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bns-nycFlag for United States of America

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MS Hyper-V Server 2012 and converting physical 03 servers questions

Hello,

So I have a question regarding the requirements to convert 4 Physical MS 2003 servers to VM and package them up to run in Windows Hyper V Server 2012.  Essentially, this is what the current IT makeup is of the small firm:  4 servers; DC, File, Exchange 2003, Application.  They are all 5-6 year old Dell servers near end of life and running MS Server 2003.  Unfortunately, this firm has a very limited budget and am thinking of doing the following and need to make sure it’s feasible:

I would like to setup Windows Hyper V Server 2012 on a brand new bare metal server (free version).  Then convert the 4 physical servers to VHD via the disk to VHD tool and package / put them in the new Hyper V 2012 bare metal server disks.  My main concern is, do I need any extra licensing to get these 4 converted servers to run ok?  Or can I just convert them to VHD as is, dump them in Hyper V 2012 and then just power on the guest VM servers accordingly? Any other possible complications to this at all?  I've just begun testing Hyper V Server 2012  and not too familiar with it, especially in regards to any other possible licensing needs for server OS’s.  My plan is to eventually upgrade the server OS's as well...but want to get them off the end of life physical servers asap first.  Thanks in advance for any input.
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Avatar of Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)
Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)
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Thanks so much for the info guys.  This helps me out tremendously.  I need to find out whether or not the licenses being used are indeed OEM or purchased separately.  I believe the Exchange server is 03 Enterprise, while the other 3 are server Standard.  Thanks again
Dell did ship quite a few Microsoft Windows 2003 Standard OEM!

Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) versions

Note: Physical-to-virtual hard drive migration of a Windows installation is a valid function for customers with Software Assurance and full retail copies of Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. Software Assurance provides users valuable benefits—please contact Microsoft Corporation for further information. Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 installed by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) using OEM versions of these products may not be transferred to a virtual hard drive in accordance with Microsoft licensing terms.

Source
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/ee656415

https://www.experts-exchange.com/OS/Microsoft_Operating_Systems/Windows/XP/A_3721-Can-I-transfer-my-OEM-version-of-Windows-to-another-PC.html