Windows 2012 product key use in virtual machine

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Junior admin

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Feb 18, 2016
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Dear Friends,
Microsoft announced, Windows 2012 R2 product key has ability to use in one physical machine and two virtual machines.
My doubt is, Is that virtual machine will be in the particular physical machine or it can be in any other machines?
please share your knowledge guys.
Thanks,
Lingaprakash R
 

Dawson

New Member
Feb 5, 2014
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Hello

It's important not to mix up licences with product keys. If you use Volume licence you might have many standard licences but then use the same product key for all physical and virtual machines you are have licenses for.

If you have a standard edition licence of Server 2012 r2 you can install and correctly licence 1 instance of 2012 r2 on the physical machine and two virtual machines of 2012 r2.
That physical instance can only be used to manage the virtual machines, not for providing services to your network. If you decided that you wished to run an print server from your hyper-v physical host, you would need an additional licence as you are no longer using it solely to manage your virtual machines.

Suppose you have two hyper-v hosts. Host A you wish to run 1 virtual machine. Host B you wish to run 3 virtual machines.
You would need one standard licence for Host A and two licences (each one giving you a licence to run 2 virtual machines) to cover up to 4 virtual machines for host B.
You cannot split a licence over two hyper-v hosts. You are licencing the physical platform, giving that machine the ability to run two 2012 VM's.
The datacenter edition allows you unlimited virtual machines for that physical server hardware,

I hope this helps
 

Diavuno

Active Member
Hello

It's important not to mix up licences with product keys. If you use Volume licence you might have many standard licences but then use the same product key for all physical and virtual machines you are have licenses for.

If you have a standard edition licence of Server 2012 r2 you can install and correctly licence 1 instance of 2012 r2 on the physical machine and two virtual machines of 2012 r2.
That physical instance can only be used to manage the virtual machines, not for providing services to your network. If you decided that you wished to run an print server from your hyper-v physical host, you would need an additional licence as you are no longer using it solely to manage your virtual machines.

Suppose you have two hyper-v hosts. Host A you wish to run 1 virtual machine. Host B you wish to run 3 virtual machines.
You would need one standard licence for Host A and two licences (each one giving you a licence to run 2 virtual machines) to cover up to 4 virtual machines for host B.
You cannot split a licence over two hyper-v hosts. You are licencing the physical platform, giving that machine the ability to run two 2012 VM's.
The datacenter edition allows you unlimited virtual machines for that physical server hardware,

I hope this helps
Spot on.
 

Deslok

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Jul 15, 2015
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deslok.dyndns.org
Hello

It's important not to mix up licences with product keys. If you use Volume licence you might have many standard licences but then use the same product key for all physical and virtual machines you are have licenses for.

If you have a standard edition licence of Server 2012 r2 you can install and correctly licence 1 instance of 2012 r2 on the physical machine and two virtual machines of 2012 r2.
That physical instance can only be used to manage the virtual machines, not for providing services to your network. If you decided that you wished to run an print server from your hyper-v physical host, you would need an additional licence as you are no longer using it solely to manage your virtual machines.

Suppose you have two hyper-v hosts. Host A you wish to run 1 virtual machine. Host B you wish to run 3 virtual machines.
You would need one standard licence for Host A and two licences (each one giving you a licence to run 2 virtual machines) to cover up to 4 virtual machines for host B.
You cannot split a licence over two hyper-v hosts. You are licencing the physical platform, giving that machine the ability to run two 2012 VM's.
The datacenter edition allows you unlimited virtual machines for that physical server hardware,

I hope this helps
That all sounds good with perhaps one question, my understanding is that if you buy two 2012R2 liscenses and configure two hyper-v hosts that there's no discrimination as to which host is running vm's with what liscense provides that they're configured in a fail over cluster.
 

Evan

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Jan 6, 2016
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If you have 2 hyper-v hosts you have 2 licenses you can run 2 VM's total, not 4

You have to have enough licenses to cover any host running all VM's in the cluster on one host at a time.
Eg to run 4 VM's on a 3 node cluster you need 4 windows standard licenses. 2 for each host.
This is one reason datacenter license quickly starts to make the only sensible choice.
 

Deslok

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Jul 15, 2015
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deslok.dyndns.org
If you have 2 hyper-v hosts you have 2 licenses you can run 2 VM's total, not 4

You have to have enough licenses to cover any host running all VM's in the cluster on one host at a time.
Eg to run 4 VM's on a 3 node cluster you need 4 windows standard licenses. 2 for each host.
This is one reason datacenter license quickly starts to make the only sensible choice.
That doesn't make a ton of sense, I can run 2 separate hyper-v hosts with 2 copies of server using the same key, you're saying I'd suddenly lose 2 of my licenses I had separately by clustering them together?
 

Evan

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Jan 6, 2016
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That doesn't make a ton of sense, I can run 2 separate hyper-v hosts with 2 copies of server using the same key, you're saying I'd suddenly lose 2 of my licenses I had separately by clustering them together?
To the letter of the law yes. (Assuming your talking regular mobility and not only moving less often then every 90 days in case of a failure event)

http://download.microsoft.com/downl...958b/windowsserver2012virtualtech_vlbrief.pdf

Based on the prices a large company was paying for standard vs datacenter license in a 2 mode cluster going to datacenter license makes sense after about 5 VM's
 

Junior admin

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Feb 18, 2016
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Thanks for your information.

Another one thing, If i install AD + DHCP + Printer services on my machine right now, In future am i can install a VM through hyper-v or not?
 

Evan

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Jan 6, 2016
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Thanks for your information.

Another one thing, If i install AD + DHCP + Printer services on my machine right now, In future am i can install a VM through hyper-v or not?
I believe you 'should' remove them and move them to a VM.

Don't know if it really makes migration easier but you can boot a Windows system on physical hardware from vhd using the boot loader. May be an option. Could also just p2v your physical box to an image before installing as hyper-v host and then you have your first VM.
 

Deslok

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Jul 15, 2015
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deslok.dyndns.org
Thanks for your information.

Another one thing, If i install AD + DHCP + Printer services on my machine right now, In future am i can install a VM through hyper-v or not?
Typical small business scale would involve AD+DHCP in a multi system configuration, 1 physical plus 1 virtual domain controller is what i've seen between 50-500 employees and printer services would be separated or only on the virtual domain controller.
 

Evan

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Jan 6, 2016
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Typical small business scale would involve AD+DHCP in a multi system configuration, 1 physical plus 1 virtual domain controller is what i've seen between 50-500 employees and printer services would be separated or only on the virtual domain controller.
I could imagine the smallest most sensible config would be 1 small physical DC, and a system running a couple of VM's.
1 for DC, 1 for file/print.
Any further VM's for applications (eg accounting apps)
Run any proxy's etc in appliance or linux is also possible.
That would keep real costs to a minimum.

Or maybe a vpn out to Azure to run the other DC ?

How is mail being handled ? I would suggest that O365 would make sense for such a small location. (Assuming you want Microsoft exchange email and not another type)