compatibility. However, if there’s a need for individual binaries, customers can request them through My Oracle Support.
Multiple clusters
What is the multicluster feature?
Customers of Oracle Cloud VMware Solution can create multiple clusters within a single SDDC. This feature offers many advantages, including simplified management, workload separation, and cost efficiency. Please visit this multicluster page for detailed instructions.
How many clusters can be created in a single SDDC?
You can create up to fifteen clusters in a single SDDC including the Unified Management cluster.
Can a single vCenter manage all the clusters in an SDDC?
Yes. A single vCenter deployed in the Unified Management cluster can manage all clusters deployed in that SDDC.
Can I have multiple vCenters in a single SDDC?
No. You can have only a single vCenter managing all clusters in an SDDC.
Can I vMotion workloads across clusters?
Yes, vMotion across clusters is supported. Users can restrict vMotion across clusters modifying OCI network security groups.
Will storage be segregated across clusters?
Yes. You can create additional workload clusters that have a different shape than the original Unified Management cluster.
Can I add hosts with different shapes in the same cluster?
When creating a cluster, you must deploy a minimum of three node production clusters of the same shape and core. After provisioning, you can add hosts with different shapes that are compatible with the original shape selected.
Can I deploy different vSphere versions in the same cluster?
Yes. You can choose an ESXi software version within the SDDC’s major VMware software version when adding a host.
What shapes can be added to a cluster?
Once you have provisioned a cluster, you can add hosts with different shapes that are compatible with the original hosts in the cluster.| Initial host shape configuration of the cluster | Host shapes that can be added to this cluster |
|---|---|
| BM.DenseIO2.52 | BM.DenseIO2.52, BM.Standard3.64, BM.GPU.A10.4 |
| BM.Standard2.52 | BM.Standard2.52, BM.Standard3.64, BM.GPU.A10.4 |
| BM.Standard3.64 | BM.Standard3.64, BM.GPU.A10.4 |
| BM.GPU.A10.4 | BM.Standard3.64, BM.GPU.A10.4 |
| BM.DenseIO.E4.128 | BM.Standard.E4.128, BM.DenseIO.E5.128, BM.Standard.E5.192 |
| BM.Standard.E4.128 | BM.Standard.E4.128, BM.Standard.E5.192 |
| BM.Standard.E5.192 | BM.Standard.E5.192, BM.DenseIO.E5.128 |
| BM.DenseIO.E5.128 | BM.DenseIO.E5.128, BM.Standard.E5.192 |
Networking
What networking capabilities does OCVS provide using VLANs?
Oracle Cloud VMware Solution (OCVS) uses OCI VLANs to provide Layer 2 networking for VMware components such as ESXi hosts, NSX, vSAN, vMotion, and HCX. VLANs enable traffic segmentation and isolation while allowing VMware workloads to operate as if they were connected to a traditional on-premises Layer 2 network.
Is there a limit to the number of VLANs in an OCVS environment?
Yes. An OCI Virtual Cloud Network (VCN) supports up to 100 VLANs total, including both system-created and customer-created VLANs, shared across all OCVS SDDCs within that VCN.
What is the scale limit per VLAN in OCVS?
Each VLAN supports up to 128 virtual network interfaces (vNICs). This limit is shared by all resources attached to the VLAN.
Storage
What size block volume can I provision with OCI Block Volumes?
You can provision block volumes from 50 GB to 32 TB in increments of 1 GB.
How many block volumes can I attach to a host?
You can attach up to 32 block volumes per host.
What is the maximum performance in a block volume supported by Oracle Cloud VMware Solution?
Currently, the maximum performance supported is up to 50 volume performance units (VPUs).
What are the features of OCI Block Storage that aren't supported in Oracle Cloud VMware Solution?
Multipathing, backup policies, auto-performance, cross-region replication, and VPUs above 50 are not supported by Oracle Cloud VMware Solution.
What type of storage can I use with Oracle Cloud VMware Solution?
BM.DenseIO.E5, BM.DenseIO.E4, and BM.DenseIO.52 have vSAN with local NVMe as storage. Storage can be extended by adding additional hosts or external storage, such as OCI Block Volumes or NFS.
Standard.E5, BM.Standard.E4, BM.Standard3, and BM.Standard2 use OCI Block Volumes as the primary data store. You can extend the storage capacity by adding additional OCI Block Volumes or NFS.
How many hosts can be added to a single block volume?
You can add up to 32 ESXi hosts to a single block volume.
Do I need a device path when I set a block performance VPU?
