In the past, we addressed some essentials around ULAs including: generic limitations; the financial impact you may face if you incorrectly count the number of processors at the end of the ULA; licensing rules and definitions you need to follow when you are using virtualization technologies like VMware vSphere, and IBM LPAR; and the implications of mergers and acquisitions for enterprises having an ULA agreement in place. Some of our readers raised questions about “Capped ULAs” and “Flexible Use License Agreements.” Therefore this article aims to explain the difference between Capped or Flexible Use, which is in essence the same, and ULAs themselves.
An Unlimited License Agreement provides end users the right to deploy and operate a limited number of Oracle software programs (e.g. Oracle Database Enterprise Edition, Diagnostics Pack and Tuning Pack) for a limited period of time (typically 2, 3 or 4 years) in a unlimited capacity (e.g. for an unlimited number of processors). At the end of the term, the end user must certify the amount of processors as per Oracle’s processor definition on which the different Unlimited Deployment Programs are installed AND running.