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Downgrade rights, in general, mean that you can use an earlier version of the software acquired. For Small Business Server, this means you are allowed to install and use SBS 2003 R2 Premium Edition instead of SBS 2008 Premium Edition which is what you purchased; you can also install and use SBS 2003 R2 Standard Edition instead of SBS 2008 Standard Edition. At any time, you can install the software you purchased and cease to use the earlier version.
If you obtained your server with Small Business Server preinstalled from a partner or OEM, in order to exercise your downgrade rights you must already have the earlier versions of Small Business Server media available. If you purchased Open Licensing, Volume Licensing, Software Assurance, or purchased the full retail product of SBS 2008, contact Microsoft fulfillment services in your region.
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Yes. You may exercise your downgrade rights and run SBS 2003 R2 or earlier versions if you have acquired a SBS 2008 license. Note however that you cannot separate out the components of the SBS solution (that is, if you downgrade, you must downgrade all components of the software).
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As a rule, the components of the Windows Small Business Server solution cannot be separately downgraded, however Microsoft recognizes that line-of-business applications may experience compatibility issues moving from one version to the next., Alternative Versions are included in the SBS Premium Software for SQL 2005 and Windows Server 2008 x86. Although MS does not include Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard in the package as an alternative version, we are granting an exception to allow customers to use Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard in place of the 2nd copy of Windows Server 2008 Standard, shipped as part of SBS 2008 Premium. This exception is being granted until December 31, 2009.
Note: Under this exception, the customers are restricted from running both the 2nd copy of Windows Server 2008 Standard as well as Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard (to which the customer has used as an alternative version to Windows Server 2008 at the same time simultaneously. Also, after December 31, 2009, customers are restricted from using Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard as an alternative version to the 2nd copy of Windows Server 2008 Standard, shipped as part of SBS 2008 Premium. However, customers who have exercised the alternative version right before December 31, 2009 can continue to use either version of Windows Server, but not both at same time.
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Yes. Microsoft is charging for $20 USD plus tax and shipping & handling.
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Based on their license agreement, VL customers can obtain the software and product key from the Volume License Service Center (VLSC) Website.
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Yes, the right to downgrade to a prior version is the same for all sales channels; retail, OEM, Volume Licensing, and Solutions Pathway. The license terms of your current version of the software will apply to the downgraded earlier version of the software.
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The support lifecycle per Microsoft policy maps to the product version. For instance, if you downgrade to Windows Server 2003 R2, your Mainstream support will end July 13, 2010 and will transition into Extended Support at that time.
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No. Components of the SBS solution cannot be separated. However, Microsoft recognizes that line-of-business applications may experience compatibility issues moving from one version to the next, so for approximately one year from the SBS 2008 Release to Manufacturing (RTM) date, we will ship SQL Server 2005 Standard (both 32 and 64-bit platforms) in addition to the SQL Server 2008 Standard for Small Business for the customer’s use in order to address these potential issues.
Note that once we stop shipping both versions of SQL Server, customers are restricted from downgrading just the SQL Server component. Our downgrade rights specify that if you downgrade, you must downgrade all the component parts of the server software. However, the customers who received SQL Server 2005 Standard with their SBS 2008 can continue to use it after the shipping period ends, but they may not use both SQL Server 2005 Standard and SQL Server 2008 Standard for Small Business simultaneously. Customers can, however, move between SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition and SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition per their needs.
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Since SBS 2003 (R2) has only one CAL type, when you downgrade either of the SBS 2008 CAL types you will get SBS 2003 (R2) CAL. SBS 2003 (R2) CAL grants access rights to both Standard and Premium editions of the SBS 2003 (R2) server.
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If you have purchased SBS 2008 CALs from the Volume Licensing (VL) channel, you will be given SBS 2003 CAL keys at the time of purchase; these keys can then be used for downgrade SBS 2008 CALs to SBS 2003 (R2).
For those of you who have purchased SBS 2008 CALs from channels other than VL, such as FPP and OEM, based on the country you are in, you can either call or e-mail to get the product keys for SBS 2003 CALs as you downgrade your SBS 2008 CALs.
Please see here for contact information; you can start ordering from 10/17/2008 onward worldwide, except for in the U.S.A. and Canada, where the start date is 10/27/2008.
