Does Virtual Windows Server DataCenter 2022 has Unlimited Virtualization

Question

Dear Microsoft,

I am planning to have Hyper-V installed on BareMetal, then for every 8 core, I will install a mix of

1. "Virtual" Windows Server Standard 2022 with Software Assurance
2. "Virtual" Windows Server DataCenter 2022 with Software Assurance
3. "Virtual" Windows Server Essentials 2022 with Software Assurance.
4. "Virtual" Windows 11 Pro

My questions are:

1. Will Virtual Windows Server DataCenter have Unlimited Virtualization, just like physical installation?
2. Will Virtual Windows Server Standard have 2 OSE Vm just like physical installation?
3. Can Windows Server Essentials with Software Assurance be installed virtually?
4. Can I install all these if I have only 1 CPU in a 2 socket server?
5. Can Data Protection Manager backup and recover Windows Server Container?
6. Can Virtual Machine Manager manage fail-over for Windows Server Container, just like it can with VM?
7. Can I create Container Fail-over clusters within an OSE or across other OSE in the domain?
8. Can I create an MPSA account directly with Microsoft (MCA + MPSA)? So that I can see all the price available and order directly. I currently have around 1000 points in my shopping list, and am qualified for MPSA Level A.

I have been doing research for about 10 days now, and I couldn't find answers in my questions above.

Many thanks,

Jason

Answer 1

Hello Jason,

Thank you for reaching out to Microsoft customer support. I'll be happy to assist you with your questions.

1. Yes, Virtual Windows Server DataCenter 2022 has unlimited virtualization rights.
2. Yes, Virtual Windows Server Standard 2022 with Software Assurance has two OSE VM rights.
3. Yes, Windows Server Essentials 2022 with Software Assurance can be installed virtually.
4. Yes, you can install all these on a server with only one CPU in a 2-socket server.
5. No. According to this document, Data Protection Manager can backup VMs and applications.

What can System Center Data Protection Manager back up? | Microsoft Learn

For questions about DPM, please go to Q&A forum https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions 6) No, you must run a Windows container with a supported container runtime available on your machine. The runtimes currently supported on Windows are containerd, Moby, and the Mirantis Container Runtime.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/windowscontainers/quick-start/set-up-environment

7. Yes, container can failover within OSEs. You can add multiple nodes to a Docker Swarm.

Get started with swarm mode | Microsoft Learn

8. I think it's possible to create an MPSA account with Microsoft directly however you would need to confirm with Microsoft.

Answer 2

Thank you Ian, your answers are great and very helpful.

I did not know about container runtime, and Docker Swarm.

A few more questions: I have two datacenter with about 20 servers. They are mostly over 10 years old, we have about 50VMs, some of them are not very active. What is the best practice to determine if if an old VM can migrate to a container stablely? Say if have have all the VM move to containers for testing. Is there a (or combination) Microsoft product, (Windows admin, Systems Center, etc) that have relevant logs and metrics and monitor containers to determine if container is sufficient or VM?

Finally, MPSA appears to be quite hard to get. I have three sites, China, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. I have made 6 calls. Almost everyone says they don’t do MPSA. No body picks up.

Nobody picks up with Microsoft’s call number in China, Hong Kong and Vietnam. I have called Dell Hong Kong and Dell China. They tell me that they cannot quote for MPSA.

However, I looked online, Dell appears able to be a provider for MPSA.

The only reason that I can think of is that, the commission is different across different windows products. Software License OEM or retail have a higher commission that software via MPSA.

If that is the case, perhaps review your price plan with your resellers as the motivation for MPSA is low.

Very much appreciate if you can tell me how to sign MPSA directly with Microsoft,

Thanks

Answer 3

Hi,

I don't think VMs can be migrated to containers. Containers and VMs are isolated on different levels. Please refer to this link for details.

Containers vs. virtual machines | Microsoft Learn

For the MPSA issue you can contact Microsoft here.

Services Hub (microsoft.com)