Cost Optimization: Automating VCF + vSAN License Sizing Reports with Orchestrator

License planning in VCF isn’t just procurement math — it’s operational risk. Broadcom provides guidance on counting cores (and vSAN add-on capacity) so you can size entitlements correctly. You can automate the collection and calculation so it stays current.

Source KB: https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/313548/counting-cores-for-vmware-cloud-foundati.html

The narrow use case

Generate an always-current license sizing report: cores consumed per cluster, and vSAN TiB requirements per vSAN-enabled domain.

Orchestrator action: License sizing collector

Goal: produce a JSON report that finance, procurement, and platform owners can all trust.

Workflow steps (VMware Aria Orchestrator)

• Create a workflow: 'VCF - License Sizing Report (Cores + vSAN TiB)'
• Inputs: vCenter (VC:SdkConnection), outputFormat (string, default JSON)
• Step 1: Enumerate ESXi hosts and sum physical cores by cluster (exclude hosts not entitled under the program if applicable).
• Step 2: Detect vSAN-enabled clusters and calculate raw capacity / used capacity in TiB (cluster storage summary).
• Step 3: Emit a report with per-cluster totals: host count, core count, vSAN enabled (true/false), TiB capacity.
• Step 4: Write output to an artifact location (email attachment, S3, ticket note) for monthly review.

Action steps

1. Run this monthly and compare deltas to catch unplanned capacity growth early.
2. Use the report to validate that vCenter licensing aligns with actual vSAN usage (especially after expansions).
3. Keep the workflow output machine-readable so it can feed dashboards and budgeting tools.