Who needs an MSDN subscription?
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This thread is inspired by the never-ending thread about licensing and replication in I Can't Even.
I know that developers who use Visual Studio probably get their Visual Studio license through an MSDN subscription. One benefit of the subscription is that you're allowed to spin up Windows servers, SQL servers, etc., for development and testing.
For organizations who have full-on lab environments or IT staff who need to spin up a VM Windows Server VM here and there to try something out, how do they stay in compliance? Do they also buy a MSDN subscription (perhaps MSDN platforms) for the IT staff member? Do they have their IT staff continually use Windows server 180-day evaluation licenses? Do they turn a blind eye as they give their IT staff activation keys from a dev's MSDN subscription and hope their organization is never audited?
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TechNet was such a good program
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@aaronstuder said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
TechNet was such a good program
+1000 agreed! and what they gave you, it was CHEAP!
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Since you are playing with
ocdingcoding just start an LLC, put up a website that shows the premise of a app you are designing, and get Full MSDN for free through Bizspark.I figured this out some years ago when I was starting a little project on the side.
Make sure you read the qualifications carefully and closely so that your application doesnt get shut down.
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You can create a VM for a lab use at any time and not at all think about licensing by using TechNet Evaluation Center.
So long as it's not a production use, you're invited to use the Evaluation versions of Windows Server or whatever else that they have at no risk of an audit or anything else.
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@dustinb3403 said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
You can create a VM for a lab use at any time and not at all think about licensing by using TechNet Evaluation Center.
So long as it's not a production use, you're invited to use the Evaluation versions of Windows Server or whatever else that they have at no risk of an audit or anything else.
That makes sense, but it makes me wonder why does MDSN Platforms exist?
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@eddiejennings said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
@dustinb3403 said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
You can create a VM for a lab use at any time and not at all think about licensing by using TechNet Evaluation Center.
So long as it's not a production use, you're invited to use the Evaluation versions of Windows Server or whatever else that they have at no risk of an audit or anything else.
That makes sense, but it makes me wonder why does MDSN Platforms exist?
For development work. MSDN's purpose is not to get your OSes to use.
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@eddiejennings said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
For organizations who have full-on lab environments or IT staff who need to spin up a VM Windows Server VM here and there to try something out, how do they stay in compliance? Do they also buy a MSDN subscription (perhaps MSDN platforms) for the IT staff member?
MSDN is for developers, not IT.
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@scottalanmiller said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
@eddiejennings said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
For organizations who have full-on lab environments or IT staff who need to spin up a VM Windows Server VM here and there to try something out, how do they stay in compliance? Do they also buy a MSDN subscription (perhaps MSDN platforms) for the IT staff member?
MSDN is for developers, not IT.
Makes logical sense. So to properly license the lab environment of Windows servers, would companies just continually use evaluation licenses as suggested by Dustin?
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@eddiejennings said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
@scottalanmiller said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
@eddiejennings said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
For organizations who have full-on lab environments or IT staff who need to spin up a VM Windows Server VM here and there to try something out, how do they stay in compliance? Do they also buy a MSDN subscription (perhaps MSDN platforms) for the IT staff member?
MSDN is for developers, not IT.
Makes logical sense. So to properly license the lab environment of Windows servers, would companies just continually use evaluation licenses as suggested by Dustin?
Generally, yes.
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Of course LARGE companies just get their labs included in their enterprise licenses. So they don't have to worry about that stuff.
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There are a lot of tools on the bizspark level MSDN offering that you otherwise cant even find or download (not even for trial). But also with MSDN its just easier to setup your sandbox and home labs and not worry about re-installing etc.
Its only avail while your company is within its first 2 years of business and under $1mm in revs.
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@eddiejennings said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
This thread is inspired by the never-ending thread about licensing and replication in I Can't Even.
I know that developers who use Visual Studio probably get their Visual Studio license through an MSDN subscription. One benefit of the subscription is that you're allowed to spin up Windows servers, SQL servers, etc., for development and testing.
For organizations who have full-on lab environments or IT staff who need to spin up a VM Windows Server VM here and there to try something out, how do they stay in compliance? Do they also buy a MSDN subscription (perhaps MSDN platforms) for the IT staff member? Do they have their IT staff continually use Windows server 180-day evaluation licenses? Do they turn a blind eye as they give their IT staff activation keys from a dev's MSDN subscription and hope their organization is never audited?
MSDN subscriptions are user-specific. To stay in compliance, every person who wants to take advantage of an MSDN benefit, will need to have their own MSDN subscription. They cannot be shared. Any VM spun up under the MSDN subscription cannot be used in any way by another person.
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@tim_g said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
@eddiejennings said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
This thread is inspired by the never-ending thread about licensing and replication in I Can't Even.
I know that developers who use Visual Studio probably get their Visual Studio license through an MSDN subscription. One benefit of the subscription is that you're allowed to spin up Windows servers, SQL servers, etc., for development and testing.
