The latest change for PCNS v5.0 - license fee for virtual environments

[LarryK]

Thanks to Reddit and r/sysadmin, "today I learned" PCNS v5.0 is available.  Here's what the datasheet has to say:

PCNS v5.0

What’s changed as of May 1, 2023

Customers with PowerChute v5.0 will require a license for certain features:

• HCI and virtualization support is only available with PowerChute licensing which includes:
– Full integration with leading HCI platforms
– Unattended start-up
– Automated workload migrations

Impact:

• No impact to existing customers as their current version will continue to work
• Customers will need to purchase a license for future upgrades
• Graceful shutdown for Windows and Linux will remain available without a license

Which is a wonderful way of announcing that this product now has a license fee associated with it for virtual environments.

No messaging from my APC rep (if I even have one these days) or any announcement on my SE/APC partner portal.

I am less than thrilled that such a massive change is almost hidden from sight.

[LarryK · Accepted solution]

I honestly can't believe I'm replying to my own post, but...

Here is a link to the Release Notes for PCNS 5.0: https://download.schneider-electric.com/files?p_Doc_Ref=SPD_PMAR-9HBKLB_EN&p_enDocType=User+guide&p_...

I took some time this morning to read through the list of "known issues," which amounts to 15 pages of an 18 page document.

My thought after going through this:  I'm going to wait to implement this software update until SE/APC releases 5.x later this year.