Microsoft Dynamics 365 (On-Premises) Licensing Update

By Dave Jennings

Microsoft Dynamics 365 (On-Premises) is the replacement to Microsoft’s CRM On-Premises solution, available through Open Licensing, Open Value, OVS and OVS-ES. There are various options available, and a customer can start with one plan and move to new plans as and when they need extra capabilities. The licences come with renewable software assurance, which gives the customer a range of benefits such as new version rights, planning services, 24x7 phone and Web support, training.

SPLA Update: Windows Server and System Centre 2016 moving to Core based licensing

By Imran Malik

Microsoft has changed the licensing model of Windows Server and System Centre from Processors to Cores on the 2016 versions – these were released on the 1st October 2016.

Here’s what you need to know

• The per core licence model replaces the processor licence model on the October SPUR
• Each physical processor needs a minimum of 8 core licences
• The price for 1 processor licence = price for 8 core licenses
• The media was available on VLSC from the 12th of October 2016 
• Both Windows Server Standard & Datacenter Editions provide support for unlimited Windows Server containers
• Windows Server Standard Edition requires all physical cores to be licensed in order to run one Windows Hyper-V container (or Virtual Machine)
• Windows Server Datacenter Edition requires all physical cores to be licensed in order to run unlimited Windows Hyper-V containers (or Virtual Machines)

Windows Server 2016- Licensing Deep Dive

By Dave Jennings 

Following the introductory blog to Windows Server 2016, this post will go into a bit more depth on the licensing itself, with some real life examples explained.

Windows Server 2016 Datacenter and Standard are licensed on a core & CAL basis. There are 2 key requirements to bear in mind:

• There is a minimum licensing requirement of 8 cores per physical processor, 
• You must license 16 cores per host server. 

So instead of buying a single licence to cover a physical server, you now buy a quantity of the 2 core licence – depending how many cores the server has. As long as these minimums are met, it keeps Microsoft happy and the customer is licensed compliantly.