Microsoft Licensing Primer
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@scottalanmiller said:
Here is the really high level view. Until you get into very special cases you basically:
- Always get your desktop OS as OEM with the machine when you buy it. You don't buy desktop OSes.
- Always get your server OS from VL.
DESKTOP: When would you ever need to purchase a FPP? If you wanted to install another OS on a desktop that didn't already have that? For example if you licenses Vista on a machine, but wanted to wipe it and install Windows 10?
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@BRRABill said:
So to refine this before moving on.
DESKTOP: you can only obtain a license through OEM or FPP
SERVER: you can obtain a license through OEM, FPP, or VL
Is that correctly separated, and correct?
Correct.
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@BRRABill said:
DESKTOP: When would you ever need to purchase a FPP? If you wanted to install another OS on a desktop that didn't already have that?
When you have a machine that has no OEM license and you are willing to pay the premium for FPP to get the flexibility that it can provide. FPP is super rare.
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@BRRABill said:
For example if you licenses Vista on a machine, but wanted to wipe it and install Windows 10?
That would be a bizarre use case since you can buy a much cheaper upgrade license instead.
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Super rare. Got it.
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@Dashrender said:
@coliver said:
@Dashrender said:
@scottalanmiller said:
For DESKTOP there is only one option.
Actually there are two, OEM and FPP.
But for servers there are three, OEM, FPP and Volume/Open Licensing.
Can't you get Windows Desktop OS's through a volume license agreement?
nope, only SA and upgrades.
And imaging rights as part of the upgrade VL.
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@Jason said:
And imaging rights as part of the upgrade VL.
So that is my next question.
DESKTOP: What does VL licensing get you that's better than the straight OEM license?
DESKTOP: What do you need at a minimum to get VL? We discussed this before but I'd like to have it in this thread.
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@BRRABill said:
DESKTOP: What do you need at a minimum to get VL? We discussed this before but I'd like to have it in this thread.
This is not specific to desktop. You have to purchase 5 licenses at once via VL to get setup. They can be any 5 licenses. After that you can buy single licenses as needed.
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@JaredBusch said:
This is not specific to desktop. You have to purchase 5 licenses at once via VL to get setup. They can be any 5 licenses. After that you can buy single licenses as needed.
I think it might be specific to desktop since you can't buy license through VL for desktops. Isn't that correct?
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@BRRABill said:
@JaredBusch said:
This is not specific to desktop. You have to purchase 5 licenses at once via VL to get setup. They can be any 5 licenses. After that you can buy single licenses as needed.
I think it might be specific to desktop since you can't buy license through VL for desktops. Isn't that correct?
You are misunderstanding. You can buy desktop OS UPGRADE licensing via VL. The only purpose of this licensing of course if to reimage your machines. SO you only need to buy one of these.
But to get setup with VL, you have to buy 5 of any kind of license to get an initial VL agreement setup.
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If you already have a VL agreement, you can simply buy the single desktop OS upgrade license that you need to get imaging rights.
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Yeah, I am back to being confused.
OK, so let's say I just bought 10 new DELL Windows 10 machines (with an OEM license, of course). I want to be able to re-image these with a standard image, as has been suggested here on ML.
What do I need to do this? Perhaps real world examples are better.
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@JaredBusch said:
The only purpose of this licensing of course if to reimage your machines. SO you only need to buy one of these.
Let me clarify that. The only purpose of this license is to give you reimaging rights, assuming that all your desktops are OEM licensed for the same or lower version of desktop OS that you buy via VL.
If you have two machines with an OEM Windows 7 license, you are not allowed to image them both to 10 because you have a Windows 10 VL. You would need two Windows 10 VL. Or you would need to manually go through the Windows 10 upgrade on those machines first to make them legally Windows 10 devices.
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@BRRABill said:
Yeah, I am back to being confused.
OK, so let's say I just bought 10 new DELL Windows 10 machines (with an OEM license, of course). I want to be able to re-image these with a standard image, as has been suggested here on ML.
What do I need to do this? Perhaps real world examples are better.
For this scenario, you need to purchase a single Windows 10 VL.
But if you do not have a VL agreement already, then you will need to purchase 5 total licenses of something in order to get setup with VL in the first place.
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@JaredBusch said:
For this scenario, you need to purchase a single Windows 10 VL.
Is that a VL UPGRADE license? That is where I am confused. What is a "Windows 10 VL" if they don't sell licenses.
I'm not being sarcastic at all, this is really what has me hung up.
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@BRRABill said:
@JaredBusch said:
For this scenario, you need to purchase a single Windows 10 VL.
Is that a VL UPGRADE license? That is where I am confused. What is a "Windows 10 VL" if they don't sell licenses.
I'm not being sarcastic at all, this is really what has me hung up.
VL for Desktops is always upgrade. Upgrade is the only Desktop OS option from VL.
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@BRRABill said:
@JaredBusch said:
For this scenario, you need to purchase a single Windows 10 VL.
Is that a VL UPGRADE license? That is where I am confused. What is a "Windows 10 VL" if they don't sell licenses.
I'm not being sarcastic at all, this is really what has me hung up.
All desktop OS licenses available from Volume Licensing are upgrade licenses.
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man, you guys have completely left out Software Assurance, which can be a HUGE savings here.
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@BRRABill said:
Yeah, I am back to being confused.
OK, so let's say I just bought 10 new DELL Windows 10 machines (with an OEM license, of course). I want to be able to re-image these with a standard image, as has been suggested here on ML.
What do I need to do this? Perhaps real world examples are better.
What you need to do for this real world situation is the following.
You purchase :
1 Software Assurance license for Windows Desktop $125
4 Windows Server CALs ($80/ea) $320This is the least expensive way to get into a Volume license agreement. Total approximately $445.
FYI, you are only allowed to add Software Assurance to an OEM license that you have purchased within the past 90 days. So you buy a computer on Nov 1, 2015, you have until January 29 to purchase a SA license. If you wait until Feb 1 to buy... now you much buy an Upgrade Volume License for that machine.
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@Dashrender said:
man, you guys have completely left out Software Assurance, which can be a HUGE savings here.
Because that is not something that matters in regards to what he wants to do technically. It is only another means of confusing.
@Dashrender said:
This is the least expensive way to get into a Volume license agreement. Total approximately $445.
If he needs a VL agreement, and has no other software needs, this may be true. But we are not talking about that here. You are throwing other things in to a basic discussion. Things that are important once he knows what he needs, but not now.
