VMware vSphere Express – Broadcom Introduces a New 128-Core Virtualization Edition
On November 4, 2026, Broadcom announced VMware vSphere Express, a new subscription-based virtualization offering designed for smaller VMware environments that do not require the complete VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) or VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) stack.
Built on VMware vSphere 9 and essentially based on vSphere Standard, the new edition supports environments with up to 128 licensed physical CPU cores in total, rather than per ESXi host.
It includes essential virtualization capabilities such as vMotion, vSphere High Availability (HA), vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS), vCenter Quick Patch, and TPM 2.0/vTPM support. The inclusion of VDS is particularly noteworthy, as this feature is not traditionally included in vSphere Standard.
The 128-core limit refers to the physical CPU cores across all licensed ESXi hosts, not logical processors provided by Intel Hyper-Threading or AMD SMT, or the virtual CPUs (vCPUs) assigned to virtual machines.
Unlike the more comprehensive VMware editions, vSphere Express does not include advanced features such as Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), GPU virtualization, or the complete software-defined infrastructure capabilities of VCF.
According to reseller information, vSphere Express is offered as a fixed 128-core, one-year subscription, regardless of the number of cores actually used. Pricing is approximately $9,600 annually in the US, while German reseller listings currently indicate around €9,600 excluding VAT. Customer eligibility and purchasing restrictions require Broadcom approval.
Interestingly, Broadcom also confirmed that vSphere Standard 8 and Enterprise Plus 8 will remain available in the European Economic Area until October 31, 2027.
With vSphere Express, Broadcom appears to be responding to demand for a more affordable, standalone VMware virtualization platform without requiring customers to adopt the complete VCF stack.
For additional background on VMware’s virtualization and private cloud portfolio, see my previous article:
Understanding VMware vSphere Licensing
Traditionally, VMware vSphere environments require two separate licenses: a vCenter Server license, such as vCenter Server Standard, for centralized management, and a vSphere license, such as vSphere Standard or vSphere Enterprise Plus, for the individual ESXi hosts.
The vSphere edition determines which virtualization features are available on the licensed hosts. For example, vMotion and High Availability (HA) are included in vSphere Standard, while advanced capabilities such as Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) and vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS) are provided by Enterprise Plus.
With newer subscription-based offerings such as vSphere Express, Broadcom combines the required vCenter and ESXi licensing entitlements into a single subscription package, rather than requiring separate purchases.
For vCenter Server itself, VMware traditionally offered three licensing editions: vCenter Server Essentials, vCenter Server Foundation, and vCenter Server Standard, primarily differing in the number of ESXi hosts they can manage and their intended deployment scenarios.
Unlike the vSphere editions, which determine the available virtualization features, the vCenter Server edition primarily determines the scope of centralized management.
Historically, VMware offered different vCenter Server editions, but for vSphere 8 the relevant distinction is primarily between vCenter Server Essentials and vCenter Server Standard.
| Product | Purpose |
|---|---|
| vCenter Server Essentials | Centralized management for small environments, restricted to the corresponding Essentials licensing |
| vCenter Server Standard | Full centralized management, including larger clusters and advanced management capabilities |
| vSphere Standard | ESXi host licensing with features such as vMotion and HA |
| vSphere Enterprise Plus | ESXi host licensing with additional features such as DRS and VDS |
The key point is that vCenter Server Standard does not automatically unlock DRS. The ESXi hosts must also have a vSphere edition that includes DRS.
VMware’s official June 2023 licensing white paper mentions: there was also a vCenter Server Foundation edition, limited to four hosts. So the historical editions were Essentials, Foundation, and Standard, but no Enterprise version.
VMware vSphere Express vs. vSphere Standard and Enterprise Plus – Licensing and Pricing
Unlike vSphere Express, which is limited to a fixed 128-core subscription, vSphere Standard and vSphere Enterprise Plus are licensed per physical CPU core, with a minimum of 16 licensed cores per processor.
Interestingly, vSphere Express is not necessarily cheaper than vSphere Standard. Based on published US distributor and reseller prices, the approximate annual licensing costs for an equivalent 128-core environment are:
| Edition | Price per core/year | Annual cost (128 cores) |
|---|---|---|
| vSphere Standard 8 | $50 | $6,400 |
| vSphere Express 9 | $75* | $9,600 |
| vSphere Enterprise Plus 8 | $150 | $19,200 |
While vSphere Standard includes essential features such as vMotion and High Availability (HA), vSphere Express additionally provides vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS) and vCenter Quick Patch.
vSphere Enterprise Plus offers a more comprehensive feature set, including Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), Storage DRS, and additional advanced virtualization capabilities.
However, this comparison involves vSphere Standard 8 and Enterprise Plus 8 versus vSphere Express 9. Prices are indicative, exclude VAT, and depend on regional availability and reseller agreements.
Links
Broadcom Updates VMware Portfolio to Protect and Accelerate Private AI Cloud Deployments
https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2026/11/04/broadcom-vcf-portfolio-updates/vSphere Express
https://techdocs.broadcom.com/us/en/vmware-cis/vsphere/vsphere/9-1/vsphere-express.htmlVMware vSphere Express (Article for Germany)
https://www.software-express.de/hersteller/vmware/vsphere/express/
