VM /ETC

Posts Tagged ‘licensing’

The virtualization community, my employer, and every Virtualization Service Provider I know is neck deep in virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). Already important because of Windows 7 migrations, the announcements last week from Microsoft and Citrix seemed to have raised the intensity of an existing white hot spotlight on VDI. When Microsoft, the world’s leader in the desktop operating system market, decides to change their position to make it easier to implement and license virtual desktops then we all have to stop and understand what has happened. There has been a significant change, and there are good things in the future for those moving to virtualized Windows desktops. However, understanding exactly what these changes are and how they impact us continues to be a moving target changing rapidly each year.

This post is my summary of research about the latest Microsoft and Citrix announcements. I’m linking and quoting several bloggers and analysts to help VM /ETC readers (and myself!) digest the details of the new licensing and promotions. I also the outline the actual products that make up the Microsoft and Citrix VDI solution, and then finally point to some interesting reactions and perspectives published over the last several days. 

New Microsoft VDI Licensing

Most importantly, Microsoft declared a new licensing policy where Windows desktops will no longer need a separate license to be accessed via VDI by companies with Software Assurance. Although I could not specifically find it stated anywhere I looked, I assume this means whether accessed on any Microsoft VDI solution, VMware View, Citrix XenDesktop, or any other vendor’s VDI product. Here’s some additional information on the new licensing as intrepreted by others:

Desktop Virtualization: Microsoft, VMware in Cost Smackdown

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/031910-desktop-virtualization-microsoft-vmware-in.html?page=1

“One key part of the sweeping announcements, covered in an hour-long Webcast, is a simpler and cheaper model for licensing Windows in a virtual desktop environment. Specifically, on July 1, Software Assurance customers will no longer have to buy a separate license to access Windows via a VDI.

Moreover, for customers that use devices that don’t qualify for Software Assurance, such as thin clients and PCs used by contractors, there will be a new license called Windows VDA (virtual desktop access) available for $100 per device per year. This license will allow users to still have access to their complete virtual desktop outside the corporate network on devices such a personal laptops and airport kiosks.”

Maybe Microsoft is finally starting to abandon the concept of anchoring a Windows license to hardware and hopefully beginning to consider introducing virtualization editions of their operating systems? We are definitely not there yet, but at least it’s movement in the right direction.

Microsoft and Citrix VDI Promotions

Along with the new VDI licensing Microsoft and Citrix has also introduced some competitive promotions not only stimulate VDI migration but hopefully capture back some market share in the process. A new web site, citrixandmicrosoft.com, details these new offers.

First is the VDI Kick Start

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The fact that Microsoft has embraced virtualization is an understatement. The fact that Microsoft has been slow to embrace other virtualization vendor’s capabilities to run Windows operating systems as guests is equally an understatement, but what if this wasn’t the case? That is, what if Microsoft abandoned the licensing strategy of anchoring Windows to physical hardware? What if the folks at Redmond recognized virtual hardware and virtual machines (VMs) as equals to physical devices when assigning licenses? Taking it a step forward, what if specialized versions of the various Windows operating systems and applications were specifically developed for VMs along with special licensing? Maybe it will never happen, but there have been a few signs recently that give one hope for the possibility.

Like crop circles, the following are some posts that caused me to wonder “what if?”. Read the rest of this entry »

Microsoft has updated it’s licensing policies regarding virtual machines hosted on all versions of Hyper-V again. Available for download via the Licensing: Virtual Environments and Technologies web page, 2 key Microsoft virtualization policy documents now have Jan ’09 revisions. A description of these documents is provided in the page’s Overview section:

Licensing Microsoft Server Products in Virtual Environments (Word file, 2.25 MB) is an overview of Microsoft licensing models for the server operating system and server applications under virtual environments. Licensing Microsoft Windows Server 2008 to Run with Virtualization Technologies (Word file, 1.39 MB) describes how Windows Server 2008 and other Microsoft server products are licensed when they are used with other virtualization technologies.

Here are some quick notes on the changes from these documents that caught my attention. Read the rest of this entry »

With the expected release of Windows 7 later this year, there is already speculation and rumor that perhaps Microsoft will loosen it’s virtualization licensing policies once again. A much needed move for modern virtual infrastructure in my opinion, Microsoft may finally be abandoning their position that their operating systems must be anchored to physical hardware. I hesitate to truly get excited about this change until it is officially announced, but could this finally be the green light to license VMs individually and independently of the virtualization host’s operating system and hardware? Could it finally be the acceptance of unlimited live migration (VMotion)?

I’ll reference 2 sources for these rumors. The first is Read the rest of this entry »

Last week Microsoft made licensing changes that are beneficial for companies running applications in a virtual environment. Many articles and blog posts were published hailing the policy explained in the Microsoft Application Licensing Mobility Brief. However, as I explained in my post New Microsoft Application Mobility Brief does not cover the Windows Operating System, the new policy almost seems incomplete if you do not use Microsoft’s server operating system (OS) to host your virtual machines (VMs). The brief is easy to understand for scenarios where Hyper-V, Microsoft Virtual Server, or VMware Server are running on Server 2008, but to me it’s still confusing when a non Microsoft, bare metal hypervisor is installed instead. So, since it’s safe to say that Windows is by far the most widely used operating system in VMs today how should IT departments license Windows guests if a host is running VMware ESXi/ESX 3.5 or Citrix XenServer for example? The best choice may surprise you. Read the rest of this entry »

The much anticipated announcement of a change in Microsoft licensing policy for virtual environments was delivered today as promised but with an unexpected let down. Microsoft has waived the 90 day mobility restrictions for applications like Exchange, SQL, Sharepoint, Systems Center Operations Manager, and many others but still limits the Windows Server operating system. Microsoft, apparently only concerned with silo-ed hypervisor deployments like Hyper-V, continues to only allow the migration of a virtual machine operating system once every 90 days. Microsoft considers a VMotion or live migration of an entire virtual machine as a transfer of license between hardware platforms.

The following paragraph was taken from the Overview section of the new Application Licensing Mobility Brief: Read the rest of this entry »

In my post 730 Days Later – Replace The VirtualCenter Default SSL Certificate I pointed out the SSL certificate installed by VirtualCenter expires after 2 years. I did not document how to replace the default cert, but instead I linked to VMware’s guide for readers to explore. Thank goodness Leo Raikhman has picked up where I left off on his Leo’s Ramblings Blog! Leo has created 2 great “how to” posts for replacing certificates using OpenSSL that are much easier to follow then VMware’s guide.

In the post VirtualCenter CA Configuration Leo covers replacing the default certificate with a stand alone OpenSSL version that expires after 10 years. However, in his post More nonsense with VirtualCenter certificates – part 2 he provides instructions for using a domain enforced Windows Certificate Authority.

Read Leo’s posts in their entirety at the links above, but I am copying his instructions here for my personal knowledgebase. As a matter of fact, I recommend adding Leo’s RSS feed to your reader and bookmarking his site. He has been consistently creating posts relevant and helpful for virtual administrators.

Read the rest of this entry »