Windows Server Licensing: Simplified – Timothy Gruber’s Blog

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Спускаясь по лестнице, она пыталась представить себе, какие еще неприятности могли ее ожидать. Ей предстояло узнать это совсем.

ГЛАВА 2 На высоте тридцать тысяч футов, над застывшим внизу океаном, Дэвид Беккер грустно смотрел в крохотный овальный иллюминатор самолета «Лирджет-60».

 
 

 

Microsoft Windows Server | Microsoft Licensing Resources

 

Windows Admin Center is a locally deployed, browser-based app for managing Windows servers, clusters, hyper-converged infrastructure, as well as Windows 10 PCs.

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Supporting products. Get started for free Get started for free. Choose an edition and an installation option: Customers who download the full ISO will need to choose an edition and an installation option.

Installation Options: Server Core: This is the recommended installation option. Server with Desktop Experience: This is the complete installation and includes a full graphical user interface GUI for customers who prefer this option. Review Windows Server release notes and system requirements.

I was trying to figure out what was going on. As far as I can tell, they are completely unneeded. I’ve seen no evidence of any clusters cluster meaning HA hyper-v cluster “Microsoft Failover cluster” using at least 2 nodes in the cluster.

I still don’t know if that’s what is being done or not. I think I got lost in this mess. Actually we have not established that. We’ve established what he should be using, but we don’t know because we just heard about “Hyper-V Core”. My guess is the Tech claimed MS failover clusters, but then never got it to work. There is no product called Hyper-V.

Most of additional features of Windows Server Datacenter don’t matter to most users, but the difference is not just the virtualization rights. This will put your mind at ease if the all clear comes back and will give you definite questions to ask if not. You may not be technical nout wrong with that but you need to put your manager hat on at a jaunty angle, but firmly, and get to the bottom of matters. I have never setup a cluster myself and outside of seeing working labs at other locations, vendors, and even professional friends houses so I fully admit this is most likely over my head abit but i can reach up when the need calls for it.

I only have book and web based knowledge about what one is supposed to look like and how it is supposed to function and what he is telling me and setting up is no where close I thank you all for the validation of that provided threw-out this post , but I also will admit that generally the practical design, setup and configuration lets call it standards established by that documentation sometimes deviates.

Since I am sure there are multiple ways to skin this cat. So that is what fueled this post my ignorance in the best practices when it comes to setting up a cluster of servers and that underlying feeling that the information he has been feeding me is BS and not anything near accurate to the original upgrade proposal. Which leaves me trying to determine if this is something within reach of my experience with the assistance of spiceheads and web resources that I can step up and correct, or do I call in big guns and hope I can learn along the way.

This topic has been locked by an administrator and is no longer open for commenting. To continue this discussion, please ask a new question. We have a customer that sends us a lot of emails and a majority of the time, the emails are originating from Brazil and thus quarantined as we block all emails originating outside of the US.

He uses a Hotmail account and I was wondering if he has the opti It’s been a fun morning. My current computer desk is nothing more than wire shelving with a wooden top, creating a completely functional desk. Your daily dose of tech news, in brief. Each year on August 10th, people celebrate On Lazy Day, a holiday that permits us to relax and kick back. Did you know that being lazy from time to time can actually be good for you? Of course, that can be ea What are the 3 things that you bring to the event every year?

Share your must-haves for SpiceWorld! Online Events. Login Join. Windows Server. First question or post to spiceworks ever so please bare with me. Since Datacenter is the version that covers licensing for unlimited vms The task is to setup a cluster of 6 servers with datacenter as the virtual hosts in a cluster so that any future vms wouldn’t require licensing this idea was sold to me at the beginning of the project and we purchased enough core licensing to cover said servers 96 total.

Not sure I am adding this to the right group so may have to repost. Spice 5 Reply Shaun wrote: So what I am looking for after all the useful information provided so far is, does it at all sound like my tech has a real handle on this project answer so far leans towards no. A consultant would be another option. Once you know about the storage, let us know.

Scott Alan Miller. Shaun wrote: First question or post to spiceworks ever so please bare with me. Spice 1 flag Report. Shaun wrote: I have just checked in with my tech and found that he has setup 2 servers thus far with data center as DC for the cluster I have never setup a cluster so not sure this is needed so that the first question. Spice 2 flag Report. Verify your account to enable IT peers to see that you are a professional. Shaun wrote: In addition he has setup 4 hyper-v core nodes and migrated our vms over to them.

Shaun wrote: he has setup 4 hyper-v core nodes Watch your terminology as it brings confusion – Hyper-V Server is the free hypervisor-only product. Shaun wrote: The task is to setup a cluster of 6 servers with datacenter as the virtual hosts in a cluster so that any future vms wouldn’t require licensing this idea was sold to me at the beginning of the project and we purchased enough core licensing to cover said servers 96 total.

License wise, again, assuming you only have 16 core machines, you look covered. Just curious, you’re talking about a cluster – in what way is this a cluster? Do you have shared storage? OP Shaun The original plan was to get licensing for are physical servers so we wouldn’t have to mess with licensing ever again for are VM’s addition I have never setup a cluster and my experience with hyper-v has always been within server OS, there is iscsi storage that the VM’s share, though I have been here a year and have no solid answer as to how much is available.

Hyper-V is free. It is a hypervisor. It doesn’t have versions. Shaun wrote: Sorry for the confusion the original idea pitched to me was to have a bed of physical servers clustered together using server datacenter licenses, that would host unlimited VM’s on top of them license free. The original plan was to get licensing for are physical servers so we wouldn’t have to mess with licensing ever again for are VM’s huh – he installed to Domain Controllers on bare metal?

