Using NVIDIA AI Enterprise license for vGPU compute (formerly vCS) on VMware vSphere – confirmation needed

ugurbas
Wed, 04 Feb 2026 08:07:57 +0000
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Hello,

I would like to get an official clarification regarding the usage of vGPU compute (formerly NVIDIA Virtual Compute Server / C-Series) when NVIDIA AI Enterprise (NVAIE) entitlement is available.

Background

In earlier deployments, I successfully used NVIDIA Virtual Compute Server (vCS) on VMware vSphere with the following flow:

Install vGPU Manager on ESXi host

Install vGPU guest driver in VM

vGPU profiles were visible, including C-series (compute) profiles

Obtain a .tok license token

Configure licensing with legacy token-based method

Product name shown as NVIDIA Virtual Compute Server

Setup worked as expected

Current situation / confusion

Recent documentation states:

“vCS is not supported on VMware vSphere.
C-series vGPU types are not available.
Instead, vCS is supported with NVIDIA AI Enterprise.”

At the same time, the NVIDIA AI Enterprise documentation (vGPU appendix) describes vGPU C-Series (compute) usage on vSphere, especially from vSphere 8.0 onwards, including MIG-backed vGPU.

Clarification requested

I would like to confirm the correct and supported workflow today when NVIDIA AI Enterprise entitlement is available:

1. Is it correct that vCS as a standalone product is deprecated, but the same compute vGPU capability is supported under NVIDIA AI Enterprise?

2. When using NVAIE:

Is the installation logic still the same (host vGPU manager + guest driver)?

Will compute-capable vGPU profiles still appear (even if not explicitly labeled as “C-Series”)?

3. For licensing:

Is Platform Type = 4 (NVIDIA License System) the correct and supported method?

Should NVIDIA AI Enterprise entitlement via NLS be used instead of legacy .tok-based licensing?

4. Is the legacy vCS / token-based workflow still functional but considered unsupported, while NVAIE + NLS is the supported approach?

Summary question

If I have a valid NVIDIA AI Enterprise license, can I use compute vGPU (formerly vCS) on VMware vSphere, and is the only supported method today:

vGPU Manager + guest driver

Assign compute-capable vGPU profile

License via NVIDIA License System (Platform Type 4) using NVAIE entitlement?

I would appreciate an official confirmation to align our deployments with NVIDIA-supported best practices.

Thank you.