Spla licensing requirements for windows server

Increase security and reduce business risk with multiple layers of protection built into the. Licensing windows server 2019 the operating system that bridges onpremises and azure services overview of windows server 2019 windows server 2019 is the operating system that bridges onpremises environments with azure services, enabling hybrid scenarios that maximize existing investments. The spla is for organizations that offer hosted software and services to end customers, such as web hosting, hosted applications, messaging, collaboration, and platform infrastructure. Spla license service provider license agreement lol cloud. The softchoice spla team is here to simplify the licensing complexities and ensure youre ideally positioned for future growth. What is not true is even when windows 2016 is released, it doesnt mean you have to license by core you can still license by processor for all 2012 and earlier editions. I dont know what the case is if youre getting datacenter. This faq addresses common licensing questions about configuration manager current branch and the longterm servicing branch ltsb versions, available through microsoft volume licensing programs.

With the upcoming release of windows server 2016 at the end of september, microsoft is promising a lot, and if they deliver, this could be a game changer for you and your clients. One key factor to this is that there are no acquiredhistoric license entitlements to take into consideration, reporting is based on the actual usageaccess for a given calendar month and reporting is done after the reporting month is concluded. Selecting a language below will dynamically change the complete page content to that language. Small businesses with up to 25 users and 50 devices. It doesnt supersede or replace any documentation covering configuration manager licensing. However, licensing microsoft products for commercial hosting environments under a services provider license agreement spla can be especially daunting, due to the different use rights and license metrics available under that model. Some say yes as this is what the customer wants and mean old microsoft. If they are purchased by the end customer, they would transfer that license into your datacenter, which means they can no longer run it on premise. License your rds deployment with client access licenses cals.

Volume licensing customers can license their server applications onpremises and in the cloud on a qualified service provider s shared hardware environment for specific applications. Do you need a microsoft service provider license spla. Spla determine number and cost of licenses dxc technology. Spla licensing uncovering the complexity of the microsoft spla. For example, if you are looking for a server licensed with windows server and 5 remote desktop users. Ee allows up to 4 vms per licensed server, but this right is misleading as spur says.

Effective january 1, 2018 these are the approximate increases expected. Since 2007, merit mile has launched hundreds of uniquely crafted microsoft services provider licensing agreement microsoft spla and cloud services marketing programs for global isvs, resellers, distributors and hosters service providers. You can also calculate the number of cores required to license additional virtual machines vm and. Service provider license agreement spla licensing guide. Windows server is licensed in the per processor model in the spla program. When microsoft launches windows server 2016 in spla under the per core model, can i license windows server 2016 by the vm instance based licenses just like sql server is available today. Note that you always purchase the latest edition of windows server, so the latest. If you already have enough server 2016 cals to cover all of your devices they cover connections to any server running server 2016 and below, then youre set. You must also license windows server, rds, and any other applications by your spla or be purchased by your end customer. The following table shows which rds cal and license server versions are compatible with each other. Jan 06, 2012 so, for all the windows server licenses bought through the volume licensing program, if those vms need to be freely moveble within an esx farm such as drs initiated vmotion, each esx host physical hardware need to be licensed for the worst case scenario aka. Hpc pack 2008 r2 enterprise sql server 2008 r2 standard, enterprise, and workgroup windows hpc server 2008 r2 suite windows server 2008 r2 hpc edition.

Windows server licensing for virtual environments windows. From the largest of the large providers down to a guy hosting windows web server out of his parents basement which is discontinued by the way, theres always way you can reconsider your strategy. Windows server licensed per processor under spla micromail blog. Under the cloud solution provider program csp you can license windows servers through your indirect provider or.

