Several months ago, I created a post that explained how to license Windows properly in Virtual Desktop Infrastructure configurations because often times customers aren’t told by their virtualization vendor that corporations aren’t permitted to “just move their Windows desktop license over to the server”. (Funny how they intentionally lead customers down this road without ever mentioning the Windows licensing implications – I just ran into another yesterday and it was real eye opener for the IT dept)
I repeat from my original post:
Customers do NOT natively have the right to run Windows 2000/XP/Vista on virtual machine servers in VDI configurations.
How to License Windows client OS’s for VDI:
In order to properly license your company for Windows 2000/XP/Vista desktop operating systems to run on virtual machine servers, you have one of the following options:
OPTION 1:
Option 1 requires three licenses:
- Windows Client OS Licensing per Virtual Machine
This is the standard Windows license purchased from a typical Volume License agreement with Microsoft. Most people forget this however this Windows OS license is actually an ‘upgrade’ license. It ‘upgrades’ a Windows OEM license typically purchased with a desktop PC to the Enterprise deployable version found on Volume Licensing media. - Windows Software Assurance subscription
This is an annual subscription license applied to each virtual desktop and is usually something around 10% of the license cost. It provides a dozen or so benefits to customers including the ability to upgrade to any new releases of Windows released during the period of the subscription, as well as the right to downgrade to any supported release of Windows. Companies with Enterprise Agreements usually have Windows Client Software Assurance subscriptions for their desktop OS licensing.
In most agreements, the licensing for both the Client OS & Software Assurance are put together in a single-priced package called "Windows Vista Business English Upg/SA Pack MVL w/VisEnterprise". - Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop (VECD) Subscription for customers with Software Assurance
(Win VisEnt CentralDsktpSA English Monthly Subscription MVL Per Device)
This is a monthly subscription that is applied per access device for a virtualized desktop environment. The access device is typically a ‘thin client’ but may include home PCs and other workstations that will access the virtualized desktops hosted on a server.
The subscription license is paid per access device/month. Just a reminder: The name of this subscription is a misnomer; it applies to ANY Windows version and not just Windows Vista.
OPTION 2:
Option 2 requires just 1 license:
- Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop (VECD) Subscription for customers without Software Assurance
(Win VisEnt CentralDsktp English Monthly Subscription MVL Per Device)
This is again a monthly subscription that is applied per access device for a virtualized desktop environment. Again, the access device is typically a ‘thin client’ but may include home PCs and other workstations that will access the virtualized desktops hosted on a server.
Recall that with this option, once the subscription lapses, the customer does not own any licenses of any Client OS. Usage rights to Windows expires as soon as the subscription agreements ceases. The license is more expensive than VECD for SA customers, and is again licensed per access device/month.
Pricing:
I’ve recently learned of a drop in the price of VECD. Here are the numbers as I understand it, (no guarantees around this so talk to your account executive/LAR) but to put it into English – customers looking to purchase "VECD for devices with Windows licenses and Software Assurance", will have pricing around ~$2/month/device. Customers with devices like thin clients that don’t have Windows licenses and Software Assurance will have pricing around $10/month/device. The pricing waterfall depends on the contract size that your organization has with Microsoft.
For more information, visit the following resources:
- Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/enterprise/benefits/licensing.mspx
kurtsh
Kurt Shintaku's Blog 