Microsoft server OS licenses
We just bought some scale computing servers, and are running our VMs on Microsoft 2008 R2 and 2012 R2.
We were running HP servers with Microsoft Datacenter for the host servers, which allowed us to have an unlimited amount of VMs. Now since we're not running Microsoft on our Host servers, do I have to buy an individual server OS license for each VM?
We were running HP servers with Microsoft Datacenter for the host servers, which allowed us to have an unlimited amount of VMs. Now since we're not running Microsoft on our Host servers, do I have to buy an individual server OS license for each VM?
yo_bee
MS Datacenter edition OSE entitlement only applies to MS Server OS guest. Your other OS's will most likely have their own entitlement. You need to find that documentation.
ASKER
The VMs are running on Linux servers, so not sure how the licensing works there?
It works exactly the same. Datacenter unlimited VM's on one machine (each machine uses a different license), Standard 2 VM's per license
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ASKER
wow, ok, so if I'm running 20 windows servers, I will need a license for each, even though they are just VM's, and not physical servers?
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@afact
If you have Datacenter on a physical machine as your hypervisor your Datacenter license will allow you to install as many guest Windows servers as your system can handle and still be in compliance with Microsoft rights. You are licensing the number of cores of the physical server. This is one of the benefits to OSE use scenario with using Microsoft as your Hypervisor. One license with entitlements with a certain number of Guest VM's.
If you are running VMware as your hypervisor you will still need to account for the number of core of the physical server when purchasing Datacenter, but you still have unlimited entitlement for Windows guest VM's under the Datacenter model.
For example I have 3 Hypervisors running ESX as the host OS. I have a total of 64 cores. So I have 32 Datacenter licenses to account for the 64 cores on the physical machine. The Datacenter licenses are 2 for 1 (1 license covers 2 cores). This means that I am able to run an unlimited number of VM's guests under my current environment. If I had another Hypervisor with 16 more cores I will need to purchase another 8 licenses of Datacenter. With this model I am paying for both the guest OS as well as the VMware licensing for the physical machines. To make it simple say you have a single Hypervisor with 16 cores and you want to run Datacenter as your Host Hypervisor you will need 8 licenses, but those 8 licenses will also allow you to install as many guest Windows Server Datacenter or lesser editions on the server.
If you are planning on using none Windows OS's for the guest VM's and you are running Datacenter as I stated in my first reply you will have to see the entitlement rights of that OS.
This link really helps explain it:
http://www.altaro.com/hyper-v/virtual-machine-licensing-hyper-v/
If you have Datacenter on a physical machine as your hypervisor your Datacenter license will allow you to install as many guest Windows servers as your system can handle and still be in compliance with Microsoft rights. You are licensing the number of cores of the physical server. This is one of the benefits to OSE use scenario with using Microsoft as your Hypervisor. One license with entitlements with a certain number of Guest VM's.
If you are running VMware as your hypervisor you will still need to account for the number of core of the physical server when purchasing Datacenter, but you still have unlimited entitlement for Windows guest VM's under the Datacenter model.
For example I have 3 Hypervisors running ESX as the host OS. I have a total of 64 cores. So I have 32 Datacenter licenses to account for the 64 cores on the physical machine. The Datacenter licenses are 2 for 1 (1 license covers 2 cores). This means that I am able to run an unlimited number of VM's guests under my current environment. If I had another Hypervisor with 16 more cores I will need to purchase another 8 licenses of Datacenter. With this model I am paying for both the guest OS as well as the VMware licensing for the physical machines. To make it simple say you have a single Hypervisor with 16 cores and you want to run Datacenter as your Host Hypervisor you will need 8 licenses, but those 8 licenses will also allow you to install as many guest Windows Server Datacenter or lesser editions on the server.
If you are planning on using none Windows OS's for the guest VM's and you are running Datacenter as I stated in my first reply you will have to see the entitlement rights of that OS.
This link really helps explain it:
http://www.altaro.com/hyper-v/virtual-machine-licensing-hyper-v/
ASKER
I understand the datacenter/standard licensing.
I have 2 Scale servers. Each server has 1 processor, with 8 cores. So I have a total of 24 cores, but the HOST servers are running their own OS, NOT Microsoft.
My VMs are all MS, and are running all standard edition, I am not running any datacenter editions.
I have 2 Scale servers. Each server has 1 processor, with 8 cores. So I have a total of 24 cores, but the HOST servers are running their own OS, NOT Microsoft.
My VMs are all MS, and are running all standard edition, I am not running any datacenter editions.
When your guests do not inherit rights from the host OS, each VM has to be individually licensed by MS.....
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ASKER
I have 3 host servers, NOT running MS OS, it's running a linux version of Scale.
I got my answer, I basically need to license each VM as it's own OS.
I got my answer, I basically need to license each VM as it's own OS.
Remember that you need to account for all processors if you are running your Hypervisors in a cluster. If not just a single processor license per OS. You have to do the cost analysis where standard and datacenter cross paths and standard becomes more expressive.