Windows 2012 R2 Datacenter upgrade to Windows 2019 Datacenter Licence

Question

Hi Guys

I want to make sure I am purchasing the correct licences from MS.

Set up
3 Host servers (2 x Hyper-v & 1 x VMWare) each server has 20 cores (Total 60 cores)
Each host server hosts about 6-10 VMs.

I have been told that I only need 30 x Windows Server DC Core 2019 Licenses. Is this correct?

If not can you please let me know what is the correct licence I need?

Thanks

Answer 1

Some general info

• Each host needs to be licensed.
• A minimum of 8 core licenses is required for each physical processor and a minimum of 16 core licenses is required for each server.
• Core licenses are sold in packs of two.
• Standard Edition provides rights for up to 2 Operating System Environments or Windows Servers containers with Hyper-V isolation when all physical cores in the server are licensed. For each additional 1 or 2 VMs, all the physical cores in the server must be licensed again.
• DataCenter Edition provides rights for unlimited Operating System Environments or Windows Servers containers with Hyper-V isolation when all physical cores in the server are licensed.

each server has 20 cores

then each host will need licensed for all 20 cores regardless of the hypervisor used
https://download.microsoft.com/download/7/C/E/7CED6910-C7B2-4196-8C55-208EE0B427E2/Windows_Server_2019_licensing_datasheet_EN_US.pdf

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Answer 2

Ok cool, thanks for the info.

So, I thought right then, I would only need 30 x core licences.

Answer 3

Not sure of your math (20 x 3 = 60) but sounds good, you're welcome.

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Answer 4

Just checking if there's any progress or updates?

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Answer 5

I am in process of placing the order for 30 core licences as each core licences covers 2 cores.