XP VLK OK?

[sparkeh]

Hooray a MS Licensing question!

 

I have spoken to a few licensing people about this and read lots on this site but got conflicting answers (not surprising on this topic)

 

Basically I have a school that I want to move from just using the supplied, out of the box, OEM XP to an imaged volume version. The school does have a MS agreement with an XP VLK with a quantity of five.

 

I have variously been told (and read) that:

i) As we have an agreement and all the machines have OEM key, I can use this VLK to roll out XP images

ii) We need to extend the agreement to cover all the machines

 

Obviously i) is the more attractive option but I now don't know which is correct.

 

Can anyone set me straight?

[srochford]

Ask Microsoft - they're the only people who might know (and even if they just make it up, you have a Microsoft version which should be good enough!)

 

The person to ask is Emma Healey.

[sparkeh]

Thanks Steve that really helped!

 

I read this briefing document that seems to clear things up for me. Seems that as long as the machine is licensed you can use the VLK.

 

Quote from Microsoft reimaging rules

Benefits

One key benefit of licensing Microsoft software under a Microsoft Volume Licensing program is that customers can use Volume Licensing media to deploy the same standard image of software across multiple licensed devices. It does not matter whether those devices are licensed under that particular Volume Licensing program or through OEM or FPP. Using standard images can help with:

 

More timely software deployment.

Reduced total cost of ownership (TCO) through easier deployment.

Standardization of software on multiple devices and streamlined product activation.

 

Reimaging Eligibility

Reimaging is permitted if the copies made from the Volume Licensing media are identical to the originally licensed product. Volume Licensing customers who have licensed Microsoft software products from an OEM, through a retail source, or under any agreement other than their Microsoft Volume Licensing agreement may use copies made from Microsoft Volume Licensing media. Customers can use these copies from Microsoft media only if they are the same product and version, contain the same components, and are in the same language.