Hello everybody, i have a doubt regarding licensing for virtual machines. I am going to buy a 2008 datacenter license, since i dont want strict limits in creating new virtual machines. I found this "Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter OEM version " (P71-05925) at a good price. I am wondering if the OEM version is a limit in using it for VMs installed over a vsphere 4.1 server . anybody can help? thank a lot Marco

Basically 2 points - OEM version in intended not for end user purchase - so purchasing that SKU only by you can be illegal - look here or here on licensing model section. - if you buying hardware with respective OEM license there are two different verdicts on it - negative and positive (look at the very end of the topic) - the best solution is to contact local licensing specialist

Hi, If you got a retail license, the answer is yes. For more information, you can refer to: Q. Do the virtualization licensing rights of Windows Server 2008 apply when used with non-Microsoft software virtualization technologies? A. Yes. The use rights apply regardless of the virtualization product being used. However, any non-Microsoft software virtualization technologies are not supported by Microsoft. For more information about support policies, please refer to the following Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) articles: Article 897613: Microsoft Virtual Server support policy Article 897614: Windows Server System software not supported within a Microsoft Virtual Server environment Article 897615: Support policy for Microsoft software running in non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software Windows Server 2008 R2: Frequently Asked Questions about Licensing http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/licensing-faq.aspx However, if you want to buy a OEM license, it is recommend that you contact the OEM vendor or Microsoft License Center so that you can get the most qualified pool of respondents. Thanks for your understanding. Best Regards, Vincent Hu