Yes, you need a device path when you select a block volume beyond 20 VPUs. You can assign any device path.
BYOL
What is changing with Oracle Cloud VMware Solution (OCVS)?
Oracle is partnering with Broadcom to enable a Bring Your Own License (BYOL) model for our customers. As part of this change, the existing license-included model—where VMware licenses are bundled with OCVS infrastructure—is planned to be phased out.
Oracle provides a structured transition period to help enable continuity for existing workloads, provide predictable scaling options, and establish clear timelines for adopting BYOL. You can find the BYOL announcements and details here:
What are the key dates for the OCVS BYOL transition?
| Date | Milestone |
|---|---|
| January 21–March 21, 2026: Announcement period |
|
| March 22–May 20, 2026: Transition period |
|
| Starting May 21, 2026: BYOL-only offering |
|
What does “license included” mean?
License included refers to OCVS SKUs where VMware software—including ESXi, vSAN, NSX, vCenter, and HCX—is bundled with OCI and where Oracle is responsible for managing the VMware license keys for the aforementioned VMware products.
What does “BYOL” mean?
Bring Your Own License (BYOL) means customers purchase VMware licenses directly from Broadcom or authorized resellers and apply them to OCVS infrastructure. Oracle provides infrastructure, provisioning workflows (via console or APIs), and operational reporting while customers retain responsibility for license procurement, subscription management, and compliance.
What does “on-demand SKU” mean?
On-demand SKUs are consumption-based OCVS infrastructure offerings without long-term commitments, available as hourly or monthly options depending on the transition phase. During the announcement period, both hourly and monthly license-included on-demand SKUs are supported for new and existing SDDCs. During the transition period, only hourly license-included on-demand SKUs are available, primarily for scaling existing SDDCs. Beginning with the BYOL-only offering, all on-demand usage will require BYOL.
When can customers start using BYOL with OCVS?
BYOL for OCVS is expected to be generally available around mid-March 2026. Customers with valid BYOL licenses should engage their Oracle account team to plan deployments or host transitions in alignment with commitment expirations.
What happens after BYOL is generally available?
- Existing SDDCs may begin consuming or transitioning to BYOL, subject to host commitment terms.
- New and existing SDDCs follow the same BYOL-based operational model.
- BYOL-enabled OCVS deployments support the latest generally available VCF 5.2.x release.
Who is responsible for VMware license compliance?
Customers are responsible for:
- Purchasing VMware licenses
- Maintaining valid subscriptions
- Applying licenses correctly to OCVS hosts
- Ensuring ongoing compliance and accurate representation of their ported licenses to OCVS
Are there any SLA changes with BYOL SKUs?
Infrastructure and control plane SLAs remain unchanged. Customers are fully responsible for managing the validity and lifecycle of VMware licenses. OCVS service limits and management capabilities will be restricted if there is a violation of VMware license compliance requirements.
How does the VMware ESXi lifecycle affect long-term license-included commitments?
To remain fully supported by both Oracle and Broadcom, OCVS environments must run a supported VCF release and an appropriate licensing model. Broadcom has announced that VMware ESXi 8.x reaches End of Service on October 11, 2027. Customers may upgrade to VCF 9.0 before the End-of-Service date. Newer VCF releases, including VCF 9, require BYOL.
Customers with long-term license-included commitments, particularly 3-year commitments initiated toward the end of the announcement period, should plan their environments with VMware lifecycle milestones in mind. Transitioning to BYOL and upgrading to a supported VCF release prior to ESXi 8.x End of Service helps ensure continued platform support and operational continuity.
Oracle recommends aligning BYOL adoption and version upgrades with host commitment timelines and VMware product lifecycle guidance.
How long can existing SDDCs continue using the license-included model?
Existing SDDCs will continue running under their current license-included host commitments.
- Announcement period (January 21–March 21, 2026): Existing SDDCs operate normally. Customers may scale using available license-included SKUs (on-demand hourly or monthly, 1-year, or 3-year).
- Transition period (March 22–May 20, 2026): License-included term SKUs (1-year, 3-year, and monthly) are no longer available for new purchases. Existing SDDCs may scale only using hourly license-included hosts. Hosts with expiring commitments transition to hourly license-included SKUs.
- BYOL-only offering (Starting from May 21, 2026): All new host additions must use BYOL. Existing hosts may continue until their license-included commitments expire or they can transition to BYOL before then.
Can existing SDDCs use BYOL?
