What the tools calculate
The licensing calculator calculates physical and billable core planning footprint. Renewal and TCO tools calculate scenarios from user-provided values and editable assumptions. The readiness and selector tools provide planning indicators, not outcomes or recommendations.
Rules and assumptions
| Assumption | Value | Status | Source | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per-CPU planning floor | 16 cores | Editorial planning assumption | Broadcom Support | 2026-09-02 |
| VVF planning rate | $135/core/year | Editable estimate | Rule register | 2026-09-02 |
| VCF planning rate | $350/core/year | Editable estimate | Rule register | 2026-09-02 |
Formulas
Billable cores per CPU are $max(actual\ cores, core\ minimum)$. Licensing overhead is $((billable - physical) / physical) \times 100$. Multi-year renewal cost compounds the baseline by the selected annual increase. TCO is one-time cost plus annual recurring cost multiplied by the selected period. Selector scores are the sum of the platform criterion score multiplied by the user priority weight.
What the tools cannot determine
They cannot determine applicable contract terms, negotiated pricing, workload compatibility, migration duration, outage risk, implementation quality, or the best platform for a specific organization. Validate a quote, legal terms, and proof of concept.
Version history
Version 1.0, 2026-09-02: introduced versioned rules, local calculation engine, editable commercial inputs, and automated formula tests. Rules and commercial assumptions are reviewed monthly and after material product or licensing changes.