For organizations who have full-on lab environments or IT staff who need to spin up a VM Windows Server VM here and there to try something out, how do they stay in compliance? Do they also buy a MSDN subscription (perhaps MSDN platforms) for the IT staff member? Do they have their IT staff continually use Windows server 180-day evaluation licenses? Do they turn a blind eye as they give their IT staff activation keys from a dev's MSDN subscription and hope their organization is never audited?
MSDN subscriptions are user-specific. To stay in compliance, every person who wants to take advantage of an MSDN benefit, will need to have their own MSDN subscription. They cannot be shared. Any VM spun up under the MSDN subscription cannot be used in any way by another person.
Ah, didnt read the full OP post and assumed it was for him.
However Bizspark MSDN does provide startup organizations with multiple user accounts all for internal use and testing. It is not for production or internal use.
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@tim_g said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
@eddiejennings said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
This thread is inspired by the never-ending thread about licensing and replication in I Can't Even.
I know that developers who use Visual Studio probably get their Visual Studio license through an MSDN subscription. One benefit of the subscription is that you're allowed to spin up Windows servers, SQL servers, etc., for development and testing.
For organizations who have full-on lab environments or IT staff who need to spin up a VM Windows Server VM here and there to try something out, how do they stay in compliance? Do they also buy a MSDN subscription (perhaps MSDN platforms) for the IT staff member? Do they have their IT staff continually use Windows server 180-day evaluation licenses? Do they turn a blind eye as they give their IT staff activation keys from a dev's MSDN subscription and hope their organization is never audited?
MSDN subscriptions are user-specific. To stay in compliance, every person who wants to take advantage of an MSDN benefit, will need to have their own MSDN subscription. They cannot be shared. Any VM spun up under the MSDN subscription cannot be used in any way by another person.
Generally, an MSDN subscription doesn't make sense and is far more expensive than simply buying a license of what you need, or you can probably get away with using a trial OS.
They really only make sense when a company buys them in bulk and just dishes them out to whoever.
This was the case when I worked for HP... anyone who asked could have one.
Or when you have a development team that it would make sense to purchase for.
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@bigbear said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
@tim_g said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
@eddiejennings said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
This thread is inspired by the never-ending thread about licensing and replication in I Can't Even.
I know that developers who use Visual Studio probably get their Visual Studio license through an MSDN subscription. One benefit of the subscription is that you're allowed to spin up Windows servers, SQL servers, etc., for development and testing.
For organizations who have full-on lab environments or IT staff who need to spin up a VM Windows Server VM here and there to try something out, how do they stay in compliance? Do they also buy a MSDN subscription (perhaps MSDN platforms) for the IT staff member? Do they have their IT staff continually use Windows server 180-day evaluation licenses? Do they turn a blind eye as they give their IT staff activation keys from a dev's MSDN subscription and hope their organization is never audited?
MSDN subscriptions are user-specific. To stay in compliance, every person who wants to take advantage of an MSDN benefit, will need to have their own MSDN subscription. They cannot be shared. Any VM spun up under the MSDN subscription cannot be used in any way by another person.
Ah, didnt read the full OP post and assumed it was for him.
However Bizspark MSDN does provide startup organizations with multiple user accounts all for internal use and testing. It is not for production or internal use.
Yeah. It's not for me. I was just musing about the test VMs and such we need to spin up as IT, and I was curious how larger businesses or businesses with test labs license those test Windows VMs. I figured MSDN platforms wasn't used because of [see the above responses], but perhaps truth was going to be stranger than fiction.
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@eddiejennings said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
@bigbear said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
@tim_g said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
@eddiejennings said in Who needs an MSDN subscription?:
This thread is inspired by the never-ending thread about licensing and replication in I Can't Even.
I know that developers who use Visual Studio probably get their Visual Studio license through an MSDN subscription. One benefit of the subscription is that you're allowed to spin up Windows servers, SQL servers, etc., for development and testing.
For organizations who have full-on lab environments or IT staff who need to spin up a VM Windows Server VM here and there to try something out, how do they stay in compliance? Do they also buy a MSDN subscription (perhaps MSDN platforms) for the IT staff member? Do they have their IT staff continually use Windows server 180-day evaluation licenses? Do they turn a blind eye as they give their IT staff activation keys from a dev's MSDN subscription and hope their organization is never audited?
MSDN subscriptions are user-specific. To stay in compliance, every person who wants to take advantage of an MSDN benefit, will need to have their own MSDN subscription. They cannot be shared. Any VM spun up under the MSDN subscription cannot be used in any way by another person.
Ah, didnt read the full OP post and assumed it was for him.
However Bizspark MSDN does provide startup organizations with multiple user accounts all for internal use and testing. It is not for production or internal use.
Yeah. It's not for me. I was just musing about the test VMs and such we need to spin up as IT, and I was curious how larger businesses or businesses with test labs license those test Windows VMs. I figured MSDN platforms wasn't used because of [see the above responses], but perhaps truth was going to be stranger than fiction.
Larger is different. Once you are of any size you have enterprise agreements and your labs are just covered.
