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Thanks for your input.<br />
<br />
Bottom line when P2V a server with an OEM WIndows Server license, you must purchase a new Windows Server License.
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Thanks for your input.

Bottom line when P2V a server with an OEM WIndows Server license, you must purchase a new Windows Server License.

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Your input would be greatly appreciated with the following.<br />
<br />
I have a Dell Server which shipped from Dell originally with Windows Server 2008 installed, thus it is an OEM License.<br />
<br />
I have the need to P2V that Physical Server and run in a VM Ware environment.<br />
<br />
Is there a way to us the same Windows 2008 Server license or does switching the hardware forces me to purchase a new license key?
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Your input would be greatly appreciated with the following.

I have a Dell Server which shipped from Dell originally with Windows Server 2008 installed, thus it is an OEM License.

I have the need to P2V that Physical Server and run in a VM Ware environment.

Is there a way to us the same Windows 2008 Server license or does switching the hardware forces me to purchase a new license key?

P2V a Windows Server 2008 Machine

Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, based on the Microsoft Vista codebase, is the last 32-bit server operating system released by Microsoft. It has a number of versions, including including Foundation, Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, Web, HPC Server, Itanium and Storage; new features included server core installation and Hyper-V.

Windows Server 2008

Virtualization is the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, including (but not limited to) a virtual computer hardware platform, operating system (OS), storage device, or computer network resources. Virtualization is usually the creation of a system that executes separate from the underlying hardware resources, or the creation of an entire desktop for systems located elsewhere, similar to thin clients.

Virtualization

VMware, a software company founded in 1998,  was one of the first commercially successful companies to offer x86 virtualization. The storage company EMC purchased VMware in 1994. Dell Technologies acquired EMC in 2016. VMware’s parent company is now Dell Technologies.

VMware has many software products that run on desktops, Microsoft Windows, Linux, and macOS, which allows the virtualizing of the x86 architecture.  Its enterprise software hypervisor for servers, VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi), is a bare-metal hypervisor that runs directly on the server hardware and does not require an additional underlying operating system.

VMware

The Microsoft Server topic includes all of the legacy versions of the operating system, including the Windows NT 3.1, NT 3.5, NT 4.0 and Windows 2000 and Windows Home Server versions.

Microsoft Server OS

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Dell is in Enterprise, Home Office and Consumer sectors of the market, supplying a broad range of customizable desktops, laptops, notebooks, servers, storage, and network devices.