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System Center 2012

System Center 2012 offers an efficient solution for managing datacenter resources, private clouds and client devices. Use the interactive "Buyer's Guide" to find licensing-related information about use rights, upgrades, and migration paths. Explore "What's New" to find out more about the System Center 2012 licensing model. Learn "How to Buy" and get answers to "FAQs" about System Center 2012 licensing.

Improvements to System Center 2012 Licensing

Key Licensing Changes in System Center 2012

Server Management Licensing

System Center 2012 server management licensing maximizes your private cloud value while simplifying purchasing:

  • License required only for endpoints being managed. No additional licenses needed for management servers or SQL Server technology.

  • Consistent licensing model across editions. Processor based license, covering up to two processors targeted at most common hardware configuration.

  • Same capabilities across editions differentiated by virtualization rights. All server management licenses include the same components and the ability to manage any private cloud workload.

System Center 2012 management licenses will be released in 2 editions differentiated by virtualization rights only:

  • Datacenter: Maximizes cloud capacity with unlimited Operating System Environments (OSEs) for high density private clouds.

  • Standard: For lightly or non-virtualized private cloud workloads.

To provide you with the capabilities you need to manage a private cloud, both Standard and Datacenter editions of System Center 2012 include all the System Center components relevant to managing servers:

  • Configuration Manager

  • Service Manager

  • Virtual Machine Manager

  • Operations Manager

  • Data Protection Manager

  • Orchestrator

  • App Controller

  • Endpoint Protection

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 Operating System Environments (OSEs) that you can manage per license. Datacenter Edition allows the management of an unlimited number of OSEs per license. Standard Edition allows the management of up to two OSEs per license.

Client Management Licensing

System Center 2012 client management licensing provides simple, cost-effective options to manage and protect client systems. Client management licenses are available in three offers:

  • System Center 2012 Configuration Manager: System Center 2012 Configuration Manager is available on a per-user or per-OSE basis as well as in the Core CAL and Enterprise CAL suites.

  • System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection: System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection (the next version of Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010) is available as a per-user or per-device subscription as well as in the Core CAL and Enterprise CAL suites. The subscription includes all antimalware updates and product upgrades during the subscription period.

  • System Center Client Management Suite: The System Center 2012 Client Management Suite is available on a per-user or per-OSE basis as well as in the Enterprise CAL suite. It is composed of Data Protection Manager, Operations Manager, Service Manager, and Orchestrator.

Core CAL and Enterprise CAL Suites will continue to be the most cost effective way to purchase client management products.

Benefits of the New Licensing Model

Microsoft is committed to delivering products to customers that meet their current and future needs with as little complexity as possible. To that end we’ve focused on two key benefits in designing the new licensing model.

Simplicity:

By reducing the number of licenses in the model and standardizing on a processor-based licensing model for server management we believe we are significantly reducing the complexity customers face in purchasing and remaining compliant.

Optimized for the Private Cloud:

We believe strongly in the Private Cloud design point and have invested heavily in ensuring System Center fulfills the scope of management solutions that will enable customers to deploy and benefit from Private Clouds. We’ve chosen to offer System Center Private Cloud products in a way that enables customers to broadly deploy the multiple components they will need in a Private Cloud environment.

Availability of System Center 2012

Microsoft will announce the date for System Center 2012 General Availability in the near future. Until then, please refer to the System Center 2012 homepage for more information.

Frequently Asked Questions About System Center 2012 Licensing

Expand all

What product components will be included in System Center 2012 Standard and System Center 2012 Datacenter?

To provide customers the interoperable capabilities across many components, they will need to manage a Private Cloud. Both Standard and Datacenter editions of System Center 2012 will include all the System Center components relevant to managing servers:

  • Configuration Manager

  • Service Manager

  • Virtual Machine Manager

  • Operations Manager

  • Data Protection Manager

  • Orchestrator

  • App Controller

  • Endpoint Protection

What are the differences between Standard and Datacenter editions of System Center 2012?

The Standard and Datacenter editions of the System Center 2012 server management licenses differ only based on the number of Operating System Environments (OSEs) that may be managed. System Center 2012 Standard licenses allow customers to manage two OSEs on premises or two OSEs in a public cloud environment. System Center 2012 Datacenter licenses include an unlimited number of OSEs in an on premises environment or eight OSEs in a public cloud environment.

Review more Frequently Asked Questions for additional information.

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