Windows Server licensing can be complicated. Learn how a streamlined license model for core infrastructure can save your organization money.
Licensing for virtual machines is a critical component when building your IT infrastructure. But with different license options and varying rules, keeping track of all the changes in Microsoft licensing can take time and effort.
Cost-effectiveness
Purchasing and managing physical Windows Servers and Hyper-V virtual servers can be expensive. Fortunately, Microsoft offers several licensing options that help you to save money. For example, you can use the Azure Hybrid Benefit to save up to 85 percent on your license costs. This option is available to any Microsoft Volume Licensing customer with eligible application server licenses covered by Software Assurance. It allows you to move these licenses to VMs in Azure without paying for additional licenses.
Another way to cut costs is to buy on-demand Windows and SQL images from Google’s Compute Engine. This option is not available for all workloads, but it can be a cost-effective solution for small businesses.
For many businesses, it is important to consider the available Windows Server editions. These include Standard, Datacenter, and Essentials. Each edition has its own set of features and capabilities. For example, the Datacenter edition is more suited for large organizations and offers advanced features. It also supports high availability and storage features. In addition, it can run more virtual machines than the Standard edition. Nevertheless, it can be more expensive than the other two versions.
Scalability
Microsoft offers a variety of licensing options for its Windows server 2019 operating system. Organizations can purchase licenses through online retailers as a fully packaged product, through OEMs pre-installed on hardware systems, and from Licensing Solutions Partners and Enterprise Software Advisors through Microsoft Commercial Licensing programs. These licenses are typically based on physical cores or virtualized cores. They also include a certain amount of Software Assurance.
Windows Server Instant License can be a good choice for businesses that need to scale rapidly. It provides user-friendly features like server virtualization, extra storage, and software-defined networking. It can also help you improve efficiency by automating processes. This enables you to reduce your costs and increase uptime.
Another benefit of Windows Server Instant License is that it allows you to back up your virtual servers for disaster recovery. This backup can restore an entire server, application, or database within minutes. This feature is a crucial part of any business continuity plan.
Additionally, each license can support two virtual machines with up to 8 cores per VM. The Azure Hybrid Benefit helps organizations save money on licensing and deployment and helps them avoid overpaying for basic computing resources.
Flexibility
There are many scenarios where having flexibility with your licenses can make a real difference to your business. Another example of flexibility is migrating a physical server, or Microsoft virtualized server between hosts. The licenses for the VM do not change when you move them between hosts. However, you must ensure the underlying hardware has the correct licensing model for the VM. This is a common issue with legacy licensing models tied to specific hardware.
Backing up your physical and virtual servers is a critical task that must be performed to avoid lost data or downtime. You can achieve this with the right backup solution, including a fast and reliable Windows Server image ready to restore within minutes for minimal RTOs.
You can also save time and resources using on-demand images from Google Compute Engine, including your licensed Windows Server or SQL Server images. In addition, you can purchase licenses for these images on a pay-as-you-go basis. This can be a great option for organizations that don’t want to commit to a full enterprise agreement and don’t have the resources to manage licenses.
Security
As the number of cyber-attacks increases, protecting your business’s data and applications is vital. You can achieve this by upgrading to newer versions of Windows Server. This will enable you to use new capabilities that will improve your infrastructure.
The current version of Windows Server includes multiple layers of protection to help safeguard against security breaches. This includes controlling privileged access, protecting virtual machines, and hardening the platform against memory corruption attacks. It also includes a latency-optimized background transfer (LEDBAT) to yield bandwidth to critical applications while blocking non-critical traffic automatically.
Licensing is an important consideration when running Windows servers. In the past, Microsoft licensed physical servers based on the number of sockets in each processor, but this has changed with the introduction of a per-core licensing model. The new licensing model allows you to use more VMs on each host and reduce costs by purchasing fewer licenses.
Licensing options for Windows Server include device CALs and user CALs. The former provides a single license for any user and device, while the latter requires a separate purchase for each device. Depending on your needs, you may license Windows Server with either edition. However, remember that the number of virtual OSEs included with each edition is limited.
