Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition Licensing: Frequently Asked Questions
|
This FAQ answers commonly asked questions about changes to Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition licensing. Click a question to view its answer. To view all the answers at one time, select the View all answers check box.
| Q. | What changes have been made to licensing for Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition? | ||||||
| A. | With Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition, each software license allows you to run, at any one time, one instance of the server software in a physical operating system environment and up to four instances of the server software in virtual operating system environments. These new use rights enable customers to minimize costs using virtualization to consolidate their servers. | ||||||
| Q. | Do the changes in licensing for Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition include the virtualization software? | ||||||
| A. | No. In order to run additional instances of Windows Server 2003 R2 in a virtual operating system environment, you must also license the server virtualization software, such as Microsoft Virtual Server 2005. | ||||||
| Q. | If I am a Microsoft Software Assurance customer, do I need to purchase Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition to receive the new licensing benefit? | ||||||
| A. | Customers who have an Enterprise Edition license covered under Software Assurance will receive Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition as part of their upgrade rights. If the server license is not covered by Software Assurance, a license for Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition must be purchased in order to receive the new use rights. | ||||||
| Q. | Is this licensing change available for other editions of the Window Server operating system? | ||||||
| A. | Microsoft has announced several new licensing initiatives to help customers realize the promise of self-managing dynamic systems. Currently, only Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition licenses allow for multiple-use rights per license. For more information, visit Microsoft Adapts Windows Server System Licensing to Virtualization Scenarios. | ||||||
| Q. | Did pricing for Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition change as a result of these licensing changes? | ||||||
| A. | No. The price of Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition remains the same as its predecessor, Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition. | ||||||
| Q. | Does the new multiple-use rights licensing benefit apply when used with non-Microsoft software virtualization technologies? | ||||||
| A. | Yes. The use rights apply regardless of the virtualization product being used. However, only Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition virtual instances hosted on Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 installed on Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition are fully supported by Microsoft. For more information about support policies, please refer to the following Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) articles:
| ||||||
