This means customer can support workload mobility as it relates to external user access to its onpremises servers. The bottom line is that windows desktop operating systems do not have a simplistic licensing model in a virtual environment the way that windows server operating systems do. Windows server licensing for virtual environments windows os hub. In addition of the windows server 2008 license you also need a windows server 2008 client access license. License microsoft windows server in a vmware environment part 2. The windows server 20162019 standard license also allows you to run up to two vms with windows server on the same physical host. Microsoft 365 is available in two options, e3 and e5. The sa give you the rights to run the vms within a farm aka.
How to license windows in a virtual environment there are three ways to license and access a remote virtual machine running windows desktop software. We have the licenses for windows standard 16 core license 1 nos and 2 numbers of windows 2012 r2 standard. Will this suffice for the above scenario or do we need to buy additional licenses. The environments used for validation were set up in the following ways. Datacenter edition includes unlimited virtual instances of the operating system environment vms oses and hyperv containers on the licensed physical server. This article will help you understand how to license windows for virtual desktop. Windows server standard and datacenter editions continue to require windows server cals for every user or device accessing a server see the product terms for exceptions, or windows server external connector licenses for servers accessed by external users.
Licensing microsoft server products for use in virtual environments december 2017 4 products licensing do apply to windows server external connector licenses with software assurance coverage. Retail licenses should not be used in server based desktop virtualization scenarios. Licensing microsoft os and office in virtual environment. In addition to the base windows server cal or external connector license, some functionalities will continue to require the purchase of an additive access license. Microsoft server licensing in a virtual environment revisited. Support policy for windows virtual desktop and windows 10. Server 2012 also allows 2 vms with one standard license, so you only need one license. Windows virtual desktop licensing allows you to apply a license to any windows or windows server virtual machine that is registered as a session host in a host pool and receives user connections.
The third virtual machine and any virtual machines after that require additional purchases. Up to two virtual machines with up to 8 virtual cores or. The brief has been updated for windows 8 and windows server. The standard and datacenter editions of windows server 2016 use a per corecal license model, which is a combination of corebased licensing for the server and cals for users or devices that access the server. In this article, well look on licensing features of the windows server 2019, 2016 and 2012 r2 operating systems from the point of view of new. Vmware esxesxi, microsoft system center virtual machine manager, virtuozzo and azure. Servers with windows server standard or enterprise licenses covered by software assurance can be stepped up to a windows server datacenter edition processor license to take advantage of its unlimited virtualization rights. The twocore pack for each edition is 18th the price of a two proc license for corresponding 2012 r2 editions. Traditionally there were only perdevice licensing options to license windows 10 in a virtualized environment, until now.
I know that on the standard edition i can have two vms. Again my two howtos above cover how to license a windows desktop os. Licensing microsoft server products for use in virtual. License microsoft windows server in a vmware environment. There are three ways to license and access a remote virtual machine running windows desktop software. When your servers or other devices have multiple oses, you should check the. Understanding hyperv vm licensing on windows server. Licensing windows server for use with virtualization technologies. Be core ready microsoft licensing changes for windows server and. It includes updated references and diagrams to all current microsoft licensed products.
Volume licensing now includes a peruser license option with option of having your windows 10 vm hosted on your behalf both onprem or in the cloud. Licensing windows server for use on microsoft azure with software assurance coverage for window server standard andor datacenter, you have the additional option of running windows server in virtual machines in microsoft azure under the azure hybrid benefit for windows server. Windows server 2012 licensing in virtual environments. Vda is a use right that allows the end user the right to access a virtual desktop from a server environment. Licensing windows server 2019 the operating system that bridges onpremises and azure services overview of windows server 2019 windows server 2019 is the operating system that bridges on. While i always recommend that you talk to a credentialed expert in microsoft licensing. For example, oem licenses do not permit remote access to a windows virtual machine running in a data center. Windows server 2012 licensing in virtual environment ms.
For example, the windows server 2016 datacenter supports. Adobe validates all acrobat dc products in a windows terminal server environment. We talked about licensing windows server on a vmware environment but thats only one part of the licensing nightmare. Running a windows server os within a vm in a vdi scenario does not require.
Understanding windows server virtual machine licensing altaro. Questions on windows 10 licensing for a hyperv vm i have a windows 10 pro machine which supports virtualization. Windows server 2016 licensing on vmware ms licensing. The licence to run windows server in the azure environment is, by default, included in the perminute cost of your windows virtual machine. In this article, well look on licensing features of the windows server 2019, 2016 and 2012 r2 operating systems from the point of view of new microsoft licensing model. So windows server 2012 licensing in virtual environ ment ms licensing. Licensing for a virtual machine on windows 10 for windows 10 under some conditions software assurance for windows 7, users are legally allowed to run a virtual machine of windows 7, on a legally licensed windows. Guide to microsoft server licensing articles and howtos. Understanding windows server virtual machine licensing if you plan to use your physical server as a hypervisor on which several vms with the windows server are running, you need to choose the os edition depending on the number of vms that will be running on your server. Licensing microsoft server products for use in virtual environments. Windows server licences are not eligible for licence mobility through software assurance, but customers licensing windows server with software assurance can utilise the azure hybrid benefit for a cheaper perminute cost when running a windows virtual. A single windows server standard license is a complete package that covers one windows server standard edition as the physical operating system environment pose and up to two virtual instances on licensed cores. Also, well tell about the rules and licensing procedures when using windows server as a guest os in a virtual machines, inclu.
