Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter Licensing Changes for Virtualization

Announced to day at the World Wide Partner Conference, Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter Edition (DCE) has undergone some revisions effective from 1st October 2006:

  • It will be available through Volume Licensing
  • License rights allow an unlimited number of virtualized Windows Server instances, whether that be Windows Server Standard, Enterprise or Datacenter Edition, or a mix of the tree without having to track the number of VMs or pay for additional Windows Server licenses. You simply license the server's processors with Windows Server Datacenter Edition.
  • More OEMs will be providing DCE pre-installed on servers with 2 to 64 processors with and without the Datacenter High Availability program.

Cheers,
John.