Subscriptions, preferences, and autoattach settings for both virtual hosts and virtual guests are configured the same as for physical systems and other types of consumers.

There are two things to be aware of when using subscriptions in virtual environments.

Guests can inherit some subscriptions from their host. This means that it is not necessary to attach subscriptions to those systems for some products and that more products and content may be available to a system than what is directly attached to it.

The quantity of subscriptions required for a virtual guest is lower than for a physical machine. For physical machines, subscriptions must cover the physical attributes of the machine, such as the number of sockets or cores. Subscriptions are always applied in sets of two to cover pairs of sockets or cores, and those subscription pairs must be attached to cover all sockets and cores. (For example, a four socket system requires two sets of two subscriptions).

However, for virtual guests, those physical attributes do not apply when counting subscriptions. Only a quantity of one is ever required to cover a virtual guest.