IBM System z Software Pricing

In addition to Advanced Workload License Charges (AWLC), Advanced Entry Workload License Charges (AEWLC), Workload License Charges (WLC), Entry Workload License Charges (EWLC), Midrange Workload License Charges (MWLC), System z New Application License Charges (zNALC), zSeries Entry License Charges (zELC), and Parallel Sysplex License Charges (PSLC), IBM offers a number of other special-purpose monthly license charge pricing metrics and offerings for the mainframe platform. This page is dedicated to providing additional information on these offerings.

S/390 Usage Pricing

IBM S/390 Usage Pricing, also known as Usage License Charges (ULC), offers an attractive pricing alternative on machines with either PSLC or GOLC. ULC provides a mechanism to deploy low-utilization software products across an enterprise, with excellent price/performance. For a product with ULC, software charges are based upon the utilization of that product. ULC price points are available for DB2, CICS, IMS and WebSphere MQ.

For more information on ULC, please read the announcement letter (PDF, 38KB).

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Select Application License Charges

Select Application License Charges (SALC) are available solely for WebSphere MQ and only on machines with AWLC, AEWLC, WLC or EWLC. SALC is an excellent price/performance option on very-low utilization installations of WebSphere MQ. SALC is available for either Sub-Capacity or Full Capacity machines. For a WebSphere MQ installation with the SALC pricing metric, software charges are based upon the utilization of WebSphere MQ.

ULC and SALC Implementation

ULC and SALC each require the submission of a yearly "Software Usage Report". IBM provides a reporting tool called IFAURP (which ships with OS/390 V2 and z/OS) that analyzes 12 months of Systems Measurement Facility (SMF) data, record type SMF89, and generates the "Software Usage Report". This annual report summarizes the use over the past 12 months and establishes the ULC or SALC MSU level for the next 12 months.

To determine the billable ULC or SALC MSUs for a given product, the following algorithm is applied to each product set. A product set encompasses all the active versions of a given product.

• Daily value: In a given day, MSUs from highest hour of utilization each day
• Monthly value: In a given month, MSUs from the fourth highest daily value
• Yearly (billable) value: In a given year, MSUs from the highest monthly value

For more information on how to generate and interpret a Software Usage Report, please read the MVS Product Management (SA22-7603) publication (PDF, 939KB).

System z Lifecycle Charge (SzLC)

The IBM System z Lifecycle Charge (SzLC) metric is used for pricing of optional service contracts for both the IBM Lifecycle Extension and also the IBM Service Extension for Usage Support of certain releases of z/OS.

SzLC is a monthly support charge for extended support of z/OS. Lifecycle Extension and Service Extension for Usage Support are support offerings, not software. Therefore SzLC is a support charge, it is not a software product licensing metric.

The IBM Lifecycle Extension for z/OS is a fee-based corrective service offering for users who have not completed their migration from a specific release of z/OS to a more current release. For more information about:

• Lifecycle Extension for z/OS V1.8 see this announcement
• Lifecycle Extension for z/OS V1.9 see this announcement
• Lifecycle Extension for z/OS V1.10 see this announcement
• Lifecycle Extension for z/OS V1.11 see this announcement

The IBM Service Extension for Usage Support on z/OS offers fee-based installation guidance, product-usage advice, and how-to support to users who have not completed their migration from a specific release of z/OS to a more current release. For more information about:

• Service Extension for Usage Support on z/OS V1.9 see this announcement

System z Lifecycle Charges are based upon the following MSU tier structure. The MSU tier that applies is determined by the total permanent MSU capacity of the server for which the Lifecycle Extension is ordered. The SzLC tier for a qualified Parallel Sysplex will be based on the sum of the total permanent MSUs of the servers in the Parallel Sysplex running that specific Release of z/OS.

 SzLC Structure

Tier	Machine Capacity
Tier A	4 – 11 MSUs
Tier B	12 – 21 MSUs
Tier C	22 – 43 MSUs
Tier D	44 – 71 MSUs
Tier E	72 – 128 MSUs
Tier F	129 – 214 MSUs
Tier G	215 – 357 MSUs
Tier H	358 – 714 MSUs
Tier I	715 – 1111 MSUs
Tier J	1112 – 1528 MSUs
Tier K	1529 – 1944 MSUs
Tier L	1945+ MSUs

For example, a stand-alone server with a capacity of 173 MSUs will be charged based on SzLC Tier F, which is in the MSU range of 129-214. A second stand-alone server with a capacity of 252 MSUs will be charged based on SzLC Tier G, which is in the MSU range of 215-357.

A pair of servers in a qualified Parallel Sysplex, one server with a capacity of 160 MSUs and one server with a capacity of 265 MSUs (totaling 425 MSUs) will be charged based on SzLC Tier H, which is in the MSU range of 358-714.

System z Lifecycle Extension Charge (zLEC)

The System z Lifecycle Extension Charge (zLEC) metric is used for pricing of the IBM Lifecycle Extension for z/OS V1.7. While zLEC is not actually a Monthly License Charge (MLC) metric which is used for product pricing, it is a support charge for z/OS which is an MLC product.

IBM Lifecycle Extension for z/OS V1.7 is a fee-based corrective service offering for users who have not completed their migration from z/OS V1.7 to either z/OS V1.8 or V1.9. For more information about IBM Lifecycle Extension for z/OS V1.7 see the announcement.

IBM Lifecycle Extension for z/OS 1.7 is priced based on the total permanent MSU capacity of each server running z/OS V1.7 using the following zLEC tier structure:

 zLEC Structure

Tier	Machine Capacity
Tier A	4 – 11 MSUs
Tier B	12 – 21 MSUs
Tier C	22 – 43 MSUs
Tier D	44 – 71 MSUs
Tier E	72 – 128 MSUs
Tier F	129 – 214 MSUs
Tier G	215 – 357 MSUs
Tier H	358 – 714 MSUs
Tier I	715+ MSUs

For example, a server with a capacity of 33 MSUs will be charged based on zLEC Tier C, which is in the MSU range of 22-43. A second server with a capacity of 175 MSUs will be charged based on zLEC Tier F, which is in the MSU range of 129-214. Note that each server running z/OS V1.7 will be charged separately from any others, the zLEC tiers are not used cumulatively.