Academic Software Licensing - Software Access Procedures

[VincentHerreman]

Dear program members,

Following the acquisition of VMware by Broadcom, we will have to adjust our procedures to provide software access to the various products we offer academic evaluation licenses for.

Soon D2L will update it's procedures regarding these.

Here is a list where you can access the software for our most popular titles:

• Workstation and Fusion can be found here:
• https://www.vmware.com/products/workstation-pro/workstation-pro-evaluation.html
• https://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/fusion-evaluation.html
• vSphere 8 can be accessed here:
• https://customerconnect.vmware.com/en/evalcenter?p=vsphere-eval-8

We apologize for the inconvenience this causes.

Best regards,

Vincent

[cjlvu1]

Hi Vincent,

Can you clarify what kind of changes will be made to the procedures to access VMware software or the academic software licensing?

Thanks!

Cyrill

[VincentHerreman]

Hello Cyrill,

Thank you for your question.
While I believe we haven't reached a stable situation yet post acquisition, here are the changes we are implementing so far:

1. While in the past we were still taking action on exceptional requests for vSphere/vCenter 6 academic evaluation license keys, since the acquisition we can no longer do this.
2. We used a tool called ClickUp to process ad hoc academic eval license requests, both for software access and for lab install licenses. With ClickUp moving out of our toolset, we have started to alter the procedures.

2.1. For software download, together with the academic evaluation license key we are (for now) able to offer a direct software download link where in the past the download capability was added to your my.vmware.com account. (so this is much easier)
2.2. For lab install requests, D2L has altered the procedure so that a request form is to be completed that they will review.

In the future we anticipate the VMware by Broadcom shift from perpetual towards subscription licenses will have an impact on how we operate our academic evaluation licenses, though I have no additional updates to share on that topic yet.

Hope this helps,

Regards,

Vincent

[i3sic]

Good morning, Vicent, I don't quite understand the changes you're mentioning. I currently have an active vmware it academy subscription, and when trying to download the licenses for vsphere 7 and vsphere 8, the portal is down. What is the current process to obtain the 1-year licenses for these products within the program? Thank you very much and regards.

[VincentHerreman]

That should not be the case.

Subscriptions can be obtained through your Brightspace portal here: 

https://itacademy.vmware.com/catalog?pagename=Software-Licenses-Repository

Hope this helps, though should you still run into issues, please send an email to itacademy@vmware.com with a screenshot of the error.

Regards,

Vincent

[MaciekR]

Hi @VincentHerreman 
I have access to software under the VMware IT Academy license (Workstation, vCenter, NSX, etc.). The list of available software includes "VMware vSphere Tanzu Basics".
https://itacademy.vmware.com/catalog?pagename=IT-Academy-Courseware
There are no license keys for Tanzu Basics on the D2L Brightspace portal. There is also no link to the software. Could I ask for help?

[VincentHerreman]

Hello MaciekR,

Thank you for your message.
Tanzu Basic was removed from our program offerings a while ago, though it seems that not all pages reflected that change.
I have the error corrected, the page should now list the correct titles.
Thanks again for bringing this to our attention!

Regards,

Vincent

[MaciekR]

Hi @VincentHerreman
Thank you for your previous answer. One more question.
I plan to extend my VMware IT Academy subscription soon. I would like to make sure that despite the acquisition by Broadcom, there will be no change in the licensing of VMware software for academic teaching and non-profit research purposes. I am particularly interested in further access to 3 licenses (for laboratories and for a non-profit computing server):
- VMware vSphere,
- VMware vCenter,
- VMware Workstation.
Will these licenses still be available to universities that extend their "VMware IT Academy" subscription?

[VincentHerreman]

Hello MariekR,

While we do anticipate continued changes to the academic program and the resources it offers in the future, today we have no clear updates to share regarding the future licensing of VMware software for academic teaching and non-profit research purposes.

I can only share with you what we tell all institutions, that today our program is operational and that D2L is providing resource access.
The recommendation is to ensure your D2L subscriptions are active and that you obtain the resources you require.
As soon as we have more updates regarding the VMware Academic Program evolution I'll post them here.

I know this doesn't provide you with the clarity you were hoping for, though it is all I can share at this point in time.

Best regards,

Vincent