On 30 August 2027, Azure VMware Solution with an included VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) licence comes to an end. From 31 August, the service only runs with your own portable VCF subscription from Broadcom. Anyone who has not switched by then risks a service disruption, according to Microsoft.
The trigger is a change to licensing rules that Broadcom introduced for all hyperscalers in November 2025. The service itself remains, nothing changes technically.
The deadlines
| Date | What applies |
|---|---|
| 15 Oct 2025 | Microsoft stops selling Azure VMware Solution with an included VCF licence. |
| 1 Nov 2025 | New deployments require a portable VCF subscription. |
| 31 Oct 2026 | Pay-as-you-go nodes with an included licence had to be moved to portable VCF. |
| 30 Aug 2027 | Last day with an included licence. Reservations with licence must be exchanged for VCF BYOL reservations by then. The AV36 host type retires on the same day. |
If a license-included reservation expires before 30 August 2027, the included licence ends with it. For such hosts the deadline is therefore earlier.
The switch itself is a portal task
According to Microsoft, a running private cloud is converted without downtime. In the portal, under Portable VCF (BYOL), you enter the 25-character key from Broadcom, site ID, serial number, expiry date and the number of cores. Registration is currently only possible through the portal.
For hosts with a reservation the order is fixed: first exchange the license-included reservation for a VCF BYOL reservation, then register the licence details within 60 minutes.
The registered core count must exactly match the deployed BYOL cores and, across all private clouds, must not exceed the purchased amount. Microsoft reports registrations to Broadcom every month. A non-compliant private cloud is at risk of suspension.
How many cores are needed
| Host type | Cores per host | Example |
|---|---|---|
| AV36, AV36P | 36 | 4 hosts make 144 cores |
| AV48 | 48 | 4 hosts make 192 cores |
| AV52 | 52 | 4 hosts make 208 cores |
| AV64 | 64 | 3 hosts make 192 cores |
Anyone running on AV36 today has to change host type by 30 August 2027 anyway. The VCF subscription should therefore be sized for the target host type, not for the current estate.
For the NSX distributed firewall (vDefend), Microsoft counts all host cores in the private cloud, so ten AV36P hosts make 360 cores. If it was enabled before 16 October 2025 under a license-included reservation, the existing scope applies until the reservation ends, at the latest until 30 August 2027. Beyond that, a separate add-on from Broadcom is required.
The alternatives
Microsoft names three paths: Azure VMware Solution with a portable VCF subscription as the least disruptive, a move to Nutanix Cloud Clusters on Azure, and modernisation to native Azure services. Microsoft prices the Azure portion of Azure VMware Solution with your own licence lower than the license-included offer.
Total cost therefore depends on the price of the VCF subscription, which Broadcom sets. Without that quote, none of the three options can be compared reliably. Microsoft advises starting the licence purchase early.
What I would check now
- Whether license-included pay-as-you-go nodes are still running. The deadline for those expired on 31 October 2026.
- Which license-included reservations exist and when they end. If one ends before August 2027, the licence ends there too.
- How many hosts of which type are needed after moving off AV36, and from that the core count.
- Whether NSX firewall features are used with custom policies. In that case the vDefend add-on applies.
- Whether earlier email-based registrations were redone in the portal. That deadline expired on 31 March 2026.
The decision before August 2027
Whether Azure VMware Solution with your own licence, another private cloud service or gradual modernisation fits depends on workloads, dependencies and licence price. An architecture review compares these options per workload and provides the basis for the decision. Licence purchase and conversion then stay with you.
All dates at a glance: Azure deadline calendar 2026 to 2029
Frequently asked questions
Is Azure VMware Solution being discontinued?
No. Only the offer with an included VCF licence ends. With your own portable VCF subscription, the service continues unchanged.
Is there downtime when switching to portable VCF?
According to Microsoft, no. Registration in the portal converts a running private cloud without interrupting workloads.
What happens to existing reservations?
License-included reservations with a term beyond 30 August 2027 can be exchanged for VCF BYOL reservations. If a reservation ends earlier, the included licence ends with it.
Where is the VCF subscription purchased?
From Broadcom directly or through a Broadcom partner. Microsoft does not sell it.
Sources (as of 1 November 2026)
- Azure Update 569535: Azure VMware Solution license-included service retires on 30 August 2027
- Microsoft Learn: Azure VMware Solution license-included service retirement, using portable VCF and other options
- Microsoft Learn: Portable VMware Cloud Foundation licensing reference for Azure VMware Solution
- Microsoft Learn: Configure portable VMware Cloud Foundation for Azure VMware Solution
- Microsoft Tech Community: Broadcom VMware Licensing Changes: What Azure VMware Solution Customers Need to Know (updated 28 Aug 2026)