Existing SDDCs cannot consume BYOL until it is generally available. Customers with valid BYOL licenses should engage their Oracle account team to plan the transition in alignment with host commitment expirations.
Are license-included SDDCs entitled to upgrade to VCF 9?
No. License-included SDDCs cannot access VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9 or VCF-only features such as Operations or Automation. Full VCF capabilities require transitioning the whole SDDC to BYOL.
How can customers deploy new OCVS SDDCs?
- During the announcement period, new SDDCs may be deployed using license-included SKUs, including on-demand (hourly or monthly) and term-based (1-year or 3-year) options.
- During the transition period, new SDDCs may only be deployed using BYOL. License-included SKUs will no longer be available for new deployments.
- Starting from the BYOL-only offering date, all new SDDCs must be deployed using BYOL. License-included SKUs will no longer available.
Can customers deploy BYOL SDDCs?
New SDDCs cannot use BYOL until it is generally available. Customers with valid BYOL licenses should engage their Oracle account team to plan deployments once BYOL becomes available.
Are there differences for government or public sector customers?
No. The BYOL transition applies consistently across commercial and government offerings.
Can Alloy customers use BYOL with OCVS, and who is responsible for VMware license procurement?
Yes, Alloy customers can use BYOL with OCVS. The party deploying the SDDC is responsible for obtaining valid VMware licenses directly from Broadcom or its authorized resellers and applying them to the OCVS environment.
Can Oracle partners manage OCVS environments?
Yes. Customers may use Oracle Customer Success Services (CCS) or approved partners, but the customers that own the SDDC remain responsible for VMware license procurement and compliance.
How should DR or pilot-light environments be handled?
- On-demand license-included hosts are supported during the transition.
- BYOL is required for new capacity starting from the BYOL-only offering date.
- Minimum Broadcom core requirements apply when using BYOL.
Billing
How is pricing structured for Oracle Cloud VMware Solution?
For general questions on pricing, see the Oracle Cloud VMware Solution pricing page.
What are the different commitment pricing options?
The different commitment terms are hourly, monthly, one year, and three years. Please see the pricing section for more information.
What is the minimum commitment term?
Oracle Cloud VMware Solution supports a minimum commitment term of eight hours using the hourly commitment option.
What happens when I delete the host before the end of the commit period?
If the host is deleted before the end of the commit period, the host will continue to be billed for the duration of the commitment.
Will I see separate line items for infrastructure and VMware software fees?
No, Oracle Cloud VMware Solution is billed via a single SKU per host in each customer’s usage reports. If you are utilizing a license included SKU, the charge covers both Compute infrastructure and VMware license access and if you are utilizing a BYOL SKU, the charge covers just the Compute infrastructure.
Can I reuse commitment from a deleted node?
Yes. You can reuse the commitment while provisioning the host of the same shape and core count. The term of the commitment will remain unchanged.
Can I swap billing commitments between two hosts?
Yes. You can swap billing commitments between two active hosts.
Do you have to pay for HCX Enterprise when upgrading from HCX Advanced to HCX Enterprise?
You must pay for HCX Enterprise in Dense shapes (DenseIO.52 and DenseIO.E4.128) only when you upgrade from HCX Advanced and if you are using license included SKU for any hosts in the SDDC. BYOL includes HCX-Enterprise features by default.
Monitoring and observability
Will I be able to monitor Oracle Cloud VMware Solution guests with on-premises VMware monitoring tools?
Yes. Customers should observe VMware's guidance and recommendations for the monitoring tools in question.
What Oracle Cloud telemetry data related to compute and networking will be available for troubleshooting?
Standard Oracle Cloud telemetry isn’t available because no agent is installed in the ESXi bare metal instance. However, customers can get compute and network telemetry data from VMware directly in ESXi, vCenter, and NSX-T administrative interfaces or via the APIs provided as part of these offerings.
Support
What is the OCI/VMware support model?
Oracle provides tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 customer support.
For which VMware products will Oracle provide support?
Oracle provides support for vSphere, vCenter, vSAN, and NSX.
Who is responsible for maintaining software compliance in OCVS?
Oracle provides support for the VMware software stack running on OCVS, in addition to the underlying OCI infrastructure. However, customer environments must be configured and operated using properly licensed VMware software versions that are publicly supported by Broadcom. Customers are responsible for ensuring that their OCVS environments remain compliant, including maintaining supported software versions and valid licenses. To receive support from both Oracle and Broadcom, OCVS environments must run VMware software versions that are supported by both vendors. Environments running unsupported or non-compliant software may be subject to support limitations until compliance is restored.