Sorry if this isnt the best place to post this but so far I have never received a reply from Microsoft about this. What I would like to do is: Run a virtual server laboratory and use it purely for study/learning/experience purposes as I am an IT professional and I constantly need to keep up to date with Microsofts products and technologies. I would like to setup a virtual lab like what is discussed in this document: https://mcp.microsoft.com/mcp/downloads/Virtual_Server_Article_1.doc My concerns are: Licensing and Activation I understand I can purchase a TechNet subscription to get access to all the software I need but I am limited with the amount of activations which I believe I would quickly deplete in a Virtual Lab environment. My understating is Volume License is the solution to this problem but I believe this is not available to an individual? It also sounds like the new activation and licensing for vista/server2008 is even more restrictive for what I intend to do. Please let me know the best way to go about what Im trying to I believe this could be very useful for IT pros like myself to develop the knowledge and experience to support and implement Microsoft products. Im happy to pay a reasonable amount of money to do this but if I proceed I need to know licensing and activations wont limit its viability. If anyone can help me Id really appreciate it! David P (DPazza) email: dpazza at yahoo dot com

TechNet Plus is the avenue for your needs. Yes it has restrictions around the number of activations but how big do you need your lab to be? I use TechNet Plus daily. I build a base Windows Server image in aVirtual Server R2 SP1environment, activate it and then copy it off. I use that same image copy to build an entire lab incl AD DC's, Exchange Servers, SQL Servers etc. So I definately havent hit the license activation limit at present! Cheers MK blogs.technet.com/mkleef

First off thank you very much for the reply! So just to confirm I have this right.. You can install a Virtual Server OS base, activate it, Sysprep, make multiple copies that use different IP's and computer names etc and it still only counts as one activation? What about the next generation of products like Server 2008 will it be able to be used in the same way as far as activations go with a TechNet subscription? Bellowis the information from the document I linked toin my first post,from what you're saying it sounds like the Licensing/Activation terms have changed since that document was created? Virtual Machines and Software Licensing Even though youre working with virtual machines, you still have to be conscious of licensing issues, especially if youre building a laboratory to last. Here is the gist of how you need to license virtual machines. It works very much like disk imaged machines work. SysPrep machine: A SysPrep machine does not require a license because it is a machine that is used only to seed other machines and doesnt actually get used as is. Once youve copied the SysPrep machine and start personalizing it, you need a license for the machine. Running virtual machines: Each machine that is named and is running on a constant basis needs to have its own license. Copied virtual machines: Each copy of a virtual machine does not need its own license so long as it is not renamed and is using the same IP address in each copy. Because it uses the same name and has the same IP, only one copy of the machine can run at any time, therefore only one copy needs a license. Copied and renamed virtual machines: Each time you copy a virtual machine and rename it, you need to assign a license to it. A renamed machine is treated as a completely different machine and therefore needs a license.

*bump* Michael Kleef should be back from TechEd now I'll mark threadas answered when he replies.

Sorry for the delay! So TechNet isnt unlimited amounts of licenses but definately enough for a decent lab. Heres an excerpt from the licensing page. Products That Require Activation: If you do not see your product key listed and would like to request a replacement or new key then continue on this page by using the Request Keys button on this page. You need a product key for each of the following products. Please check the box next to a product name and click the "Request Keys" button to obtain the key you need. Unless otherwise noted below, each product key will activate 10 PCs. Many products have a grace period allowing you to use the product before requiring activation. If you plan to reinstall within the grace period it is recommended that you not activate the installation. For frequently asked questions please refer to web site FAQ. Note: each Windows Server version should activate 10 licenses each. That means 10 for Windows Server Enterprise and 10 for Windows Server Std. Surely that should be enough for a decent lab right? So you can build the base image to run VS on it and then stacks of VM instances and be within the license count. WS2008 will likely remain the same like it is for Vista.