The IBM PVU Table and How Cores Map to Value Units

PVU is a core based metric: every processor core is rated a number of Processor Value Units, and your license requirement is that rating times the cores allocated to the IBM software. The PVU table is where those ratings live, and reading it correctly is the difference between a defensible count and an inflated one. The table is also where many audit findings begin.

What the PVU table does

A Processor Value Unit is IBM's way of tying license cost to hardware capacity. Rather than charging the same for every core, IBM assigns each processor model a PVU per core rating, so a more capable core carries a higher rating. A common reference point is an Intel core at roughly 70 PVU per core, but the rating varies by processor family. Your requirement for a PVU licensed product is the per core rating multiplied by the number of cores the software is allowed to run on.

Why per core ratings vary

The table reflects IBM's view of relative processor capacity. Different architectures and processor generations carry different ratings, which means two servers with the same core count can produce different PVU totals. This is why you cannot reason about PVU from core counts alone, and why an audit that applies the wrong processor rating produces the wrong number. Confirming the exact processor model against the table is a routine but high value reconciliation step.

Full capacity versus sub-capacity in the table

The table gives the rating per core. What turns that rating into a bill is how many cores you are charged for. Under full-capacity, every physical core on the host counts. Under sub-capacity, only the virtual cores running the IBM software count, provided you meet the approved tool, continuous reporting and quarterly retention conditions. The same product on the same host can be a small PVU number or an order of magnitude larger depending purely on which basis applies.

• Per core rating: set by the processor model in the PVU table.
• Cores counted: all physical cores at full-capacity, only allocated virtual cores at sub-capacity.
• Requirement: rating multiplied by cores counted, for every PVU licensed product in scope.

Where the table creates findings

Two errors recur in audits. The first is an incorrect per core rating applied to your processor, which is a methodology error you can challenge directly against the published table. The second is counting full physical cores where a valid sub-capacity claim should limit the count to allocated virtual cores. Both are arithmetic, which is precisely why they can be reversed with clean evidence rather than negotiation alone.