[ UPDATED BASED ON USAGE METER 4.4 NOW AVAILABLE ]
End of support of vCloud Usage Meter 3.6.1 and 4.2
With vCloud Usage Meter 4.4 now available, we want to announce that the following versions will go end-of-support soon:
- vCloud Usage Meter 4.2 – End-of-Support Date: 05-30-2021
- vCloud Usage Meter 3.6.1- End-of-Support Date: 07-31-2021
Usage Meter 4.0 and 4.1 are already End-of-Support, and partners should upgrade those appliances immediately.
If you aren’t familiar with where to find out more about product lifecycle events, take a look at VMware’s official site here: https://lifecycle.vmware.com/#/.
What to do?
If you are running any of the above versions, you can do the following:
- Migrate configuration from Usage Meter 3.6.1 to 4.4.
- Perform an in-place upgrade from UM 4.1/4.2 to UM 4.4
Instructions on migrating from Usage Meter 3.6.1 to Usage Meter 4.4 are provided in the vCloud Usage Meter documentation.
Check the following video or documentation to learn how to perform an in-place upgrade from Usage Meter 4.X to 4.4.
Note: You need to switch to Flex Pricing Model before migrating to Usage Meter 4.4. Legacy bundles will go end-of-support on 7/31/2021. Check the following video or information to learn how to switch to Flex.
Note: Migrating from 3.X to 4.X does not migrate historical data, like older versions used to. This is because there is no database in the Usage Meter 4.X appliances. Make sure to still archive your old appliances as required by the VMware Cloud Provider Program.
Note: You can check for metering changes before migrating/upgrading to vCloud Usage Meter 4.4. Read the following KB article if you wish to compare the metering of your vCloud Usage Meter with vCloud Usage Meter 4.4.
What does vCloud Usage Meter 4.X offer?
vCloud Usage Meter 4.X and onward meters more VCPP products and features than its predecessors. What’s more, Usage Meter 4.X has improved notifications sent every time there is an issue with your usage meter with information on how to solve it. In vCloud Usage Meter 4.X, usage data is collected and sent to the vCloud Usage Insight service, which aggregates the collected data for the reporting period and sends it to VMware Commerce Portal at the beginning of the following reporting month.
The Usage Meter 4.X architecture allows partners to worry less about making sure Usage Meter is up to date with the Product Usage Guide since all billing logic, and report processing is done in Usage Insight. Partners only need to work about that Usage Meter [version]
Look at the following table to compare the latest vCloud Usage Meter 4.4 with 3.6.1.
Usage Meter 3.6.1 w/ HP5 VS 4.4
What’s new in Usage Meter 4.4?
In Usage Meter 4.4, we completed feature parity since Usage Meter 4.3 was focused on Collector parity. This means that Usage Meter 4.4 introduced LDAP, Customer Monthly Reporting, and some other adjustments like adding Tanzu Standard as an option for Tanzu metering.
Important considerations
Partners who want to utilize vCloud Usage Meter 4.4 must take into account the following information:
- If you are running vCenter Server 5.5, you should use Usage Meter 4.4 and skip the 4.3 release.
- You can register a Usage Meter 4.4 appliance in Test mode without switching to the Flex Pricing Model, but to move to Production Mode, you need to signup for Flex.
- NSX & vSAN feature mapping to edition changed and 4.4 will meter editions a little differently. Usage Meter 4.X is based on the correct mapping as shown in the Product Usage Guide.
When is the right time to upgrade?
If you are using vCloud Usage Meter 3.6.1, you should migrate now to Usage Meter 4.4 and configure it for Test Mode. On the 5th of the following month, move Usage Meter 4.4 to Production Mode, and delete the 3.6.1 Usage Meter from auto-reporting if you registered it. This way you do not meter the same environments from two Usage Meters simultaneously.
If you are using vCloud Usage Meter 4.2, upgrade to vCloud Usage Meter 4.4 now using the in-place upgrade process. Take a look at the instructions here.
Note: If you wish to compare the metering of your usage meter with a later version, you will need to do it for one entire reporting cycle before upgrading. This means metering your environment from two versions of Usage Meter simultaneously, but one is set to Test Mode and the other to Production Mode.
If you need assistance with the upgrade of your Usage Meter appliances, contact us at: [email protected].
