Today virtualization is expensive for licensing. Microsoft asks people to license every OS installed on virtual machines, even if powered off. But something is changing. Since the release of Windows Server 2003 R2 Microsoft started approaching a per-use licensing model instead of a per-installation model. So that now Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition owners can run up to 4 virtual machines with same OS at no additional costs.
Longhorn Datacenter Server will Have No Virtualization Licensing Costs
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Eugenia Loli
Ex-programmer, ex-editor in chief at OSNews.com, now a visual artist/filmmaker.
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Microsoft Announces Comprehensive Virtualization Strategy to Enable Self-Managing Dynamic Systems
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2005/oct05/10-10Virtualiza…
Microsoft Adapts Windows Server System Licensing to Virtualization Scenarios
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2005/oct05/10-10virtual…
Here is my take, Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition will cost x4 Windows Server 2003… got it?
Rather see it as a result of competition…
Here is my take, Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition will cost x4 Windows Server 2003… got it?
Ehhh, no. The prices are identical. R2 is basically Windows 2003 SP1 + add-on functionality that customers may or may not decide to use (DFSR, ADFS, UIM, etc. – look them up if you don’t know what they are – hint, one of them is unix-related). There is otherwise no difference, and there is no change in price.
2003 R2 SE prices – http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/howtobuy/licensing/prici…
2003 SE prices – http://www.microsoft.com/products/info/product.aspx?view=22&pcid=42…
So you could say (in regards to virtualization) that it’s one quarter the price.
The internet really bugs me sometimes. Someone posts a nonsensical ’25 reasons linux is wonderful post’ (full of utter nonsense asnd cretinous pseudo arguments that would be shot all to hell if it were pro-MS), and then something good about MS is purely ignored. Probably because the internet is filled with desktop users that wouldn’t know server virtualization if it bit them in the bung.
Bleh.