Windows Server Standard Edition legal VM limitation

Question

Dear Support Team,

Please help me to find the answer for the following questions: from what I know about Windows Server Standard license (minimum is 16 cores) - it can be used to activate Windows on hypervisor, and also - to activate the same Windows Server version on 2 virtual machines within this server.

But I still have no clear understanding of the following:

1. Do I have a legal right to create more than 2 VMs on the same server platform having only one Windows Server Standard license? I mean, general VMs number limitation. Let's say, I need 2 Windows Server virtual machines, and 2 more virtual machines but running Debian Linux. Should I have any additional server platform licensing for this?
2. If pt.1 does not allow having more than 2 VMs legally, what is another way to obtain a right to have more VMs apart from having additional Windows Server Standard license (in fact, licensing hypervisor platform again)? Like, if I have more than 16 cores, I need to purchase additional licenses to "legalize" the exceeding cores (2-cores add-ons). Is there anything same for additional VMs (like maybe 2 VM add-on)?

Thank you in advance!

Answer 1

1. You can create as many VMs as you like. There is no limit beyond your hardware.

You need to properly license all the VMs you create, if they require a license. Windows and some Linux distributions require a valid license to be in your terms "legal." If you're installing Debian or Ubuntu, for example, no license is required, as they don't have a "license" in the same way as a Windows "license."

Hyper-V won't prevent you from installing more Windows VMs than you have a license for.

There are two licensing schemes per core and per VM, per VM is only available for subscription licenses and Software Assurance.

For per core, which is what you seem to be asking about:

When all cores on the server are licensed (subject to a minimum of 8 core licenses per physical processor and a minimum of 16 core licenses per server), Standard has rights to use two OSEs (operating system environments) or two Windows Server containers with Hyper-V isolation and unlimited Windows Server containers without Hyper-V isolation, if the physical Windows Server is used solely to host and manage the virtual OSEs.

2. If you want more than two instances, you need to stack:

When licensed based on physical cores, Windows Server Standard has rights to use two operating system environments (OSEs) or two Windows Server containers with Hyper-V isolation and unlimited Windows Server containers without Hyper-V isolation (licenses equal to the physical cores on the server are assigned (subject to a minimum of 8 core licenses per physical processor and a minimum of 16 core licenses per server). Once a server is licensed, customers may wish to license the server for additional OSEs or Hyper-V containers. This practice is often referred to as “stacking” and is allowed with Standard edition.

See:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/licensing/product-licensing/windows-server

https://aka.ms/WindowsServerLicensingGuide

Download the Windows Server Licensing guide for a lot more information and examples.

Answer 2

essjae's answer is correct, but to shorten it:

You can legally operate 2 instances of Windows Server Standard on a physical host for every time that you license the physical hardware to run Windows Server Standard. If the host has the minimum cores, then you buy 16 total core licenses and that lets you run 2 WS Standard instances. Another 16 licenses lets you run another two instances. You can continue "stacking" like this until you have enough. If the host has more cores than the minimum, then every 2 WS Standard instances requires that you have a complete set of the required number of licenses. The number of vCPUs assigned to the VMs does not make a difference.

Additionally:

The physically installed instance of Windows Server Standard does not count against the licensed instances unless it provides a service other than Hyper-V or VM servicing functions.

Alternatively, you can now purchase licenses for virtual instances individually.

As always, we recommend that you contact your license reseller. They should have experts on staff trained in licensing that can tell you exactly what you need. Most importantly, they can tell you the exact point at which your pricing means that you should switch to Datacenter Edition for its unlimited instance licensing.

I would change one thing that essjae said: "You need to properly license all the VMs". I know what he meant, but I think it's conceptually easier to understand that virtual machines do not have licenses at all, only running operating system instances.. Microsoft does not concern itself with licensing for non-Microsoft operating systems. Since you brought up Debian, it doesn't require payment for its licenses or limit instances, so you can run as many Debian VMs as you want.