

If you plan to use your physical server as a hypervisor on which several VMs with the Windows Server are running, you need to choose the OS edition depending on the number of VMs that will be running on your server.įor example, you have a dual processor server with total 16 cores. Understanding Windows Server Virtual Machine Licensing All enabled cores on a physical server must be licensed.
Windows server 2012 r2 standard license license#

You cannot split one license for two single-processor servers (in this case you will have to purchase two Windows Server licenses). one license covers up to two processors (sockets) located in one physical server (cores are not processors!). One license of Windows Server 2012 R2 allows you to run the OS on one single- or dual-processor server. Per-Socket Licensing in Windows Server 2012 R2 It should be noted that Web Server edition has been eliminated completely. These OSs have a number of specific limitations and no rights for virtualization. We don’t consider Essentials and Foundation Windows Server editions, since they are designed for small businesses. In fact, when choosing Windows Server 2012 R2 Edition you need to decide whether you will use virtualization or not. In Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter – you can run an unlimited number of virtual machines on a single physical host (recall that such virtual machines can be easily activated using the AVMA – Automatic Virtual Machine Activation).Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard – the license allows to run only up to two virtual machines.It means that you choose the edition depending only on the number of virtual machines on the physical host instead the availability of the required features. 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. In most cases, when considering the Windows Server licensing model, it is advisable to consider the Standard and Datacenter Windows Server editions. Calculating Windows Server Licenses for Virtualization.Windows Server Licensing and VMs Migration between Physical Hosts.Understanding Windows Server Virtual Machine Licensing.Per-Socket Licensing in Windows Server 2012 R2.
