Microsoft Won&#39;t Charge More for Multicore Licenses
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Software vendors have proceeded cautiously on the core question, with rivals IBM, Oracle, Sun, Microsoft and others waiting to see how the others approach the issue, partly to learn what works and partly to have the opportunity to counter.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft has clarified how licensing for its current version of Windows Server works when paired with virtualization software. However, customers may face a whole new set of licensing rules once the next version, Windows Server 2008, is released later this year. In a white paper called "Licensing Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 to Run with Virtualization Technologies," Microsoft outlines clearly how to license the current version of Windows Server -- Windows Server 2003 R2 -- for specific third-party virtualization technology, including VMware ESX, VMware Vmotion and SWsoft Virtuozzo. It also explains licensing for Microsoft's own System Center Virtual Machine Manager. The document can be found on a Web page that also includes previously released virtualization calculators that help customers determine the cost of Windows Server licensing in various virtualization scenarios. Virtualization has complicated server OS pricing because it allows more than one instance of server software to run on a single server, while traditional OS pricing has been per server, assuming that only one version of an OS can run on one piece of hardware. Virtualization allows software to be emulated via a virtual machine, and so run without having to be physically installed. But even if Microsoft has done enough to clarify how its current version of Windows Server should be licensed for virtualization scenarios, customers could find themselves needing new guidelines once Windows Server 2008 is released, something Microsoft expects to do by the end of the year. Formerly code-named Longhorn, the next version of Windows Server will have virtualization technology built in, which could preclude the need for third-party virtualization software. "We believe most customers will choose to use Windows Server virtualization, which comes as a role within Windows Server 2008," said Microsoft spokesman Patrick O'Rourke. "But customers still have the option to use third-party server virtualization software on Windows Server 2008." Pricing for Windows Server 2008 has not yet been announced. According to the Microsoft white paper, current virtualization pricing for Windows Server 2003 R2 is as follows: Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition (SE) allows a customer to run only one instance of the software in either a physical or virtual way on a server. Users need to assign an SE license for each running instance of Windows Server on a system. Customers have more flexibility with the enterprise and datacenter editions of Windows Server 2003, however. They can run one physical instance of Windows Server and up to four simultaneous virtual instances with one Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition license, and can run unlimited physical or virtual versions of the software when Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter Edition is licensed for every physical processor in a server Windows Server 2008 is currently available in a beta 3 version.
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By announcing plans to maintain its current per-processor server software licensing, Microsoft Corp. has pleased customers and, in the process, put serious pressure on competing software developers to do the same.
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p2pnet.net News:- Microsoft&#39;s Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Edition doesn&#39;t like servers built around Intel&#39;s Itanium 2 chip.
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Microsoft Corp. does not plan to change its per-processor software licensing model when hardware containing dual-core and multicore processor technology for the Windows platform becomes available next year.
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Microsoft says its Windows Server 2003 Compute Cluster Edition will not run on servers equipped with Intel&#39;s latest Itanium 2 processor.
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Customers that use the dual-core processors that Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) are expected to begin shipping next year will not need to buy extra licenses for Microsoft Corp. software, the software maker will announce Tuesday.
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Microsoft will come out with a special version of Windows next year for clusters, but it won&#39;t run on Intel&#39;s most powerful server chip, at least for now.
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As the program name suggests, Computer Associates&#39; new Measured Workload Pricing bases licensing costs on how much the system is sued rather than on total potential hardware capability.
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Businesses don&#39;t have to dump Windows to test drive free or low-price applications whose use may improve the bottom line. Sometimes the big software vendors act like their customers are locked into the proprietary products they sell.
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Microsoft (Quote, Chart) said it has clarified its software licensing policies to address a new trend in microprocessors and to keep the pressure on its rivals.
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On 19 October 2004, Microsoft announced that its software licensed on a per-processor basis will continue to be licensed on that basis when installed on hardware that contains dual-core and multicore processors.
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Blog: How to take advantage of dual and multicore chips? Intel open sources C++ tool to spur more applications.
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Microsoft Corp. MSFT.O on  Tuesday agreed to require only a single license for server  software that runs on computers powered by a new generation of  chips that squeeze multiple processors into a single package.
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Opinion: The company&#39;s decision to keep per-processor licensing for upcoming multicore technology is a win for customers, but of more immediate licensing concern are grid, partitioning and utility computing.
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Microsoft will offer up to $600 per server (up to a maximum of $15,000) to companies who agree to switch from Novell to Windows servers, it has been revealed.
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SEATTLE -- Microsoft has fended off Google antitrust complaints by agreeing to make it easier for computer users to choose competitors' programs, an increasingly common response from a company long accused of trying to stifle competition.