Merge pull request #295680 from yadavsaloni2021/main

Adding FAQ, updating Gov limitation, updating RI exchange guidelines on VCF portability AVS doc

Author: prmerger-automator[bot]

articles/azure-vmware/vmware-cloud-foundations-license-portability.md

@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@ This article discusses how to modernize your VMware workloads by bringing your p
 
 ## What's changing?
 
+You can now bring your VCF subscription to Azure VMware Solution and provision a Private Cloud. Register your VCF subscription with Microsoft start using the Azure VMware Solution offering. 
 Private Cloud on the portable VCF offering, must have prepurchase Firewall add-on from Broadcom along with the VCF subscription to use the vDefend Firewall on Azure VMware Solution. Prior to using the vDefend Firewall software on Azure VMware Solution ensure you register your Firewall add-on with Microsoft. For detailed instructions on how to register your portable VCF, see "Register your portable VCF with Azure VMware Solution" later in this article.
 
 >[!IMPORTANT]
@@ -22,12 +23,13 @@ Private Cloud on the portable VCF offering, must have prepurchase Firewall add-o
 
 ## Purchasing VCF subscription portability offering on Azure VMware Solution
 
-We offer three flexible commitments and pricing options for using your portable VCF on Azure VMware Solution. You can choose from pay-as-you-go, 1-year Reserved Instance (RI), and 3-year RI options. **NOTE:** 3-year RI option is discontinued for AV36 node type.
+We offer three flexible commitments and pricing options for using your portable VCF on Azure VMware Solution. You can choose from pay-as-you-go, 1-year Reserved Instance (RI), and 3-year RI options. 
 
 To take advantage of the Reserved Instance (RI) pricing for the portable VCF offering on Azure VMware Solution, purchase an RI under the Product Name- VCF BYOL. For example, if your private cloud uses AV36P nodes, you must [purchase the Reserved Instance](/azure/azure-vmware/reserved-instance?toc=%2Fazure%2Fcost-management-billing%2Freservations%2Ftoc.json#buy-a-reservation) for the Product Name- AV36P VCF BYOL. To use the pay-as-you-go pricing for the portable VCF offering, you only need to register your VCF subscription. 
 
 >[!IMPORTANT]
-> If you are converting your existing Azure VMware Solution private cloud to leverage the portable VCF pricing, you must ensure to exchange the existing Reserve Instance (RI) on your subscription to VCF BYOL RI. Unless you have RI under \<node-type\>-VCF BYOL, you will be charged the VCF BYOL pay-as-you-go pricing.
+> If you're converting your existing Azure VMware Solution private cloud to use the portable VCF pricing, you must ensure to exchange the existing Reserve Instance (RI) on your subscription to VCF BYOL RI. **Unless you have RI under \<node-type\>-VCF BYOL, you'll be charged the VCF BYOL pay-as-you-go pricing.**
+> Register your VCF subscription with Microsoft before performing any Reservation exchanges.
 
 :::image type="content" source="media/vmware-cloud-foundations-license-portability/reserved-instance-purchase.png" alt-text="Screenshot of what product type to select while purchasing reserved instance for VCF subscription portability offering." border="true":::
 
@@ -50,9 +52,9 @@ To request quota for portable VCF offering, provide the following additional inf
 >[!NOTE]
 >
 >Portable VCF is applied at the host level and must cover all the physical cores on a host.
->Hence, quota will be approved only for the maximum number of nodes which the portable VCF covers. For example, if you have purchased 1000 cores for portability and requesting for AV36P, you can get a maximum of 27 nodes quota approved for your subscription.
+>Hence, quota is approved only for the maximum number of nodes which the portable VCF covers. For example, if you purchase 1000 cores for portability and requesting for AV36P, you can get a maximum of 27 nodes quota approved for your subscription.
 >
->That is, 36 physical CPU cores per AV36P node. 27 nodes = 27\*36 = 972 cores. 28 nodes = 28\*36 = 1008 cores. If you have purchased 1000 cores for portability, you can only use up to 27 AV36P nodes under your portable VCF.
+>That is, 36 physical CPU cores per AV36P node. 27 nodes = 27\*36 = 972 cores. 28 nodes = 28\*36 = 1008 cores. If you purchase 1000 cores for portability, you can only use up to 27 AV36P nodes under your portable VCF.
 
 ## Register your portable VCF with Azure VMware Solution
 
@@ -67,7 +69,7 @@ To get your quota request approved, you must first register the portable VCF det
 
 >[!NOTE]
 >
->The "Qty" represents the number of cores eligible for VCF portability. Your quota request should not surpass the number of nodes equivalent to your entitled cores from Broadcom. If your quota request exceeds the approved cores, the quota request will be granted only for the number of nodes that are fully covered by the entitled cores.
+>The "Qty" represents the number of cores eligible for VCF portability. Your quota request shouldn't surpass the number of nodes equivalent to your entitled cores from Broadcom. If your quota request exceeds the approved cores, the quota request will be granted only for the number of nodes that are fully covered by the entitled cores.
 
 - VCF with VMware vDefend entitlement sample: 
 :::image type="content" source="media/vmware-cloud-foundations-license-portability/vcf-vdefend-entitlements.png" alt-text="Screenshot of VCF with Vmware vDefend entitlement sample format." border="false":::
@@ -85,7 +87,7 @@ The VMware vDefend Firewall add-on CPU cores required on Azure VMware Solution d
 
 >[!NOTE] 
 > 
-> The portable VCF entitlements submitted to Microsoft will be securely retained for our reporting purpose. You can request the permanent deletion of this data from Microsoft's systems at any time. Once the automated validation process is in place, your data will be automatically deleted from all Microsoft systems, which may take up to 120 days. Additionally, all your VCF entitlement data will be permanently deleted within 120 days any time you migrate to an Azure VMware Solution-owned VCF solution. 
+> The portable VCF entitlements submitted to Microsoft is securely retained for reporting purpose only. You can request the permanent deletion of this data from Microsoft's systems at any time. Once the automated validation process is in place, your data is automatically deleted from all Microsoft systems, which may take up to 120 days. Additionally, all your VCF entitlement data is permanently deleted within 120 days any time you migrate to an Azure VMware Solution-owned VCF solution. 
 
