New Volume License Rights - Application Server License Mobility

Just released, an important new Microsoft Volume License brief, “Application Server License Mobility”, has been posted to the Microsoft Volume License Briefs site, which describes new Microsoft Volume Licensing rights that enable server application licenses to move more freely across servers in a server farm, waiving a 90-day license reassignment rule. These new rights are effective as of September 1, 2008.

To help customers take advantage of virtualization technologies, Microsoft is updating its software licensing policies for server applications (This change is for qualifying server applications, not desktop applications or the Windows Desktop O/S). This latest set of changes complement several enhancements made in 2005, by allowing greater mobility of server application licenses across servers within data centers and server farms. With the changes, both licenses and software can move more freely across servers in a server farm, potentially reducing the number of licenses needed to support workloads. Effectively, the changes mean instead of counting instances or processors and licensing by server, customers are able to count instances or processors and license by server farm.

This is accomplished by allowing customers to reassign server application licenses freely across servers within a server farm. The changes apply to software licenses for certain server applications and all external connector (EC) licenses. In these cases, the limitation on short-term (90 days or less) license reassignment is waived. This change does not apply to software licenses for the Windows Server® operating system, Client Access Licenses (CALs), or Management Licenses (MLs). This change applies only to licenses acquired under a Volume Licensing program. It does not apply to licenses acquired through other retail sources.

Be sure to download and read the “Application Server License Mobility” brief for a full list of qualifying application server software as well as more in-depth details about this change.

Thank you and have a wonderful day,

Eric Ligman
Microsoft Senior Manager, Community Engagement
US Partner Strategy, Marketing and Programs
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights

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