Windows server 2012 r2 captures microsofts experience of delivering globalscale cloud services to provide an enterpriseclass server and cloud platform. Licensing windows server for use as a host and guest os. Supported configurations for remote desktop services. Windows server 2012 datacenter edition will allow you to run unlimited virtual instances with each license on a single server. In the case of windows server 2012 r2 only, you do not need a cal to access an instance of the server software running on the physical ose that is being used solely to.
On a windows server 2012 r2 datacenter virtualization server, install and configure the microsoft hyperv server role. 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. You will find that failover clustering as well as any other feature you can find in windows server 2012 datacenter also exists with standard edition. Whether you choose windows server 2012 standard or datacenter, you must cover all the processors on a server, with each license good for up to two physical processors. Our discussion will be limited to the standard and datacenter versions of windows server. A workload where the software is used as a frontend web server for development and deployment of internetaccessible web pages, web sites, web applications, and. Windows server licensing permits use of the software in both the physical ose an instance of the software serving as the host operating system or os in the case of a virtualized server and virtual oses instances of the software running as guest oss. The features of the standard and datacenter editions of windows server 2012 r2 is almost identical except for the license rights to run virtual machines. This post follows my dissertation on windows server 2012 licensing, which is. Even if you cover a windows server license with sa, you cannot frequently. If you decide to use that windows 2012 standard server as a hosting platform you may buy additional windows 2012 licences to run more virtual instances, or run other operating systems, given you have licences for those. The reason that tracking is crucial is that the companys policy for licensing microsoft windows server 2008 to run with virtualization technologies states the following.
Windows server 2012 cals are used to access windows server 2012 and windows server 2012 r2. Understanding windows server virtual machine licensing altaro. How do i license windows server 2012 for virtualization. For windows server software, you can reassign server software licenses from one server to another but not more often than every 90 days. The physical server has one windows server license assigned to it, so the 10 stored instances across the san and server s hard drive do not require additional licenses because they are not running instances.
Windows server 2012, codenamed windows server 8, is the fifth release of windows server. Use windows server 2019 for your remote desktop infrastructure the web access, gateway, connection broker, and license server. Licensing microsoft office 365 proplus subscription service in volume licensing. New virtualization software reduces sql server 2012.
In windows server 2012 r2 datacenter you can run an unlimited number of virtual machines on a single physical host recall that such virtual machines can be easily activated using the avma automatic virtual machine activation. The windows server 2012 licenses are based on the physical. The license to run windows server in the azure environment is by default included in the perminute cost of your windows virtual machine. Licensing windows server for use with virtualization. Enterprise edition for windows server 2012 does not exist. Covers use rights for microsoft office for the windows operating system acquired as a software product under a desktop application license typically, a perpetual license. Licensing windows server for use with vmware vmotion and. Windows server 2012 r2 standard the license allows to run only up to two.
Windows server 2012 r2 standard the license allows to run only up to two virtual machines. For a 2 processor vmware or hyperv host with 8 vms you need 4. Windows server 2019 is backwardcompatible with these components, which means a windows server 2016 or windows server 2012 r2 rd session host can connect to a 2019 rd connection broker, but not the other way around. The new ws 2012 licensing model is consistent with the licensing model for system center 2012, microsofts management tools for managing windows servers and server applications, and the latest model for the enrollment for core infrastructure eci. Select the edition of windows server 2012 r2 based on your virtualization needs and edition features. License windows server 2012 editions in virtual environments. The minimum number of licenses required for each server is determined by the number of physical processors.
You have the use rights to run an unlimited number of virtualized instances of. Windows server standard and datacenter editions require a windows server user or device cal for each user or device accessing or using the server software. Commercial licensing reference guide windows server 2012. Licensing windows server 2012 r2 for use with virtualization technologies november 20 4 and two instances in the virtual ose with each license. Virtualization howto virtualization networking cloud. They apply to the software named above, which includes the media on which you received it, if any. For more detailed licensing information, see the windows server 2016 licensing datasheet pdf. Editions are differentiated by virtualization rights only two oses for standard. Licensing windows server 2012 for use with virtualization technologies september 2012 3 figure 1. If you are planning to deploy windows server 2012 r2, remember. Windows server licenses are not eligible for license mobility through software assurance, but customers licensing windows server with software assurance can utilize the azure hybrid benefit for a cheaper perminute cost when running a windows virtual machine. It means that you choose the edition depending only on the number of virtual machines on the physical host instead the availability of the required features. I cant have physical box for it, so i decide to buy and deploy windows server 2012 r2 on kvm virtual machine reading licensing documents on microsoft website i cannot understand, what is the difference between installation on physical server and installation on virtual. Datacenter edition for highly virtualized private clouds.