Microsoft can increase prices once a year on jan 1. You dont need cals if youre getting server 2012r2 stdessentials through spla. Get details about license mobility through software assurance. Volume licensing has a 2 cpu minimum per server, spla only requires one cpu to be licenses at a minimum. Licensing microsoft products windows server and microsoft. Gain the trusted advice you need to confidently grow your business. Volume licensing customers can license their server applications. It cannot be considered a source of definitive licensing guidance or costs. It will be available to offer this summer through the hardware manufacturers but you can download it now to test out. The first step to understanding spla licensing is to acknowledge that spla licensing in some parts are quite different the traditional licensing. If you are not licensing spla and want to provide windows servers to your clients, you have a couple options. Licensing microsoft server products in any environment can be a challenging undertaking, given the complexity of some of microsofts licensing rules. The price of which is 18th the cost of the old 2processor packs for windows server 2012 r2 standard. Windows server standard and datacenter processor p7304837, p7101031.

Licensing options for service providers the microsoft services provider license agreement spla is for service providers and independent software vendors isvs who want to license the latest eligible microsoft software products to provide software services and hosted applications to end customers. License mobility across server farms is not available for windows server, so in a multihost environment where osesvms are expected to move between hosts on a regular basis, each of the hosts must be fully licensed at all times to support the peak. Microsoft windows server 2016 to move to percore licensing. Microsoft licensing volume licensing versus spla licensing. You must be a member of the microsoft partner network at any level. Sign a microsoft business and services agreement mbsa.

Windows server standard retailoem gets you 2 licenses, so you can run the host for free and 2 vms on it. With the spla calculator, you can quickly and easily determine the number of windows server 2016 licenses you need and the estimated costs for your required licenses. This is why licensewatch spla manager keeps track of each installation and continuously calculates the actual licensing needs and in the event an installation requires more licenses, than is available from license mobility, defaults all usage to spla licenses. Windows server core licensing calculator hewlett packard.

This licensing guide provides an indepth overview of the microsoft services provider license agreement spla and how it works. Feb 10, 2020 vmware has a spla with microsoft and is now working through pricing and packaging details for selected microsoft products, with details to be available soon. Commercial hosting when you use windows server to provide commercial hosting services, you must license it under a services provider license agreement spla. Does your brand have cloud awareness in your marketplace.

Uncovering the complexity of the microsoft spla program. Some volume licensing programs require a minimum purchase or minimum points. Vm when licensed for windows server datacenter does not change the license requirement. May, 2019 in most cases, when considering the windows server licensing model, it is advisable to consider the standard and datacenter windows server editions. Microsofts windows server 2016, due in the third quarter of 2016, will be moving from perprocessor to percore pricing. Your organization must meet the following requirements to participate in the spla program. It is designed to be an ongoing resource to partners throughout the life cycle of their spla. Windows server licences are not eligible for licence mobility through software assurance, but customers licensing windows server with software assurance can utilise the azure hybrid benefit for a cheaper perminute cost when running a windows virtual machine. Product and licensing faq configuration manager microsoft. Microsoft takes a shot at vmware with windows server 2016. As a microsoftdesignated licensing solutions provider lsp, enterprise software advisor, authorized government reseller, academic reseller, and spla reseller, hpe provides a global sales channel for microsofts volume licensing programs and full package.

If you choose to keep the spla monthly reporting function inhouse, it is a good idea to undergo routine health checks performed by a third party for a second set of eyes. Move windows server licenses to azure and save up to 40 percent. Signs you are overspending on microsoft spla licensing. With the spla, service providers and isvs can license eligible microsoft products on a monthly basis, during a threeyear agreement term, to host software services and. As the spla provider is licensed for windows server datacenter, the server should be covered with esu datacenter. Spla can have additional licensing requirements in addition. The licensing of windows server 2016 standard and datacenter editions has shifted to be. The licence to run windows server in the azure environment is, by default, included in the perminute cost of your windows virtual machine. Each physical server, including singleprocessor servers, will need to be licensed with a minimum of 16 core licenses eight 2pack of core licenses or one 16pack of core licenses. Windows server licensing minimum 2 proc16 cores per server. The license to run windows server in the azure environment is by default included in the perminute cost of your windows virtual machine. Product licensing, program licensing, costs and business rules are subject to change. This is using virtualization technologies to run multiple virtual servers on a single physical server, and is how all hosted software offerings work.

