UPDATE VMware's written to members of its user group (VMUG) and subscribers to its EVALExperience program to advise they're being booted out of its cloud.

VMUGs offer a program called VMUG Advantage, a US$200/year affair that offers discounted licences and certification exams. EVALExperience offers trial software licences for nine of VMware's best bits, in quantities sufficient to run up a decent home lab. Both programs have, of late, offered subscribers the chance to use VMware's cloud, vCloud Air, as a promotion designed to encourage some experimentation.

But an email sent to VMUG Advantage members seen by The Register says that arrangement's now over.

"From time to time, product offerings included within the VMUG Advantage subscription and, specifically, EVALExperience, may change depending on demand and availability from VMware," the email says.

"We've recently learned that we will no longer be able to offer vCloud Air as part of the EVALExperience program, effective immediately. However, we are working with VMware to find a solution for those subscribers that have already purchased the service."

VMware has back-tracked on its ambitions to build a top-tier cloud, signalling it will stop pouring capital into vCloud Air and instead concentrate on serving only customers who really want Virtzilla to do their cloud. VMware hopes – and encourages - partners to run up as many vSphere-powered clouds as they want, with all manner of licences.

Given VMware's change of direction, it's not hard to see why VMware has decided to boot out EVALExperience subscribers: they're not paying full freight and are probably using resources that are now rather scarcer than was imagined when the the program started offering access to vCloud Air.

Less fair is the lack of a "solution" for those who have put workloads into vCloud Air, as there's no word on when another destination for their code will be found.

VMware tells us that: "All else with vCloud Air is unchanged." ®

UPDATE

VMware's been in touch to tell us the following:

"More than 300 users took advantage of the vCloud Air promotion via the EvalExperience offered through VMUG. While the promotion has run its course, those users that signed up for the promo can continue to use vCloud Air with no interruption in service and their remaining credit will be honored. We will change how those users receive their vCloud Air credit with details to be shared directly with them at a later date."