Azure Stack HCI Licensing & Technical question

Question

Hi Team,

1. The Azure stack HCI pricing article https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/details/azure-stack/hci/ states below line

Azure Stack HCI is priced on a per physical core basis on your on-premises servers. Or if you are a Windows Server Datacenter customer with active Software Assurance, you may also choose to exchange core licenses to activate Azure Hybrid Benefit, which waives the Azure Stack HCI host service fee and Windows Server subscription.

Since the Azure Stack HCI cluster will be registered through Telstra CSP Azure subscription resell, hope we can apply the license for Windows Server license sold through Telstra CSP software subscription. Am I correct to say that?

If yes, let say if we provide the Windows Server 2022 Datacenter license purchased through Telstra CSP software subscription, will it waive of the Azure Stack HCI host service fee and Windows Server license for guest Windows OS VMs? As Windows Server data center edition allows to run unlimited Guest VM running Windows Server OS

Similarly for SQL server standard 2022 license can it be sold through the Telstra CSP software subscription, instead of Pay-as-you-go billing for Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server 2022(https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sql-server/sql-server-2022-pricing#x3594172bbfc6467d865708d77c7e7ccb)?

2. Is Azure ARC VM management available in Azure Southeast Asia region?
3. Do we need external witness for Azure Stack HCI cluster more than 2 physical server nodes (for example 3 or 4 nodes or more)?
4. Can we host the external pre-requisite components like Windows Admin Center, Active directory / DNS on the on-premise Azure Stack HCI cluster? If yes, please share the documentation

Answer 1

Hi Kadam, Yogesh,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A Platform! Thank you for asking your question here.

1.Windows Server Licensing with Azure Stack HCI:
You can apply the Windows Server license sold through Telstra CSP software subscription to your Azure Stack HCI cluster registered through Telstra CSP Azure subscription resell.

If you provide the Windows Server 2022 Datacenter license purchased through Telstra CSP software subscription, you can activate the Azure Hybrid Benefit. This benefit will waive the Azure Stack HCI host service fee and the Windows Server license fee for guest Windows OS VMs.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-stack/hci/concepts/azure-hybrid-benefit-hci?tabs=azure-portal

If you have Windows Server Datacenter licenses with active Software Assurance, you are eligible to activate Azure Hybrid Benefit for your Azure Stack HCI cluster. To activate this benefit, you'll need to exchange 1-core license of Software Assurance-enabled Windows Server Datacenter for 1-physical core of Azure Stack HCI. For detailed licensing requirements, see Azure Hybrid Benefit for Windows Server.

This benefit waives the Azure Stack HCI host service fee and Windows Server guest subscription on your cluster. Other costs associated with Azure Stack HCI, such as Azure services, are billed as per normal. For details about pricing with Azure Hybrid Benefit, see Azure Stack HCI pricing.

SQL Server Licensing through Telstra CSP:
Yes, the SQL Server Standard 2022 license can be sold through the Telstra CSP (Cloud Solution Provider) software subscription. This allows customers to purchase SQL Server licenses through a subscription model rather than the pay-as-you-go billing for Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server 2022.
You can find detailed information about SQL Server 2022 licensing, including the subscription model through CSP, in the official Microsoft documentation.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sql-server/sql-server-2022-pricing

2.Azure Arc VM management.
The below article lists the requirements and prerequisites for Azure Arc VM management. We recommend that you review the requirements and complete the prerequisites before you manage your Arc VMs. Arc VM management infrastructure is supported in the regions documented in the Azure requirements.

3.Cluster Witness for Azure Stack HCI:
Recommendation: We recommend setting up a cluster witness for clusters with two, three, or four nodes. The witness helps the cluster determine which nodes have the most up-to-date cluster data if some nodes can't communicate with the rest of the cluster. You can host the cluster witness on a file share located on another server,or use a cloud witness.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-stack/hci/manage/witness

To learn more about cluster witnesses and quorum, see Understanding cluster and pool quorum on Azure Stack HCI. To manage the witness, including setting a file share witness, see Change cluster settings.

4.External prerequisite components:
Yes, you can host external prerequisite components like Windows Admin Center, Active Directory, and DNS on an on-premises Azure Stack HCI cluster.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-stack/hci/deploy/create-cluster?tabs=use-network-atc-to-deploy-and-manage-networking-recommended
Active Directory and DNS can also be hosted on your Azure Stack HCI cluster. This involves setting up a dedicated Organizational Unit (OU) and ensuring proper configuration to meet the requirements of your HCI deployment. For more information, check out the Prepare Active Directory for Azure Stack HCI documentation