Windows 2012 licensing model

Spread the words

Physical processor licensing

Forget the old Microsoft licensing model. With Windows 2012 you have a new processor licensing model.

You have two Microsoft Windows 2012 server editions

  • Standard
  • Datacenter

These two editions come with two physical processor licenses. Both versions have the same set of features.

That means

If you have one physical server with two multi-core processors, you’ll need

2cpu

If you have one physical server with 4 multi-core processors, you’ll need

4 cpu

Number of virtual instances (Virtual server or VM)

The only difference between the standard and datacenter edition is the number of virtual instances you can run with.

  • Standard edition permit 2 Virtual instances
  • Datacenter edition permit unlimited Virtual instances

One license is affected to one physical server. You cannot split a license between servers.

That means

When you have one physical server with 2 multi-core processors and one standard license, you can have

2vm

When you have one physical server with 2 multi-core processors and one Datacenter license, you can have

multivm

Scenario:

Your company has the following servers.

  • Server1: 4 multi-core processors and 64 Gb Ram attached to a SAN
  • Server2: 8 multi-core processors and 256 Gb Ram attached to a SAN

Your manager asks you to host multiple virtual instances on these 2 servers. You want to use the maximum capacity of each server. You’ll need,

  • Server1: 2 Datacenter licenses
  • Server2: 4 Datacenter licenses

 

For more information follow the link https://www.highergroundtech.com/downloads/WS2012_Licensing-Pricing_FAQ.pdf

Be the first to comment on "Windows 2012 licensing model"

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published.


*