A core factor or a processor value unit (PVU) is a core license metric used to normalize the license cost per physical core across multiple platforms.

In many enterprise applications, a physical core is often associated with a single software license. That is, a microprocessor with a single core might require a single license whereas a microprocessor with 8 cores might require eight licenses. Because different cores exhibit different performance characteristics, companies often make use of a core factor to normalize their license cost across multiple platforms.

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