IBM Non-Production Licensing: Dev/Test & Disaster Recovery Strategies to Optimise Costs

IBM generally requires a software licence for every installation or instance — including development and test environments — unless a specific exemption or special licence type exists.

Using Regular Licences

Companies often use normal production licences to cover dev/test installations. If you have an IBM WebSphere instance for production and another for testing, each needs a licence entitlement. Some IBM metrics are user-based or PVU-based regardless of environment, meaning you count users or PVUs in test the same way as production.

Non-Production Specific Licences

IBM does offer specific non-production or "Authorised User – Dev/Test" licences for some products. These typically come at reduced cost but with restrictions (not allowed to process live business data, only for internal testing). Always inquire whether a dev/test licence SKU exists when purchasing — it could save significant cost.

Trials and Sandboxes

IBM provides trial licences (typically 30–90 days) at no cost, which are full-featured but time-limited. Leverage these for proof-of-concept work. Once the trial expires, continuing to use the software without purchasing is prohibited.

For disaster recovery and high availability setups, IBM uses a temperature analogy to define licensing requirements:

IBM recognises that strict licensing for every copy can be burdensome during DR or migration situations, so there are built-in exceptions to leverage.

90-Day Temporary Additional Use

IBM's Passport Advantage agreement includes a Temporary Additional Use policy permitting two instances of the software to run concurrently for up to 90 days during migrations, data centre moves, or hardware upgrades — without needing extra licences for the second instance. After 90 days, the old instance must be decommissioned or both must be licensed. Plan major migrations within this window or coordinate with IBM for an extension.

DR Test Activations

Many businesses periodically start their DR systems for failover testing. If your DR setup is normally cold (unlicensed), IBM's policies generally allow short-term testing. Keep tests under a reasonable duration (a few days) and don't run actual production load. Document test timelines internally — during an audit, you can demonstrate the DR environment was active only during planned testing within allowed policy.

Non-Production Licence Discounts

Although not formally in policy, IBM sales often provide discounted licensing for non-production environments during negotiations. They might bundle a 50% discount on QA/test licences, or include free dev/test licences with production purchases. These are negotiation points — if you secure such concessions, have them written into the contract to avoid confusion during audits.

Non-production environments can multiply software costs if unmanaged. Here are strategies to keep costs in check:

Environment Rationalisation

Not every project needs a full stack of IBM software across dev, test, staging, and QA. Assess how many environments are truly necessary. Development and testing can often share a single environment or use scaled-down instances (fewer cores = fewer PVUs). For user-based licensing, limit access to those who actually need it rather than the entire user base.

Cheaper Editions for Dev/Test

IBM often offers different editions or licence types sufficient for non-production. For example, IBM Db2 Developer-C edition is free for development use with limits on cores/usage. Community or developer editions can save significantly if they meet dev/test needs — always verify alignment with licence terms.

Cloud for Transient Testing

Consider IBM cloud services or containerised deployments for non-production. Pay-as-you-go cloud instances can be more cost-effective for transient testing environments that shut down when not in use. IBM Cloud Pak deployments may allow non-production instances to consume fewer VPCs in your entitlement count — check if such provisions exist.

Consolidate Test Environments

If multiple teams use the same IBM software, consolidate testing on a shared instance instead of each team running their own. Rather than five dev teams running five separate WebSphere test servers (five licences), one shared test server with separate domains requires just one licence.

Schedule to Reuse Licences

If using floating licences or tokens, schedule testing so you don't need to licence peak usage for all teams simultaneously. European testers in the morning, US testers at different times — the same pool could serve both. This requires coordination but can avoid doubling licence counts.

Compliance in non-production is frequently overlooked. These practices prevent audit surprises:

Maintain a Complete Inventory

Document all IBM software installations, including those "not in production." It's easy to forget a QA server or a developer's local VM with IBM software. Use discovery tools to scan for IBM installations and ensure each is accounted for in your licence count or identified as a valid trial.

DR Documentation

Keep clear records of which licences cover DR instances. If you rely on IBM's cold standby exception, maintain architecture diagrams and failover documentation that classify each instance as hot/warm/cold. During an audit, showing a well-architected DR plan with clearly defined standby types lends credibility.

Compliance Drills

Do a licensing compliance drill for non-production environments: can you quickly produce proof that dev/test servers are either licensed or qualify as unlicensed cold backups? Are administrators aware that installing an IBM product requires going through asset management? Building this discipline avoids the common audit finding of unlicensed test instances.

Isolate Trial Software

If using IBM trials or developer editions, isolate them to avoid accidental production use. Don't mix trial-licensed software with production data — an auditor might argue it was being used for real work. Remove or purchase once trial periods end.

Common DR setups and how IBM licensing applies:

Active/Passive Cluster

One server active (licensed), one passive (idle). Classic hot/cold. Licence only the active node. When failover happens, the licence transfers — the now-passive node becomes idle. IBM allows this one-for-one as long as both aren't actively running production simultaneously.

Periodic DR Drills

If you activate your DR site twice yearly for a week, ensure a complete switchover (primary off, DR on) so only one site is active. If both might run during maintenance windows, get a short-term licence or invoke the 90-day rule. Document activities as non-production testing.

Geo-Redundant Active-Active (Hot/Hot)

If two active data centres handle live load simultaneously (active-active database replication with both serving read/write), IBM expects both to be fully licensed. No discount exists in standard terms. Consider sub-capacity licensing if each runs at half capacity, or negotiate a special secondary-site deal.

Cloud Disaster Recovery

Some enterprises use cloud as a DR target, only spinning up IBM software when needed. With BYOL, the same rules apply — keep images ready (no licence consumed until activated). If disaster strikes, port your licences to cloud instances. If using IBM's own DRaaS, check whether licensing is included in the service cost for idle DR instances.

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