System Center 2012 R2 Licensing


Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 offers solutions for managing datacenter resources, private clouds, and client devices. It delivers unified management across on-premises, service provider, and Microsoft Azure environments, thereby enabling the Microsoft cloud operating system. Learn more:

  • Buyer’s Guide for an interactive experience on licensing-related information about use rights, upgrades, and migration paths.
  • Licensing editions to find out more about the System Center 2012 R2 licensing model.
  • How to buy for an overview of pricing and licensing options.
  • FAQs for the most frequently asked questions about System Center 2012 R2 licensing.
Licensing editions FAQ

System Center 2012 R2 server management licensing does not change from System Center 2012.

As with System Center 2012, System Center 2012 R2 server management licenses will be released in two editions differentiated by virtualization rights only:

  1. Datacenter: Maximizes cloud capacity with unlimited operating system environments (OSEs) for high density private clouds.
  2. Standard: For lightly or non-virtualized private cloud workloads.

There is no differentiation between the types of workloads you can manage with either edition. The only difference between the editions is the number of OSEs that you can manage per license. Datacenter edition allows for the management of an unlimited number of OSEs per license. Standard edition allows for the management of up to two OSEs per license.

Server MLs are required for managed devices that run server OSEs. Licenses are processor-based, with each license covering up to two physical processors. For Datacenter edition, the number of server MLs required for each managed server is determined by the number of physical processors in the server. For Standard edition, it is determined by either the number of physical processors in the server or the number of OSEs being managed (whichever is greater).

  • System Center 2012 R2 Datacenter: Each license covers up to two physical processors. You must count the number of physical processors on the server, divide that number by two, round up to the nearest whole number, and acquire and assign that number of licenses to your server. Provided you acquire and assign to your server the required number of Datacenter edition server management licenses, as described above, you can manage any number of OSEs on that server.
  • System Center 2012 R2 Standard: For each managed server, count the number of physical processors and the number of managed OSEs. You need the number of licenses to cover the greater number (processors or OSEs).

Processor Count - Each license covers up to two physical processors, so you must count the number of physical processors on the server, divide that number by two, and then round up to the nearest whole number.

Managed OSE Count - Each license permits you to manage up to two OSEs, so you must count the number of OSEs you will manage on the server, divide that number by two, and round up to the nearest whole number.**

**An exception to this rule is when the physical OSE on your server is being used solely to run hardware virtualization software, provide hardware virtualization services, and run software to manage and service OSEs on that device. In that case, you count only the number of virtual OSEs you will manage on the server, divide that number by two, and round up to the nearest whole number.

Examples:

Datacenter Server                 Standard Server 
MLs Required                       MLs Required

One 1-processor,                            1                                         1
non-virtualized server

One 4-processor,                            2                                         2
non-virtualized server

One 2-processor server                  1                                         2*
with 3 virtual OSEs

One 4-processor server                  2                                         4*
with 8 virtual OSEs


*Multiple System Center 2012 R2 Standard licenses may be assigned to the same server to license the number of managed OSEs.

No. The System Center 2012 R2 Server Management components are part of an integrated offering to create and manage private cloud environments. They are available only as part of System Center 2012 R2 Standard and System Center Datacenter MLs.

No, a single Server ML cannot be used to license two one-processor servers.

For answers to additional frequently asked questions, download the System Center 2012 R2 datasheet (PDF, 442 KB).

Related resources


System Center 2012 R2 product page
Get details on how to evaluate, purchase, and deploy System Center 2012 R2.

System Center 2012 R2 licensing guide
(PDF, 411 KB)
Download detailed information about licensing System Center 2012 R2.

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