Windows Server 2008 R2

Licensing Guide

m

Your Comprehensive Resource for

Licensing and Pricing

2

Table of Contents

Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium-Based Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Windows Web Server 2008 R2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Windows HPC Server 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Windows Server 2008 Client Access Licensing:

Decision Trees, Types, and Modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Windows Server 2008/Terminal Services 2008/Remote Desktop

Services 2008 External Connector License Requirements. . . . . . . . . . 22

Licensing Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

3

Below is an overview of the Windows Server® 2008 R2 core product offerings,

indicating product names, available sales channels, licensing models, and number

of running instances allowed per license in physical and virtual operating system

environments (POSEs and VOSEs).

Summary

4

Licensing of Windows Server 2008 R2 remains generally consistent with Windows

Server 2008 licensing, with a few highlights:

5

Server Role

Foundation

Standard

Enterprise

Datacenter

Itanium

Web

6

  

     

 

- Available  - Not Available

7

Microsoft offers exible, cost-effective options for licensing the Windows Server

2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 family of products. Prior to running an instance

of Windows Server software (loading it into memory and executing one or more of

its instructions) customers must assign a Windows Server license to a physical server.

Assignment/reassignment rules for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) licenses

are different from Volume Licensing and retail license rights. With a license

purchased with a server from an OEM, the Windows Server license is already

Under both models, the CAL that accesses the instance of Windows Server must be

equivalent or higher in version than the server being accessed. An exception to this

rule was introduced with Windows Server 2008 and continued with Windows Server

2008 R2. Under that exception, customers must still license the appropriate CAL

version to access the version of the server software running in each virtual operating

system environment, but they are not required to upgrade their CALs based on

the version of Windows Server that is running in the physical operating system

environment. In this scenario, the Hyper-V server role must be the only role running

in the physical operating system environment.

A Windows Server 2008 Client Access License (CAL) must be purchased for every

Web Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008 Foundation, or Windows Server

2008 R2 Foundation

• If external users are accessing the instances of the server software and a

Windows Server 2008 External Connector license for each server being accessed

has been acquired

• If up to two devices or users are accessing the instances of the server software

for the purpose of administering those instances

• If Windows Server 2008 R2 serves solely as a virtualization host (CALs for the

appropriate edition of Windows Server running in the virtual machine(s) are still

required)

8

Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation

Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation is available through OEMs only on select

single-processor servers. For details on exact server models, please contact the

server manufacturer.

server roles on a Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation–based server.

9

(VOSE)

If Running Apps in Physical OSE

(POSE)

Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard

A customer licensed with Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard may run one instance

of the server software in the physical operating system environment (POSE) and one

instance of the server software in a virtual operating system environment (VOSE).

If the customer is running the instance in the VOSE, the instance running in the

POSE can only be used to manage the instance of the operating system running in

the VOSE.

The orange arrow in the diagram indicates that when running both instances, the

instance of the server software running in the POSE may only be used to manage

and service the instance of the operating system running in the VOSE.

Diagram A: Running Instances of Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard

16

Windows Web Server 2008 R2 is licensed to a server in the POSE. It can also run as a

guest in the VOSE.

license only; no CALs are required. Exceptions to this no-CAL rule may occur when

Windows Web Server 2008 R2 is used as a scale-out front end for applications.

In such congurations, Windows Server CALs may still be required on the back end

Q: Can database software running on Web Server 2008 R2 support external

A: No, with Web Server 2008 R2, the database software may only support

Windows Web Server 2008 R2

17

Windows HPC Server 2008 is the successor to Windows Compute Cluster Server

2003 and comprises two components: Windows Server 2008 HPC Edition and

Microsoft HPC Pack 2008. Both components can be licensed separately or combined

as Windows HPC Server 2008.

for the purpose of running clustered high-performance computing (HPC)

applications. Clustered HPC applications solve complex computational problems

or a set of closely related computational problems in parallel, typically using

• Microsoft HPC Pack 2008 is the successor to the Microsoft Compute Cluster

Pack. It provides additional software for job scheduling, management, and

high-speed networking.

Windows HPC Server 2008 is licensed per server via OEM and volume licensing

channels and is available through Service Provider License Agreement (SPLA).

Windows Server 2008 HPC Edition follows a licensing model similar to Windows

reassigned to another server every 90 days.

18

Each user/device

No, to one or

both conditions

Yes, to both

conditions

Is server software

Server 2008 R2?

Is an external user

No

19

Is the device or user accessing or using

Is an external user

accessing the server?

Remote Desktop Services External

Connector can be acquired for each

20

A: No. You must either purchase new Windows Server 2008 CALs or have Software

Q: If a user is only infrequently accessing certain protocols or services of the server

Q: Can I use a Windows Device CAL and a Windows User CAL to access the same

A: Yes. Windows Device and User CALs, as well as RDS Device and User CALs, can be

Q: Is there a difference in price between Device CALs and User CALs?

21

Q: My Windows Server 2008 R2 software came with a set number of CALs because

A: When the software comes packaged with CALs, you choose whether those CALs

Q: I have some extra Windows Server 2003 CALs that are not being used. Can I apply

A: Yes. If you deploy Windows Server 2003 virtual machines onto Windows Server

Q: Can I use a Windows 2008 User CAL to access a server running

A: Yes. Both Windows Server 2008 User and Device CALs can be used to access

A: If your Windows CALs are covered under Software Assurance, you can convert

Q: Are CALs required for Windows Web Server 2008 R2?

