Hello, I apologise if this is in the wrong place - I'm quite new to these forums. So to start off I'd just like to state that I'm not in the dark with computers or Windows. However, I'm soon to purchase Windows Server. After researching on ebay and other market places I've found that licences range from around £150 - 700. Of course, I understand that different licences are for difference purposes. My purpose and set up is a dedicated server in a datacenter. I want to host around 2 - 3 virtual machines on the same licence or maybe even up to 5 if I need to. What I'm trying to find out is.. 1) Which server version do I require (such as Windows 2003/2008) ? I will only be using a single application. Not IIS, MSSQL ect.. so, my requirements as far as the OS goes is quite simple. To be more specific I will be running a game server that uses MySQL as it's backend. The virtual machines will be on a VMWare server. My application isn't tied down to any specific requirements besides .NET framework 3.5 or 4.0 (doesn't really matter). 2) Which licence do I require. Please note that I need absolute minimum, as stated before this is a simple VM or will be that's running one application. I apologise again, if these questions are stupid - I've never done the server thing before as far as Microsoft goes.

I suggest contacting Microsoft Licensing Center for detailed explanation. http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/contact-us.aspx Also you can call 1-800-426-9400 (select option 4), Monday through Friday, 6:00 A.M. to 5:30 P.M. (PST) to speak directly to a Microsoft licensing specialist. Worldwide customers can use the Guide to Worldwide Microsoft Licensing Sites http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/index/worldwide.asp to find contact information in their locations.

Hi, I want to host around 2 - 3 virtual machines on the same licence or maybe even up to 5 if I need to. >> If you want to meet the above demand, you have to use Windows Server 2008/ Windows Server 2008 R2 Data Center edition. With Windows Server 2008/ Windows Server 2008 R2 Data Center edition, you can run 4 virtual machines. For more information, you can refer to: Licensing the Datacenter Edition http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/licensing-datacenter.aspx Description of the changes that were made to the product activation process for Windows Server 2008 in a virtual operating system environment http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949748 Licensing for Virtual Environments http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/virtualization.aspx 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 Best Regards, Vincent Hu