I’d say bring in a consultant. Shaun wrote: Sorry for the confusion the original idea pitched to me was to have a bed of physical servers clustered together using server datacenter licenses , that would host unlimited VM’s on top of them license free.

The original plan was to get licensing for are physical servers so we wouldn’t have to mess with licensing ever again for are VM’s Lots here to cover : First, datacenter licensing isn’t related to clustering.

We should step back, why do you have so many hosts? Six is enormous. The third method, which may be the most optimal, is to setup AD activation.

It appears that you have: host 1 – domain controller – needs 1 Windows standard license host 2 – domain controller – needs 1 Windows standard license host 3 – Hyper-V server – needs DataCenter license for the number of cores in host host 4 – Hyper-V server – needs DataCenter license for the number of cores in host host 5 – Hyper-V server – needs DataCenter license for the number of cores in host host 6 – Hyper-V server – needs DataCenter license for the number of cores in host Again that is only for what you have listed.

Obsolesce This person is a verified professional. How many virtual machines do you have, and what are the resource requirements of the top 5? Are you SURE you need 6??? One host equals huge single point of failure. That single host is much more likely to stay running than 2 or more servers.

Also, there are other things in place such as backups, replication, etc. Please compare the risk factor of the alternative for us. Dashrender wrote: I know Scott said this already, but clustering is not a license function of Windows Server DataCenter edition. Shaun wrote: Dashrender wrote: I know Scott said this already, but clustering is not a license function of Windows Server DataCenter edition.

So it makes it really hard for us to know what’s going on. It’s hard to know by how you are describing things. There is definitely a lack of understanding on both sides, as well as lack of communication. We definitely need a ton of clarification. Wow – that seems insane.. Shaun wrote: This is a correct layout of what we currently have, host 1 and 2 he has setup as DC for the cluster because he states they need to be in there own domain.

What is holding the storage used by this ‘cluster’? Shaun wrote: We are a small agency and im pretty sure the over all server footprint we have is extremely bloated compared to what we actually need so I am hesitant to let him proceed now setting up a modern version of the older configuration.

You’re considering upgrading these systems? Shaun wrote: To clerify terminology “hyper-v core” was what I was told, when I hear core I think of the server core vs GUI install option.

Things to remember Hyper-V is always free. It just is. Windows Server always has licensing. Shaun wrote: So those 4 hosts are hyper-v server, where as my thinking is we would need to be using server datacenter core instead, I understand it has a bigger footprint, but that is what my reading has pointed me to so far, which is what raised the questions about what he is actually doing and if it is being done correctly.

Yes, installing Windows Server Core will have a larger footprint. The licensed Datacenter edition covers Windows Server installed on a host and allows you to run an unlimited number of virtual machines with Windows Server installed as a guest OS.

A Windows Server Essentials vs Standard comparison is outside the scope of this blog post. CAL licenses are required for both Standard and Datacenter editions. For example, if you have licensed Windows Server Standard for all processor cores of a physical server and install Windows Server Standard on a host with the Hyper-V role enabled, then you can run two VMs with Windows Server Standard.

If you need to run 4 virtual machines on a server, then you need to buy one more license a set of two-core licenses to cover all cores for this server the total number of VMs is four and Windows Server Standard is used in this example. One Standard license covers two virtual machines. If you need to run 4 VMs on a physical server that has two 8-core processors, you must buy 16 dual-core Standard licenses for Windows Server Two license sets cover all cores twice and allow you to run 4 VMs.

If you need to run an odd number of VMs on a host, you need to buy licenses for the next even number of VMs. If you need to run 4 VMs on the same physical server that has two 8-core processors but with the Windows Server Datacenter license, you need to buy 8 dual-core Datacenter licenses for Windows Server VM licensing order: Physical cores must be licensed first and only after that virtual machines must be licensed.

Taking into account the current price for Windows Server licenses, it may be better to buy Windows Server Standard licenses if you are going to run up to 12 virtual machines on a single physical server. If you need to run 14 VMs or more, the more rational decision is to buy Windows Server Datacenter.

VM migration is especially needed if you run VMs in a cluster. In this case you need to buy the number of licenses to cover all VMs on all hosts for each physical server as if you are migrating all VMs from all hosts to one host. In this case, each VM is licensed to migrate to any host. You can migrate a Windows Server license between physical servers once every 90 days. The Hyper-V virtual machine activation binds to the activated instance of Windows Server installed on a physical server that acts as a hypervisor.

Virtual machines can be activated without an internet connection. There is no need to manage product keys for VMs. Activation is preserved if licensed VMs are migrated between licensed hosts. We have two physical servers.

Each server has one 6-core processor. Two VMs must run on each server. Windows Server Standard license can be used. We need to buy 8 dual-core licenses for each server because it is not possible to buy less than 8 double-core licenses to license a physical server even if there are less than 16 cores.

Note: VMs used in examples are running Windows Server of the edition mentioned in the corresponding example. Each server has one core processor. Four VMs must run on each server, and Windows Server Standard is installed on each physical server. We have to buy 16 double-core licenses or two core licenses for each server.

In total, we buy four core licenses for the whole Windows Server environment. The configuration is the same as in Example 2.

Each server has 4 VMs and these VMs must be able to migrate between servers. As a result, we need to buy an additional 16 double-core licenses for each server. Finally, each server has 32 double-core licenses or four core licenses. As a result, four additional core licenses must be bought for each physical server.

 
 

Windows Server | Eval Center

 
 
Microsoft Windows Server Standard Core License – 2 Cores. *This not a complete server license, Microsoft’s licensing terms require a minimum of The price of core licenses of Windows Server Datacenter and Standard editions will be the same price as the 2-processor license of the corresponding. Minimum 8 core licenses required per physical processor. For every 2 additional VMs, all physical cores must be licensed again. MS Part #: 9EM (Qty 8).