Windows server licensing is unfair with clusters, why ?

Question

I read carefully licensing documents about windows servers standard, the conclusions are clear but they are so weird I wonder if I misunderstood something.

I have 3 servers with 2 processor and 12 core, I need 3x2x12 = 72 core licenses and I can run 2 virtual machine with Windows server on each physical server, for a total of 6 vm.

If I create a vmWare cluster with those same servers each server needs to be fully licensed for all its cores multiplied how many times as the maximum number of vm couples could run on it. So it would be 3(servers) * 6 (Total number of vm) / 2 (vm for core licensed server) * 2 (processors) * (12 cores per processor) = 216.

The hardware is the same, the number of vm is the same, so it is weird the cluster solution needs three times the licences. Is there a reasonable explanation I'm missing ?

Answer 1

Hello setecastronomy

The increase in the number of required licenses when using a VMWare cluster is due to the way Microsoft’s licensing rules apply to virtualization and multi-server environments.

When you create a VMWare cluster with your servers, each physical server needs to be fully licensed for all its cores multiplied by the maximum number of virtual machine couples that could run on it, as you correctly calculated. This is because Microsoft’s licensing rules require that each physical server running Windows Server Standard must be fully licensed for the maximum number of virtual machines it could potentially host.

In a non-clustered environment, you are allowed to run two virtual instances of Windows Server on each fully licensed physical server, as per the licensing terms. However, when you create a VMWare cluster, the licensing requirements are applied to each physical server in the cluster, taking into account the potential maximum number of virtual machines that could be running on it.

Best Regards,
Hania Lian

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