FAQ: System Center Advisor and Software Assurance

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Important

As of January 2013, System Center Advisor is a free service. The following information no longer applies. Thanks!

System Center Advisor is now included as a benefit of Software Assurance. But what does this mean? See the following questions and answers for more information.

What is Software Assurance?

Software Assurance is a program offering available to Microsoft volume licensing customers that combines the right to use the latest versions of software with a range of other benefits, including productivity benefits, phone support, tools, partner services, training and IT tools that help customers deploy, manage, and migrate software. And now System Center Advisor.

What is the free trial?

If you do not currently have a Software Assurance license, you can check out Advisor during a 60 day free trial. At the end of this trial, you can either choose to get a Software Assurance license, or we can go our separate ways. If you continue to use Advisor, we will retain all the data you uploaded during the free trial; if not, we will delete all of your data from our servers.

Which product Software Assurance licenses entitle the use of Advisor?

You can use Advisor (beyond the free trial) if you have a Software Assurance license for one of the following Microsoft products:

  • Windows Server 2008

  • SQL Server 2008

  • SharePoint Server 2010

  • Exchange Server 2010

  • Lync Server 2010

For additional information about the specific versions supported for analysis with Advisor, see Supported technologies for analysis.

How do I know if I have a license?

Check with the Volume Licensing administrator for your company. The administrator can check the Volume Licensing Service Center for information on specific licenses.