Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems Licensing FAQ
Published: March 06, 2008
With the launch of Windows Server 2008, Microsoft is introducing a new edition: Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems. This edition is specifically dedicated to servers based on Intel's Itanium processor and raises the profile of Microsoft's ongoing support for the Itanium platform.
The introduction of a new edition may raise questions for some customers, which this FAQ attempts to address.
The term "Windows Server 2003" – without "R2" – is used throughout this FAQ. There is no R2 release of the Windows Server 2003 operating system for Itanium servers. However, from a licensing perspective, some customers may have purchased Windows Server 2003 R2 licenses and then deployed Windows Server 2003 (non-R2) software on their Itanium systems. This FAQ applies to such R2 licenses, as well.
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The number of processors supported by each edition – Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter – has not changed. However, the processor architectures supported by some editions have changed. The Enterprise and Datacenter Editions of Windows Server 2003 supported three processor architectures: x86 32-bit, x86 64-bit ("x64") and Itanium processors. In Windows Server 2008 Itanium is supported by its own dedicated edition – Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems.
Windows Server 2003 provided support for systems based on the Itanium architecture in two editions: Enterprise Edition and Datacenter Edition. For Windows Server 2008, Itanium support has been consolidated into a single new edition: Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems. Customers who wish to run Windows Server 2008 on Itanium-based systems will need to deploy this new edition dedicated to servers based on the Itanium processor.
Workload support in Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems has been focused on those most deployed by customers on Itanium: scale-up Databases, line-of-business, and custom applications. Accordingly some server roles, including infrastructure server roles such as Active Directory and DHCP, are not available. More information is available here.
Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems is licensed per processor, how Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition was licensed.
Windows Server 2008 Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter all require client access licenses (CALs), however the server licenses differ depending on the edition of Windows Server licensed.
Windows Server 2008 Standard and Enterprise are licensed by server. Regardless of the number of physical processors, customers acquire a license for a server and are only limited by the processor support of each edition. For example, a customer deploying Windows Server 2008 Enterprise would acquire a license and appropriate CALs, and could then deploy it on a server containing up to 8 processors.
Windows Server 2008 Datacenter and Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems, in contrast, are licensed by processor. For example, a customer wishing to deploy Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems on a server with 2 processors would acquire 2 processor licenses for that server, plus the appropriate CALs. For a server with 32 processors, a customer would need 32 processor licenses.
There are different answers to this question depending on the specifics of your licensing situation.
Customers who purchased Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition from their server manufacturer should contact their manufacturer for further information. In general, unless covered by a maintenance agreement providing upgrade rights, customers will need to purchase new Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems licenses through Volume Licensing.
Customers who purchased Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition from Microsoft through a Volume Licensing agreement but do not have active Software Assurance will need to purchase new processor licenses of Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems for the processors in the servers they wish to upgrade.
Customers who purchased Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition from Microsoft through Volume Licensing and have active Software Assurance in place may upgrade their Itanium Servers to Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems. They do not need to purchase new licenses. The Software Assurance migration path provides new version rights.
If you are not sure whether you are covered by Software Assurance, please contact your account manager and/or partner. You can learn more about Volume Licensing here, and Software Assurance here.
There are different answers to this question depending on the specifics of your licensing situation.
Customers who purchased Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition from their server manufacturer should contact their manufacturer for further information. In general, unless covered by a maintenance agreement providing upgrade rights, customers will need to purchase new Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems licenses through Volume Licensing.
Customers who purchased Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition from Microsoft through a Volume Licensing agreement but do not have active Software Assurance will need to purchase new Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems licenses for each processor in the servers they wish to upgrade.
Customers who purchased Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition from Microsoft through Volume Licensing and have active Software Assurance have new version rights and may upgrade these servers to Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems instead of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise.
Since this necessitates moving to a Processor/CAL licensing model, these customers may upgrade to four (4) processor licenses of Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems for each Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition license they are using for Itanium servers.
To ensure compliance, customers should sum the number of Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition Licenses on Itanium servers which they wish to upgrade and multiply by 4. That gives the total number of Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems processor licenses the customer will receive. Compare this number against the number of processors in the Itanium server you wish to upgrade.
Customers with Software Assurance who wish to upgrade Itanium servers with 8 processors, and who believe they require additional licenses beyond those they would receive through the plan described herein, should contact their account manager or partner for assistance. You may also contact Itanium Software Assurance Licensing Q's.
If you are not sure whether you are covered by Software Assurance, please contact your account manager or partner. You can learn more about Volume Licensing here, and Software Assurance here.
On an existing server there is no direct in-place upgrade. A new installation of the operating system and applications is required to move from Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 on Itanium-based servers.
After the release of Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003 R2 licenses may be available for a brief period through various channels and partners. A license to run Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise is perpetual and customers may continue running that edition on Itanium-based servers pursuant to its license terms. However, upon the release of Windows Server 2008, Microsoft and vendors will begin phasing out the availability of Windows Server 2003 R2 licenses.
Some customers have programmatic downgrade rights that permit them to run a prior version of Windows Server in lieu of the licensed product.
