This is an archive version of the document. To get the most up-to-date information, see the current version.Exceeding License Limit
In some cases, the number of consumed instances may exceed the license limit. For example, when some workloads are temporarily protected for testing or POC.
For Subscription and Rental per-instance licenses, Veeam Backup & Replication allows you to protect more workloads than covered by the number of instances specified in the license. An increase in the number of protected workloads is allowed throughout the duration of the contract (license key).
The license limit can be exceeded by a number of instances, or a percentage of the total number of instances specified in the license (depends on which number is greater). The exceeding limit varies according to the license type.
License Type | Exceeding Limit | Description |
Perpetual license | Not allowed | Workloads that are exceeding the license limit are not processed. |
Subscription license | Up to 5 instances (or 5% of the total instance count) | All protected workloads are processed normally, Veeam Backup & Replication does not display a warning message. |
5–10 instances (or 5%–10% of the total instance count) | All protected workloads are processed normally. Once a week when you open the Veeam Backup & Replication console, a warning message is displayed notifying that you are out of compliance with the Veeam Licensing Policy. | |
Over 10 instances (or 10% of the total instance count) | Workloads that are exceeding the license limit are not processed. Every time you open the Veeam Backup & Replication console, a warning message is displayed notifying that you are out of compliance with the Veeam Licensing Policy. | |
Rental license | See the Rental License section in the Veeam Cloud Connect Guide. | |
For example, you have a Subscription license with 500 instances to protect your workloads. According to the table above, you are allowed to use up to 10 instances or 10% of the total instance count (whichever number is greater) over the license limit. As the number of instances in your license is 500, you are allowed to use additional 50 instances (50 makes 10% of 500, and 50 is greater than 10). Consider the following:
- Until the license limit is not exceeded by more than 5% of the total instance count (up to 25 instances), Veeam Backup & Replication processes all protected workloads with no restrictions.
- When the license limit is exceeded by 5%–10% (25.01 to 50 instances), Veeam Backup & Replication processes protected workloads, and displays a warning message once a week when you open the Veeam Backup & Replication console. In the message, Veeam Backup & Replication provides information on the number of exceeded instances and the number of instances by which the license can be further exceeded.
- If the license limit is exceeded by more than 10% (50.01 instances and more), Veeam Backup & Replication does not process the workloads exceeding the limit, and displays a warning message every time you open the Veeam Backup & Replication console. In the message, Veeam Backup & Replication provides information on the number of instances by which the license is exceeded.