Introduction Oracle Java Licensing on AWS
Grasping the nuances of Oracle Java licensing on AWS is vital for businesses aiming to maximize their software investments and maintain compliance.
This article provides a detailed overview of Oracle’s Java licensing policies on AWS, particularly for organizations operating under legacy metrics.
Oracle Java Licensing: A Brief Overview
From 2019 to January 2023, Oracle sold Java SE based on processor and Named User Plus license metrics. However, in January 2023, Oracle significantly shifted, replacing processor and Named User Plus licenses with an employee license metric.
Despite this change, organizations can still negotiate a purchase for Named User Plus licenses, and customers with existing subscriptions may have the option to renew and maintain their old license metrics.
Oracle Java Licensing on AWS
When deploying Java on AWS, understanding how Oracle’s licensing policies apply is crucial. For AWS deployments, you use the processor license for Java.
Oracle has classified AWS as a “public cloud,” granting customers the license right to calculate per vCPU. If you enable multithreading, two vCPU equates to 1 Oracle processor license. This applies to all Oracle technology software products, including Java.
This licensing model works the same way if you have chosen Microsoft Azure as your cloud platform.
Calculating Java Licenses for AWS Instance Type m6a.2xlarge
To illustrate how Oracle’s Java licensing policies apply to AWS deployments, consider the AWS instance type m6a.2xlarge, which has eight vCPUs.
As per Oracle’s licensing policy, if you have multithreading enabled, two vCPUs equate to 1 Oracle processor license. Therefore, for an AWS instance type m6a.2xlarge with eight vCPUs, the calculation would be as follows:
8 vCPUs / 2 = 4 Oracle processor licenses
So, if you’re deploying Java on an AWS instance type m6a.2xlarge, you would need 4 Oracle processor licenses.
Conclusion
Navigating Oracle Java licensing on AWS can be complex, but understanding these policies is crucial to ensure compliance and optimize your software investments.
Redress Compliance offers Java Licensing Advisory services to organizations worldwide.