 ## Creating/scaling a Private Cloud
 
@@ -112,34 +114,50 @@ For example, you want to deploy 10 nodes of AV36P node type.
 
 If you're currently managing your own VCF subscription for Azure VMware Solution and wish to transition to Azure VMware Solution-owned VCF subscription, you can easily make the switch without any changes to your private cloud. 
 
-If you're an existing Azure VMware Solution customer and wish to transition to the portable VCF (VCF BYOL) offering, you can also easily make the switch without any changes to your private cloud deployments by registering your portable VCF entitlements with Microsoft.
-
+If you’re an existing Azure VMware Solution customer and wish to transition to the portable VCF (VCF BYOL) offering, you can easily make the switch without any changes to your private cloud deployments by registering your portable VCF entitlements with Microsoft.
 **Steps:**
 
 1. Create a support request to inform us of your intent to convert.
 2. Exchange RI- If you have any active RI with VCF BYOL, exchange them for non-VCF BYOL RI. For instance, you can [exchange your AV36P VCF BYOL RI for an AV36P or vice versa](/azure/cost-management-billing/reservations/exchange-and-refund-azure-reservations).
 
-**NOTE:** If you have RIs for your current deployments, ensure to exchange RI for the right Product Name to continue to get the discounted RI pricing. Without this step, you will incur the pay-as-you-go cost.
+**NOTE:** If you have RIs for your current deployments, ensure to exchange RI for the right Product Name to continue to get the discounted RI pricing. Without this step, you'll incur the pay-as-you-go cost.
 
 
 >[!NOTE]
 >
 >You need to purchase the portable VCF entitlements from Broadcom for all cores that match your current Azure VMware Solution deployment. For instance, if your Azure subscription has a private cloud with 100 AV36P nodes, you must purchase portable VCF for at least 3600 cores from Broadcom to convert to VCF BYOL offering.
 
+## Frequently Asked Questions
+
+**1. What if my VCF subscription expires before my AVS Reservation (RI) ends?** 
+If your VCF subscription expires before your AVS Reservation (RI) ends, you have two options:
+
+  Option 1: **Switch to AVS-managed licenses:** Inform Microsoft of your intent to transition to AVS-managed licenses. If you have reservations on the VCF BYOL SKU, you can exchange them for the corresponding AVS SKU without any cancellation or exchange fees, as long as your exchanges comply with the [Azure Reservation Exchange Policies](/azure/cost-management-billing/reservations/exchange-and-refund-azure-reservations#cancel-exchange-and-refund-policies).
+  Option 2: **Renew your VCF subscription with Broadcom:** Register your new VCF subscription with Microsoft to continue using your Private Cloud without any disruption.
+
+**2. Can I change back and forth between AVS to AVS VCF BYOL anytime?**
+Yes, you can switch between AVS and AVS VCF BYOL SKUs anytime. 
+
+**3. Will the AVS 30-day Pilot Program support AVS VCF BYOL?**
+The 30-day Pilot Program **does not** require you to bring your own VCF subscription, as you can leverage AVS-owned VCF during the Pilot period. However, if you wish to bring your own VCF subscription instead of continuing with the AVS-owned VCF after the Pilot, you must **register your VCF subscription before the Pilot program ends**. If you don't register before the end of the Pilot program, you'll automatically be converted to AVS pay-as-you-go pricing.
+
+**4. Is VCF portability available for Gov Cloud as well?**
+VCF portability is **not available in Gov Cloud.** Ensure to check the availability of this feature in your region before proceeding.
+
 ## "Onboarding to portable VCF on Azure VMware Solution" Checklist
 
 **Scenario 1:**
-"I am converting existing AVS private cloud to VCF BYOL." 
+"I'm converting existing AVS private cloud to VCF BYOL." 
 
 1. Get your portable VCF subscription from Broadcom.
-2. If you have an RI purchased, exchange the RI to the corresponding VCF BYOL RI.
-3. Register your portable VCF with Azure VMware Solution.
+2. Register your portable VCF with Azure VMware Solution. 
+3. If you have an RI purchased, exchange the RI to the corresponding VCF BYOL RI.
 
 **Scenario 2:**
-"I am creating a new AVS private cloud with VCF BYOL." 
+"I'm creating a new AVS private cloud with VCF BYOL." 
 
 1. Get your portable VCF subscription from Broadcom.
 2. [Request host quota](/azure/azure-vmware/request-host-quota-azure-vmware-solution) for Azure VMware Solution.
 3. If you intend to leverage the RI pricing, purchase the RI under the "VCF BYOL" product name.
 
-**NOTE:** If you register your portable VCF without this step, you will be charged BYOL pay-as-you-go pricing by default for your usage. To leverage the RI pricing, ensure the RI purchase under the right region, host count, and product name (VCF BYOL in this case).
+**NOTE:** Once your portable VCF is register, you must **immediately** exchange your existing AVS RI to VCF BYOL RI. Failing to do so leads to **VCF BYOL pay-as-you-go** billing for your usage. To leverage the RI pricing, ensure the RI purchase under the right region, host count, and product name (VCF BYOL in this case).