Licensing windows server 2012 r2 for use with virtualization technologies november 20 3 figure 1. Under 2012 r2 licensing on a server with 8 cores or fewer, you would. Each set of 16 windows server core licenses with software assurance and each windows server processor license with software assurance, entitles customers to use windows server on microsoft azure on up to 16 virtual cores allocated across two or fewer azure base instances. Licensing windows server 2012 for use with virtualization. Microsoft server software support for microsoft azure. Windows server is a server side operating system from microsoft. Determining the number of licenses for datacenter and standard editions each license covers up to two physical processors on a single server. This also means it has to patch and manage each vm. Software license management for virtual environments and. For most server products, if you have software assurance sa, you can move the license from host to host as you move the vm around. A standard edition license will entitle you to run up to two vms on up to two processors. Windows server 2012 licensed for web directions on microsoft. To give you a more consistent licensing experience across multicloud environments, we transitioned from processorbased licensing to corebased licensing for windows server 2019 datacenter and.
Licensing windows server 2012 in virtual machines on non server. Licensing microsoft server products for use in virtual environments september 2012 5 web workload. Windows server 2012 r2 essentials virtualization hyperv. In the case of windows server 2012 r2, the server license applies to the host, not to the vm. Conversely, companies that virtualize sql server using vmware or hyperv server virtualization software have to run a windows operating system within each sql vm, which means paying for extra windows and sql licenses.
Virtualization and processor licensing are key differentiators. It is the server version of windows 8 and succeeds windows 7based windows server 2008 r2, released nearly three years earlier. In most cases, when considering the windows server licensing model, it is advisable to consider the standard and datacenter windows server editions. Therefore, to use that feature it required enterprise or datacenter. Customers who had active software assurance sa on a windows web server license at windows server 2012 s release date would normally be entitled to the next version of the license. How to calculate proper windows server 2012 virtualization. Certain azure virtual machine offerings may also include additional microsoft software on a perhour or evaluation basis. On top of that, the end of support for windows server 2003 is only a few months away and some businesses are looking for information on how to migrate to windows server 2012. Commercial licensing reference guide for windows server 2012 r2. For example, a physical server running windows server 2012 and exchange server 20 would require a windows server 2012 server license and an appropriate number of client access licenses, as well as an exchange server license and an. Licensing windows for use with virtual machines details software assurance for the windows desktop operating system, windows 10 enterprise e3e5 subscription licenses, and windows virtual desktop access vda subscription licenses provides the greatest flexibility for how you use windows.
Windows server 2012 editions and licensing changes. Windows server 2012 licensing in virtual environments simulation. Data center has to be the local host os for this to work. Windows server 2012 setting up two vms and licensing cal issues.
Note that windows server 2012 cals may be used with a windows server 2012 or windows server 2012 r2 server. Find a strategy to cope or you could find yourself out of compliance and in hot water. The host will run 2 windows server virtual machines. Im holding fast to my viewpoint that the licensing for server 2012 is based on virtual machines. Usually i deal with linux and other unixlike os, but now i have to set up windows server to run some specific software. Create a virtual machine and install a supported server operating system on it. Windows server 2012 r2 essentials virtualization hyperv replica licensing. For more information, see install hyperv server 2012. Today we are going to discuss the steps in installingconfiguring windows server 2012 remote desktop services licensing in your environment using various available options. Windows server 2012 is currently the most popular, and stable version of the os windows server 2012 comes with a slew of features and licensing models. The software was generally available to customers starting on september 4, 2012. However, since windows web server has been eliminated in windows server 2012. It lets you optimize performance for your most important workloads and helps to protect against service outages with robust recovery options.
It allows to run two vms installed with windows server 2012 as an os. You may run 2 virtual instances of windows 2012 standard with a single licence. Windows server 2012 client access licenses cals for either users or devices. Windows server 2012 r2 will continue to have same licensing model as windows server 2012 with two editions available in volume licensing, standard edition and datacenter edition.