A: No, Windows Web Server 2008 R2 is licensed by a server license only and no CALs

22

Windows Server 2008/Terminal Services

Connector (EC) license for each Windows server that will be accessed by these

External Users. Each physical server that external users access requires only one EC

license regardless of the number of instances running. The right to run instances of

the server software is licensed separately; the EC, like the CAL, simply permits access.

EC licenses, like CALs, are version and functionality specic. They must be the same

version or later than the server software being accessed. The decision on whether to

acquire CALs or an EC for external users is primarily a nancial one.

Similarly, instead of acquiring individual RDS CALs for valid External Users of

Remote Desktop Services functionality, you can acquire a Windows Server 2008

Remote Desktop Services EC license for each terminal server being accessed.

23

24

25

32

Upgrade/Downgrade Options

Windows Server Upgrade Options

on Windows Server Standard, Enterprise, or Datacenter editions can opt for either

Windows Server 2008 with or without Hyper-V. Once they decide, they will not

be able to switch. Upon renewal of their SA, they will acquire the appropriate SA

Customer has: Customer acquires:

33

Customer has: Customer acquires:

34

More information about Windows Server 2008 R2 downgrade rights and available

downgrade and down-edition kits can be found here:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/downgrade-rights.aspx.

35

Pricing Tables and SKUs

36

To date, although there are tools and products that can assist you in assessing your

Windows Server and Windows Server CAL asset management, the most accurate

process remains a scheduled and disciplined manual audit of the licenses that are

being used. The Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit, which will be

highlighted below, can be of great assistance in this effort. Being proactive in the

management of server licenses, as well as of the number of users and devices within

License Tracking Best Practices

37

4) Track the number of employees and external users who access your

Windows Server software.

with software vendor records and inventory reports.

acquired companies, and corporate headquarters follow the same strategy,

licenses are tracked and controlled centrally.

1) Using an asset discovery tool such as the MAP Toolkit, or by counting manually,

identify each running instance of Windows Server. Make note of each instance’s

edition and what server it runs on.

2) For Windows Server Standard, Windows Server Enterprise, and

Windows Web Server editions:

38

installed on a network and provides detailed hardware and device analysis of those

servers, including server operating system version information. The MAP Toolkit is

a self-contained tool that customers use independently; no information or data is

The MAP Toolkit, which can be downloaded from the TechNet Web site

39

The Role Assessment workbook (WS2008RoleAssessment.xls) contains information on

each operating system role enabled on a particular server. It can be used to identify,

for example, which servers have Hyper-V enabled, which servers have Terminal Server

running, etc.

For more information on the MAP Toolkit, go to www.microsoft.com/map.

may choose to restrict access to your servers from outside your premises to ensure

b. Subtract unauthenticated and anonymous external devices, as these do not

require a CAL.

User CALs have the advantage of allowing users to access the server from any device

and generally correlate to user accounts on the server, which are more readily

trackable. For this reason, Windows Server access licenses are predominantly User

CAL–based. (Refer to page 19 for “CAL Types.”)

Licensing User CALs, you may choose to manually count people in the same sense

you would count devices, either throughout your organization or on a departmental

level. However, this count may be inaccurate if server access is not limited to the users

40

Windows Server. Likewise, permission to access the server does not require a CAL,

only access to the server does; therefore there is a possibility that you may overesti-

mate your CAL requirement (while ensuring compliance) if you do not purge expired

accounts or some accounts that never access the server.

A third option (only for assessing access to your Web servers) is to use the Windows

Server Internet Information Services logs to measure actual access to the servers.

one server.

• Anonymous access to the server will invalidate counting by this method.

Finally, by using User and Computer queries in Active Directory, you can assess the

number of logon users and devices accessing your servers. This is a good, comple-

mentary step to a manual counting process. The following are the key steps in

this process:

1) Create a Group Policy object in Active Directory.

2) Link it to the organizational unit in which the Computer objects exist whose

usage you want to determine.

3) Edit the Group Policy object.

4) Expand Computer Settings, expand Windows Settings, expand Security

Settings, expand Local Policies, and expand Audit Policy.

5) Enable Audit Account Logon Events for Success (and failure if necessary).

6) Once the policy becomes effective, the server will begin logging Logon events

in the Security log (Go to Windows Logs and then Security).

7) These events can be viewed locally or you can present a consolidated view using

and agents.

41

CAL Client Access License. Provides access to server software for either the

User or Device.

EULA End User License Agreement.

External User A person who is not an employee, or similar personnel of the

company or its afliates, and is not someone to whom you provide

hosted services using the server software.

Instance Version of the server software that is created, stored, or

run on a server.

MAP Microsoft Assessment and Planning.

Per Server License mode available in Windows Server that allows the CALs to be

deployed on the specic named server, thereby limiting the access to

that individual server.

and productivity benets, support, tools, and training to help deploy

and use software efciently.

SAL Subscriber Access License. This is a per user-based monthly licensing

model in the SPLA program.

SPLA Services Provider License Agreement. This agreement enables service

providers to license Microsoft products on a monthly subscription

basis to provide services and hosted applications to their end

customers.

TS Terminal Services.

VDI Virtual Desktop Infrastructure.