Licensing - Standard or Datacenter

[jaminben]

Hi,

 

I'm sure this has been answered before but I can't find a definitive answer so I'm going to ask again.

 

1. Server 2012 R2 Standard entitles me to host 2 VM's on the same machine at no extra cost (host has max 2 CPU's).

2. Server 2012 R2 Datacenter entitles me to host unlimited VM's on the same machine at no extra cost (host has max 2 CPU's).

3. I use the same license key as the host machine on the VM's.

 

Are the above 3 statements correct?

 

Thanks

 

Ben

[tmcd35]

1. AFAIK Standard is not CPU limited.

2. Host can have as many CPU's as you like but... you need to buy 1 copy of Datacenter for every two cpus - that's physical cpu's NOT cores.

3. You should have access to the Volume License Service Center. Keys are picked up from there. You can use any version of Windows Server upto and including the version you bought. So if you buy 2012 R2 Datacenter you can use 2012 R2 Standard in the VMs, or 2008 R2, or 2003. Choice is yours.

[jaminben]

Cool, thanks for the quick response. It's made things a little clearer

 

Are you still based in Norfolk? If so I was wondering if I could pop over for a visit sometime and have a chat / look around your system? We've not really got any close ties to any near-by schools and you seem quite knowledgeable (someone I can pinch ideas from ).

[tmcd35]

Yep, still in sunny (today) Norfolk. Seriously, any time. PM me.

[localzuk]

Standard isn't CPU limited (well, it is but for 64 CPUs, same as Datacenter) but the a single license is for 2 CPUs maximum, but you can just buy 2 licenses if you have 4 CPUs. It isn't core limited (nor is Datacenter). Also, if you have 2 standard licenses for one machine, you can run 4 VMs on that single machine etc... But when looking at education pricing, doing this makes no real sense under something like EES.

[jaminben]

Yep, still in sunny (today) Norfolk. Seriously, any time. PM me.

 

Cool, will do.