Windows server licensing for virtual environments windows os hub. The new windows server 2012 licensing for virtual environments, its per cpu model. Microsoft software license terms microsoft windows server 2012 essentials these license terms are an agreement between microsoft corporation or based on where you live, one of its affiliates and you. To run an instance of windows server software on your server, you. Standard edition is ideal for customers with low density or nonvirtualized. This document discusses how microsoft windows server 2012 is licensed when used with virtualization technologies like vmware esxesxi, microsoft system. Choose from three primary editions of windows server, based on the size of your organization as well as virtualization and datacenter requirements. Maintaining proper software licensing in virtual environments can be a challenge. For example, a computer that is running microsoft windows may host a virtual machine that looks like a computer with the ubuntu linux operating system. Windows server 2012 setting up two vms and licensing. If you want to run more than two virtual oses on the. Solved windows server 2012 datacenter vm licensing. Licensing windows server 2012 for use with virtualization licentia. If you have software assurance on your standard license you can purchase a software assurance stepup and migrate to a datacenter edition license on that server.
For standard licenses, you may use one running instance of server software in the physical operating system environment ose and, for each. With the launch of windows server 2016, server licensing transitioned to a corebased model and the processorbased server licensing. Addresses commonly asked questions about how to license office 365 proplus subscription. What you need to know about licensing for windows server 2012 patrick renzi march 16, 2015 just a couple of weeks ago, we provided a quick take on licensing options for windows server 2012 that enterprise it leaders will need to. Windows server 2012 and windows server 2012r2 are licensed under. Customers can use the license mobility benefits under software assurance to assign their system center 2012 license to a windows server instance running on azure. Guide to windows server editions and licensing itportal stifter. The windows server datacenter edition will allow an unlimited number of vms to run on up to two processors. A device cal is assigned to the device and allows multiple. If you opt to assign a host machine a twoprocessor windows server 2012 standard software license, though, you get only two vms with that license.
By default, azure virtual machines include a license for using windows server in the microsoft azure environment. We are looking at replacing three existing physical servers mixture of 2003 and 2008 with one dell r720 and using virtualization. Since windows server 2012 is out, i had planned to license the host with windows server 2012 datacenter, but the vms would be all 2008 r2 for now since most applications are not yet supported on 2012. Guide to windows server editions and licensing techsoup. Windows server standard edition license includes permission for two oses or vms. First published on technet on sep 20, 20 good morning askperf. All microsoft, software thats installed in the azure virtual machine environment must be licensed correctly.
If all of the allowed instances are running then the instance in the physical can only be used to manage the virtual instances. Licensing windows server 2012 for use with virtualization technologies september 2012 4 for customers that want to have a highly virtualized environment, windows server 2012 datacenter edition is the right edition to use. Choose from three primary editions of windows server based on the size of your organization, as well as virtualization and datacenter requirements. For example, you could run vmware to run the virtual instances. Software executed on these virtual machines is separated from the underlying hardware resources.
For general licensing information, see the windows server 2012 licensing. The disaster recovery server may be used only to run hardware virtualization software, such as hyperv,provide hardware virtualization services,run software agents to manage the hardware virtualization. Licensing windows server for use with virtualization technologies. Windows server 2012 virtualization licensing example virtual servers are licensed similarly to physical servers. If you do use both windows server 2012 virtual licenses, the physical install. How virtualization can get you into software licensing trouble. Customer may use the server software on a licensed server. The windows server standard edition will allow a limited number of 2 vms to run on up to two processors. Client access licenses and external connector licenses. Microsoft windows server 2012 r2 standard license 1. Data center can have unlimited vm depending on hardware with your license. Hyper v windows server understanding windows server virtual machine licensing. Licensing microsoft server products for use in virtual.
Since its inception in 2008, microsoft released many versions of the os. Exploring virtualization networking cloud enterprise architecture cloud with simple solutions in todays complex virtual world. From microsofts licensing windows server 2012 r2 for use with virtualization technologies brief. So how do virtualization rights work with windows server 2012. If you have been eating bowls full of vmware fud then read it a third time slowly. A system center standard license can be used to manage two virtual machine instances. Datacenter edition is ideal for highly virtualized and softwaredefined datacenter environments.
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