Windows Server 2008 Downgrade Rights

General Downgrade Options and Rights

Included with a Windows Server 2008 license is the right to run an instance of any previous version of Windows Server (also referred to as a downgrade or downgrade instance) in place of an instance of Windows Server 2008. The Windows Server 2008 license terms apply to the use of the previous version. If the earlier version includes different components, any license terms for those components in the license terms that come with the earlier version apply to your use of them. At any time, a customer may replace an earlier version with the newer licensed version of the software. However, more information on obtaining earlier versions can be found below and more information on support for earlier versions of Windows Server may be found at http://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle.

Microsoft provides product downgrade rights to customers because in many channels, only the latest version of a product can be acquired. By providing customers with downgrade rights, customers are able to acquire the right to use the latest version of a product while still deploying an earlier version of that product. Downgrade rights allow Microsoft to support the following scenarios:

Those customers with existing licenses of previous versions of the software who are not yet ready to migrate their servers to the newest version but wish to license the new version in preparation for the transition.
Those customers with existing licenses who are running legacy applications requiring the earlier versions of the operating system software.

Using downgrade rights in these scenarios, customers are able to purchase additional capacity to support their legacy applications now, and then plan their platform migration for a time that is convenient for their business.

Windows Server 2008 Downgrade Licensing Rights

The following table shows the available downgrade options that each edition of Windows Server 2008 you are licensed to use. If you already have media and product activation keys for the earlier version of the product that you have downgrade rights to, you can use that media and keys to downgrade to an earlier version. If you do not have media and keys, please see below on how you can obtain a fulfillment kit only for Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition and Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition only.

Windows Server 2008	Windows Server 2003 R2	Windows Server 2003	Windows 2000 Server
Windows Server 2008 Standard	Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition	Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition	Windows 2000 Server
Windows Server 2008 Standard without Hyper-V	Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition	Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition	Windows 2000 Server
Windows Server 2008 Enterprise	Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition	Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition	Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Windows Server 2008 Enterprise without Hyper-V	Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition	Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition	Windows 2000 Advanced Server
Windows Server 2008 Datacenter	Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter Edition*	Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition*	Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
Windows Server 2008 Datacenter without Hyper-V	Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter Edition*	Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition*	Windows 2000 Datacenter Server
Windows Server 2008 for Itanium Based Systems	N/A - no equivalent	Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition (IA)*, or Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition (IA)	N/A - no equivalent
Windows Web Server 2008	N/A - no equivalent	Windows Server 2003 Web Edition*	N/A - no equivalent
Windows Server 2008 CAL	Windows Server 2003 CAL	Windows Server 2003 CAL	Windows 2000 CAL
Windows Server 2008 External Connector	N/A - no equivalent	Windows Server 2003 External Connector	Windows 2000 Internet Connector
Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services CAL	N/A - no equivalent	Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services CAL	Windows 2000 Terminal Services CAL
Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services External Connector	N/A - no equivalent	Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services External Connector	Windows Terminal Services Internet Connector
Windows Server 2008 Rights Management Services CAL	N/A - no equivalent	Windows Server 2003 Rights Management Services CAL	N/A - no equivalent
Windows Server 2008 Rights Management Services External Connector	N/A - no equivalent	Windows Server 2003 Rights Management Services External Connector	N/A - no equivalent

*These editions are only available for OEM and VL customers.

**Only available for OEM customers.

Retail Customers

Retail customers have the same rights to run earlier versions as Volume License and OEM customers: Customers may run an instance of an earlier version of Windows Server in place of Windows Server 2008. However, customers may need to use different methods to obtain media and product keys for earlier versions.

Obtaining Product Keys and Media for Previous Versions

Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) Customers

Customers who obtained their license and software with new server hardware from a server manufacturer or installer (OEM) have the same rights to run earlier versions as Volume License and Retail customers: Customers may run an instance of an earlier version of Windows Server in place of Windows Server 2008. However, customers may need to use different methods to obtain media and product keys for earlier versions. In addition, the server manufacturer or installer are not obligated to supply and may not support earlier versions of the software.

Obtaining Product Keys and Media for Previous Versions

OEM customers will need media and a product key to run a previous version. There are several options to obtain them.

From a previous license. Customers may use media and/or a product key from a previous license in order to install, activate and run an earlier version of the product. The product key and media must match. If the product key being used has already been activated, the customer may not be able to activate over the internet. In these cases, the customer will be prompted to call the Activation Support Line and explain their circumstances to the Customer Service Representative. Once it is determined that the end user has a valid Windows Server license the Customer Service Representative will help them activate their software. For more information on Product Activation Call Centers go to http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/resources/vol/numbers.mspx. Some OEMs have pre-activated their software. In these cases, a customer would not need to activate over the internet or via the phone.
From your OEM. Beginning in late December 2008 through December 31, 2009, some OEMs may support fulfilling Windows Server 2003 R2 downgrades (includes Windows Server 2003 Web Edition, Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition for Itanium-based Systems, and Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition for Itanium-based Systems) to their customers. There are several options available. Contact your OEM to determine if it supports downgrade fulfillment. Please note that downgrade media is not a new license for Windows Server. It only enables a customer to install, activate and run an earlier version of Windows Server under a Windows Server 2008 license.
- a. With a new server. OEMs may offer their customers an option to have Windows Server 2003 R2 preinstalled in place of Windows Server 2008 or to have a copy of Windows Server 2003 R2 recovery media included with the server.
- b. After the purchase of a new server. OEMs may offer their existing Windows Server 2008 customers one copy of downgrade Windows Server 2003 R2 media if their customer requests it.
Some OEMs have pre-activated their software. In these cases, a customer would not need a product key or to activate over the internet or via the phone.
Downgrade Media Kit. Customers who do not have media or a product key from a previous license and are unable to obtain one from their OEM, may order a downgrade media kit of Windows Server 2003 R2 from the Windows Server Fulfillment website. The downgrade media kit will contain a copy of Windows Server 2003 R2 and a corresponding product key that the end user may run under a valid Windows Server 2008 license. The downgrade media kit is not a new license for Windows Server. The media kit is a retail version of the software and may not be supported by your server manufacturer. Contact your OEM for its support policy when installing this downgrade version of the software on server hardware. To order from the Windows Server Fulfillment website, a customer will need the product key from their Windows Server 2008 license which can be found on their Certificate of Authenticity (COA). For more information on COAs, please go to www.howtotell.com. The following versions are available:
- Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition (32-bit)
- Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard x64 Edition
- Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition (32-bit)
- Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition
Note: Customers will need to supply their own media and product keys for versions earlier than Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition for Itanium-based Systems, Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition for Itanium-based Systems, and Windows Server 2003 Web Edition.

Microsoft Volume License Customers

When a Volume License customer desires to downgrade their version of Windows Server 2008, they will need to use the product key from the prior version to activate. With a Windows Server 2008 license, Microsoft Volume License customers will receive product keys for: