VVF for VDI licensing boundary

[Kelum Madusanka]

Hi everyone,

I am trying to wrap my head around compliance boundaries under the Broadcom and Omnissa model. I want to make sure I fully understand how VMware vSphere Foundation for VDI (VVF for VDI) licenses apply when you separate your workloads into two clusters:

Cluster 1: Dedicated strictly to user VDI workloads.

Cluster 2: Dedicated to management and support components.

I am trying to get a clear picture of what is legally covered and what is NOT covered under the VDI license terms. How would the following workloads be looked at under each cluster?

Cluster 1 (User Workloads)VDI Desktops: Windows 11 VMs.Session Hosts: RDS multi-session hosts.

Cluster 2 (Management & Support)Core Horizon: Connection Servers, Unified Access Gateways (UAGs), App Volumes, and DEM.

vCenter Server: The dedicated vCenter managing these two VDI clusters.

Security & Network: VDI-facing firewall appliances, load balancers, and endpoint security VMs.

Databases: SQL servers used only for Horizon events and App Volumes.

Backup & Monitoring: Veeam backup VMs (backing up only this environment) and Zabbix monitoring servers.

Since the Broadcom/Omnissa split, the exact definition of "associated desktop management and monitoring tools" can feel a bit up in the air. If you have done a deep dive into the official use rights for a 2-cluster management split like this, I would love to hear your insights!Thanks

[cloudyMcCloudFace]

Assuming you have purchased VVF via Omnissa here?
I would reccomend you clarify with Omnissa as they sell the VVF for VDI SKU, not Broadcom.

looking at the Omnissa site here and here the to me it's really the same as was under VMware.

"These VMs may be virtual desktops or RDS applications, as well as infrastructure VMs needed to directly support the Horizon platform.  Examples of qualified infrastructure VMs needed to run Horizon are Connection Servers, App Volume Managers, Horizon events database, AD domain controllers used for Horizon VDI users. Examples of workloads that do not qualify for the use of VVF for VDI license include 3rd party applications or databases that store data that are used by the desktop users but not necessary for the running of the Horizon infrastructure.  Workloads that do not conform to the licensing terms of VVF for VDI will need to be licensed separately, either with a VCF or VVF license.  You can mix VVF for VDI license with VCF or VVF within the same vCenter or ESXi cluster, as the vSphere license is applied at the ESXi host level."

Seems as it always was, use these licenses to run your VDI and supporting infrastructure.

[Allan Solomon Mejia]

Yes, I agree with the previous response. The key point is that the licensing boundary is based on what the workloads are used for, not simply which cluster they run in.

 

VVF for VDI is intended for the licensed Horizon desktops/RDS workloads and infrastructure required to support that VDI environment. Omnissa confirms that VVF for VDI includes vSphere Enterprise Plus, vCenter Standard, and vSAN Enterprise, with vSphere usable as needed to support the licensed Horizon user count.

 

So Connection Servers, App Volumes components, Horizon-specific databases, etc. fit that model. I'd be more cautious with Veeam, Zabbix, firewalls, load balancers, and other third-party infrastructure. Being dedicated to the VDI environment doesn't automatically make every supporting VM eligible under VVF for VDI.

 

Also, separate VDI and management clusters don't inherently change the entitlement-the workload/use case matters.

 

For those borderline third-party components, I'd confirm with Omnissa against your specific entitlement/order. They're the appropriate support path for the Horizon + VVF for VDI combined offering.