Microsoft holds that the minimum licensing purchase of windows server standard edition licenses 8x 2core packs allows for no more than two virtual instances of windows server standard edition. Licensing microsoft server in a virtual environment altaro software. Windows server licensing for virtual environment ms. You have to license every processor on the host machine that will allow you to run 1 virtual instance either linux or windows for windows. License mobility across server farms is not available for windows server, so in a multihost environment where osesvms are expected to move between hosts on a regular basis, each of the. In addition to the base windows server cal or external connector license, some functionalities will continue to require the purchase of an. Move windows server licences to azure and save up to 40 percent. We found that 7 vms is the breakeven point to switch to datacenter edition licensing. The same is true for windows server datacenter edition, however you are able to run unlimited virtual. License windows 10 for use in virtualization environment. Microsoft licensing for virtual environments can be tricky and there are a lot of misconceptions out there on how. If the virtual environment is going to run more than 7 virtual machines on top of an esx server, datacenter licensing is the way to go. The 3 items mentioned above is really just the beginning of the licensing roller coaster. Licensing windows for vdi environments uf procurement.
Server operating systems and server applications can run in either physical or virtual operating system environments oses. Windows server 2016 and 2019 datacenter support a number of new technologies that are useful in a virtualization and the azure cloud environment. Licensing content for windows server microsoft docs. Guide to windows server editions and licensing techsoup. You will also need client access licenses also called cals. Licensing windows server for use with virtualization.
This is an update to the licensing microsoft server products in virtual environments volume licensing brief that was published in april 2012. Windows server virtual machine licensing datacenterinsider. Microsoft uses specific terminology that refers to physical server licenses and virtual machine licenses for virtualization. Hii am trying to understand how the licensing works in a virtual environment. Microsoft licensing for virtual environments can be tricky and there are a lot.
If i wanted to run two windows vms on a single physical server, i just needed to buy one windows server license. The new windows server 2012 licensing for virtual environments, its per cpu model. Understanding windows server virtual machine licensing. Windows server operating system software under the per corecal license model is licensed by physical core. Windows must be reported, but oddly enough it is the most under licensed product during an audit. Licensing microsoft server in a virtual environment youtube. Licensing windows server 2016 in a virtual environment. Windows virtualization rights windows virtualization rights allow for a licensed device or user to access virtual windows desktops either remotely andor locally, depending on how the device or user is licensed. Server 2012 also allows 2 vms with one standard license, so you only need one license for your 2 vms of that. With the windows server 2012 r2 standard edition licensing model, you can grow your virtualization environment by either buying a stepup license to datacenter edition if you have software assurance, or by simply buying additional standard edition licenses and assigning them to the same physical server.
Wvd is a managed desktop and application virtualization service thats hosted on microsoft azure. Windows terminal server acrobat virtualization guide. Windows virtual desktop wvd is now generally available. Questions on windows 10 licensing for a hyperv vm computergeek. If you move a virtual machine to a different virtualization host, the host must contain a windows server license that includes the virtual ose licensing. Windows server core licensing calculator hewlett packard. Apply windows license to session host virtual machines. To give you a more consistent licensing experience across multicloud environments, we transitioned from processorbased licensng to corebased licensing for windows server. Previous versions of windows server have also been transitioned to this licensing. Windows server 2016 licenses on vmware virtual machines. Acrobat does not support shared device licensing sdl in virtual. Microsoft takes a shot at vmware with windows server 2016.
Pricing and licensing support by windows server sku. For every 2processor windows server license or set of 16 windows server core licenses with software assurance, you can run either of the following at the base compute rate. Wvd helps deliver the best virtual desktop experience by providing remote access to modern desktop and applications from any device. Vmware esx esxi, microsoft system center virtual machine manager, virtuozzo and azure. The answer is that the licensed windows server 2016 provides more features and opportunities for your virtual environment than free hyperv. Understanding windows server hyperv licensing vembu. Also, well tell about the rules and licensing procedures when using windows server as a guest os in a virtual. Solved use of windows oem license on virtual machine ms. The microsoft cloud provider csp agreement now includes a windows 10 peruser license option with virtualization. A clarification of windows server 2016 license stacking behavior for physical systems with cpus that contain 8 or fewer cores. How does microsoft license windows for virtual environments.
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