Hi Experts, 

Looking for some help to understand a rather tricky topic. This has been my understanding so far:

Core-based licensing

System Center 2016 Standard and Datacenter Server MLs are Core-based licenses. A Server ML Core license must be assigned to each physical core in the server, with a minimum of 8 Core licenses per processor, and a minimum of 16 Core
licenses per server. 

Used Case 1: a single processor server with 4 cores requires 16 Server ML Core licenses, and a 4 processor server with 8 cores on each processor requires 32 Server ML Core licenses. Server ML Core licenses are purchased in 2-packs from resellers and always include Software Assurance. 

Licensing Rules

Software Assurance is included with all Client MLs .When purchased outside of the CAL Suites, Client MLs are available on a Per OSE or Per User basis When purchased via the CAL Suites, Client MLs are available on a Per Device or Per User basis
Client MLs include the right to run the Management Server software and SQL Server. 

Virtualization Rights

System Center 2016 Datacenter
•    The server must be fully licensed with Server ML Core licenses
•     An unlimited number of virtual machines may be managed on the server 

System Center 2016 Standard
•    The server must be fully licensed with Server ML Core licenses 
•    2 virtual machines may be managed on the server The server must be licensed again to manage a further 2 virtual machines. 

Used Case 2:  A single processor server with 8 cores requires 16 Server ML Core licenses to manage 2 VMs. A further 16 Server ML Core licenses must be assigned to the server to manage another 2 VMs.

Another statement in the whitepapers say
A customer is eligible for License Mobility through Software Assurance that allows 
• System Center Standard 2016: rights to manage 2 VMs per licensed server
• System Center Datacenter 2016 rights to manage 10 VMs per licensed server

Could someone help understand,  how would the license calculation work for an ESX on which 200+ VMs  are hosted. Would we be licensing only the cores on the ESX box or the VMs hosted as per the matrix given above?

Sorry, if this being repeated but I wasn't able to get a clear explanation which will help us calculate the ML licenses.We will get in touch withour licensing partner but need to project an approximate count with at least 10% growth to get a budget forecast. 

Any input to this will be much appreciated.