My coworker claims that if you install a server under spla, and then install rds on it you do not need user cals for that server since the server is paid for per processor. Apr 16, 20 hi, we are a service provider considering delivering hosted terminal servers server 2008 r2 for our clients, the only issue we face is licensing. Once your agreement expires and you sign a new spla after october 1st when windows 2016 is released you must license by core regardless which version you are running. With spla for windows server are you required to have server. Windows server 2016 standard and datacenter editions are now licensed on a per core basis. Likewise, if core infrastructure suite or windows server datacenter only is reported. Purchasing an amazon ec2 for windows server license included instance eliminates licensing overhead and enables you to rapidly provision the compute resources you need. Microsoft services provider license agreement spla program.

Eligible products microsoft windows server and microsoft sql server are available as amis, in a variety of combinations of current and legacy versions. Spla licensing is a great way to provision servers with windows server without a huge up front investment in licenses and cals. Windows server 2016 licensing changes plan accordingly. Monthtomonth licensing program designed to provide software services and hosted. Dec 03, 2015 microsoft windows server 2016 to move to percore licensing. Everything changes starting with the general availability of windows server 2016 ws2016. Windows server standard licensing included in our hosting pricing.

Table 1 summarizes our understanding of changes to windows server licensing. May 15, 2017 its the same apis and same code as what microsoft delivers through azure. Microsoft services provider license agreement spla quick guide. I receive 100s of spla questions from the spla community about licensing and the cost associated with it. From a licensing perspective, azure stack is cheaper through spla windows than it would be to pay through consumption. You qualify if you have active software assurance on your onpremises windows server licenses. The features of the standard and datacenter editions of windows server 2012 r2 is almost identical except for the license rights to run virtual machines. Windows server 2016 will support nested virtualizationa vm running inside a vm. What are the requirements of the microsoft csp program. Microsoft services provider license agreement spla program reference card services provider license agreement. The following benefits are available through the spla. If i get server 2012 essentials through spla, then i dont need cals because it doesnt use cals either way. Can i split my windows server spla license across multiple servers.

If you are hosting software under spla, the good news is you already have access to the latest version as part of your agreement. The new year and 2018 spla price changes from microsoft. Aug 22, 2011 summary of requirements for windows server licensed per processor under spla. With the services provider license agreement spla, your organization can license microsoft products and use these licensed products to provide software services and hosted applications to your customers. Each processor needs to be licensed with a minimum of eight cores four 2pack core licenses. To give you a more consistent licensing experience across multicloud environments, we transitioned from processorbased licensing to corebased licensing for windows server 2019 datacenter and standard editions. Highly virtualized datacenters and cloud environments. Windows server 2016 is a cloud inspired release which is also reflected in the packaging and licensing. Peak usage where all vms may end up running in 1 esx server hardware for example unless you can ensure this will never happen. All physical cores in the server must be licensed hyperthreading smt does not count as actual physical cores.

Windows server licenses are not eligible for license mobility through software assurance, but customers licensing windows server with software assurance can utilize the azure hybrid benefit for a cheaper perminute cost when running a windows virtual machine. For example, a windows server 2016 rds license server can host licenses from all previous versions of rds, while a windows server 2012 r2 rds license server can only host licenses up to windows server 2012 r2. Jan 24, 2017 you need a cal for each user or device depending on the licensing model you chose that will be accessing a windows server for any service that it provides. You can have your end customers buy the new version of windows server. Considerations for licensing windows server on vmware cloud on aws. Its also common to see service providers license windows server on a per vm basis as opposed to licensing the physical hardware, which can lead to inflated usage numbers. Windows server 2016 and windows server 2016 and system center. You can also calculate the number of cores required to license additional virtual machines vm and the estimated costs of licensing those vms.

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