We can provide most Microsoft software licensing on a monthly basis through the SPLA program. These licenses are provided on a monthly basis and are easily provisioned. In some situations, you can use your own valid Microsoft volume licenses but there are numerous restrictions. For example, Microsoft Office does not have license mobility rights and can therefore not be used in a shared platform cloud environment. If you want to use your own Microsoft Licensing (Office, SQL Server, etc.), you should use our Dedicated Server Hosting offering. We get many questions about Microsoft per user licenses (i.e. Remote Desktop Services CALs/SALs) and whether they are for concurrently users or named users – Microsoft only licenses RDS user licenses on a per unique end-user basis so every user that is defined on the server needs a license.
On a Dedicated Server (where the hardware is fully dedicated to you and the outsourcing language within the Microsoft Product Terms applies), you could use our licenses provided on a monthly basis via the SPLA program or install your own licensing. (The SPLA pricing below also applies to both our cloud virtual servers and our dedicated server environments). Here is some comparison of pricing as of January 2016. Windows Server 2016 (coming out later this year) will be licensed “per core” instead of “per processor” which is how Windows Server has been licensed historically (SQL Server licensing changed from proc to core a few years back).
SPLA licensing:
- Monthly basis with no commitment.
- Windows Server CALs and SA not needed
- Our SPLA pricing:
- Windows Server Standard – typically included in our server costs.
- RDS user license – $7.75/user
- SQL Server Standard – $275 per 4 cores (sold at $137.50 per 2 cores with 4 cores minimum)
- UPDATE – SQL Server 2016 is now available – same pricing of $275/month for 4 cores using our SPLA monthly licensing or purchase your own (retail pricing SQL Standard 2016 is approx. $7,500 – see link here). https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/products/sql-server/purchasing.aspx
Volume Licensing:
- Higher upfront cost with benefit of owning the licenses (does not include upgrades without SA)
- SA (Software Assurance) recommended (comes in 2 year increments)
- Additional cost and requirements of Windows Server CALs required for each user
- Windows Server licensing minimum 2 proc/16 cores per server
- Some Volume Licensing programs require a minimum purchase or minimum points
FOR EXAMPLE, if you are looking for a server licensed with Windows Server and 5 Remote Desktop users:
- Using our SPLA licensing:
-
- Windows Server Standard licensing included in our hosting pricing
- 5 RDS SALs (remote desktop services user licenses) – $7.75 each user
- Purchase Volume Licensing:
-
- Windows Server License for 2 Processors (minimum) $1,171.55 with SA
- Windows Server User CAL (per user) $52.03 with SA
- Remote Desktop Services CAL (per user) $181.72 with SA
- Plus cost of server ?
SAMPLE VOLUME LICENSING FROM LARGE RESELLER:
Windows Server: 2012R2 (each covers 2 physical Processors) plus 2yr SA included. Windows Server 2016 licenses will be more expensive and core based. Need to purchase Proc/Core license + CALs.
P73-05758 / Windows Server Standard / $1,171.55
R18-00143 / *Windows Server User CAL / $52.03
SQL Server Standard – pricing below is per 2 cores but minimum purchase is 4 cores – so total approx $6,571 without SA or $9,895 with SA.
7NQ-00563/ SQLSvrStdCore 2014 SNGL OLP 2Lic NL CoreLic Qlfd / $3,285.66 — Total of $6,571 for 4 cores without Software Assurance meaning no free upgrade to next version.
7NQ-00215/ SQLSvrStdCore SNGL LicSAPk OLP 2Lic NL CoreLic Qlfd / $4,947.81 – Total of $9,895 for 4 cores with Software Assurance
UPDATE: SQL Server 2016 is now available – retail pricing from Microsoft (see link below) for 4 cores SQL Server Standard is $7,434 or you can use our licensing via SPLA on a monthly basis with no long term commitment at $275/month for 4 cores. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/products/sql-server/purchasing.aspx
Remote Desktop Services CALs – required per unique end-user. Per CAL price below with 2 yr SA
6VC-01152/ WinRmtDsktpSrvcsCAL SNGL LicSAPk OLP NL UsrCAL / $181.72
After the initial 2 years, you can purchase Software Assurance for additional 2 year terms (a rough estimate is 20% per year).