IBM PVU licensing explained, 2026.

The PVU metric prices IBM middleware per core. Sub capacity, ILMT, and the PVU table decide the actual entitlement. Get any of these wrong and the audit finding writes itself.

The Processor Value Unit metric is IBM's legacy answer to per core licensing. Every active IBM middleware product priced per PVU carries a PVU per core rate that varies by processor architecture, vendor, and model.

What follows is the buyer side reference. The metric, the table, the sub capacity rules, the ILMT obligations, and the audit exposure when the math goes wrong.

What a PVU actually is

PVU is an entitlement unit, not a performance unit. The number on each core in the PVU table is the licensing weight, not the processing capacity.

The metric definition

One PVU is one unit of IBM entitlement on one core for one product. The customer buys PVUs against a product and consumes PVUs on every core where the product runs.

Products priced per PVU

Most legacy IBM middleware is priced per PVU in 2026. Cloud Paks use VPC, but the underlying products inside many Cloud Paks still retain PVU entitlement.

• Db2 family. Db2 Enterprise, Db2 Advanced Enterprise, Db2 AESE.
• WebSphere family. WAS Network Deployment, WAS Liberty, IHS.
• MQ and integration. MQ, MQ Advanced, App Connect Enterprise, DataPower.
• Tivoli stack. Tivoli Storage Manager, TWS, TADDM, BigFix.

The PVU table

The PVU table maps each processor to a PVU per core rate. IBM updates the table periodically.

Intel and AMD

Modern Intel Xeon Scalable cores rate at fifty to one hundred PVU. AMD EPYC cores rate at seventy to one hundred. Older Intel chips can rate as low as thirty.

IBM Power

IBM Power cores rate at one hundred twenty to two hundred PVU. The premium reflects the higher per core performance of Power chips.

Other architectures

Arm, SPARC, and mainframe IFL cores each have separate PVU ratings. New chips often launch with a PVU rate set before publication.

Sub capacity licensing

Sub capacity reduces the entitlement requirement to the cores actually used by the IBM product, not the cores on the physical host.

Sub capacity eligibility

Sub capacity is available on most modern Intel, AMD, and Power servers running supported virtualisation. The list of approved virtualisation technologies sits in IBM's Sub Capacity guide.

Sub capacity calculation

Sub capacity entitlement equals PVUs per core multiplied by the maximum number of cores assigned to the product over the measurement period.

High water mark

ILMT measures the high water mark of cores assigned to the product during each quarter. The customer must own PVUs at least equal to the high water mark.

ILMT is the gatekeeper of every sub capacity dollar. Without it, the customer paid for sub capacity and earned full capacity exposure.

ILMT obligations

Sub capacity rights exist only with valid ILMT data. ILMT obligations are non negotiable.

Deployment window

ILMT must be deployed within ninety days of first sub capacity entitlement use. Missing the window converts the claim to full capacity.

Scan frequency and currency

Scans must run at least every thirty days on every server in scope. Missing scans break the entitlement chain for that quarter.

Report retention

Reports must be retained for two years. Audit requests can pull historical quarterly reports back two years.

Audit exposure

PVU audit exposure follows three failure modes.

Missing ILMT

Missing ILMT converts every sub capacity claim to full capacity. The full capacity claim multiplies entitlement requirement by the ratio of host cores to product cores.

Stale scans

Scans more than thirty days old break the entitlement chain for that quarter. Settlements include retrospective full capacity claims on the broken quarters.

PVU table drift

New chips can launch with higher PVU rates than the customer planned for. Quarterly review of the PVU table is the only defense.

Suggested reading

• IBM PVU calculator deep dive. Cross vendor reading from the wider library.
• IBM PVU licensing pillar 2026. Cross vendor reading from the wider library.
• IBM audit defense playbook. Cross vendor reading from the wider library.

What to do next

1. Pull every active IBM PVU product and the entitlement quantity.
2. Confirm ILMT deployment on every server hosting a sub capacity product.
3. Verify scan currency. Every server in scope scanned within the last thirty days.
4. Pull the last eight quarterly ILMT reports and check retention.
5. Cross reference high water mark by product against owned entitlement.
6. Review the PVU table against the current server estate. Identify any drift.
7. Engage independent IBM advisory for a sub capacity posture review.

Frequently asked questions

What is an IBM PVU?

A Processor Value Unit is an IBM entitlement unit on one processor core for one product. Customers buy PVUs and consume PVUs on every core where the product runs.

How is the PVU rate per core decided?

The PVU rate per core sits in the IBM PVU table. The table maps each processor model to a rate. Modern Intel cores rate at fifty to one hundred PVU. Older or higher performance cores rate higher.

What is sub capacity licensing?

Sub capacity entitles the customer to license only the cores actually assigned to the IBM product, not every core on the host. Sub capacity requires ILMT.

Is ILMT mandatory for sub capacity?

Yes. ILMT must be deployed within ninety days of first sub capacity use. Scans must run at least every thirty days. Reports must be retained two years.

What happens if ILMT is missing?

Sub capacity claims convert to full capacity. Full capacity multiplies entitlement requirement by the ratio of total host cores to product cores. Findings can run ten times the licensed quantity.

How often does IBM update the PVU table?

Periodically, usually one to two times per year. New chip families get added with PVU rates set by IBM. Quarterly review of the table is the buyer side norm.