want to ask prior to purchasing a standard Technet subscription for home, is the software i can download time based ? that is, say i get a 2-year individual subscription, download software and install it, does and license stop working when the subscription ends and i don't renew? does microsoft server come with the standard technet subscription?

Hello, the software is to use for you as long as you have the subscription and you have to keep in mind that this is ONLY for test environments and NOT for production. This is clear stated in the license agreement. Best regards Meinolf Weber MVP, MCP, MCTS Microsoft MVP - Directory Services My Blog: http://msmvps.com/blogs/mweber/ Disclaimer: This posting is provided AS IS with no warranties or guarantees and confers no rights.

Hello, I think you are asking the wrong question, what I would like to ask is for what purpose would you run a server using a Technet license for more than two years? Technet licenses are for testing purposes and should not be used for long term installations. But as far as I know, licenses generally stay functional after your subscription ends, although I do not think you should be running the software after your subscription ends as it is most likely to be illegal. Both Server 2003 and 2008 and their R2 editions are covered under the standard Technet license, so you should have no problem there. Here is some information in regards to the different Technet Licenses: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/buy/hh442910.aspxJaap Brasser http://www.jaapbrasser.com

Hello, the software is to use for you as long as you have the subscription and you have to keep in mind that this is ONLY for test environments and NOT for production. This is clear stated in the license agreement. Best regards Meinolf Weber MVP, MCP, MCTS Microsoft MVP - Directory Services My Blog: http://msmvps.com/blogs/mweber/ Disclaimer: This posting is provided AS IS with no warranties or guarantees and confers no rights.

Hello, I think you are asking the wrong question, what I would like to ask is for what purpose would you run a server using a Technet license for more than two years? Technet licenses are for testing purposes and should not be used for long term installations. But as far as I know, licenses generally stay functional after your subscription ends, although I do not think you should be running the software after your subscription ends as it is most likely to be illegal. Both Server 2003 and 2008 and their R2 editions are covered under the standard Technet license, so you should have no problem there. Here is some information in regards to the different Technet Licenses: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/buy/hh442910.aspxJaap Brasser http://www.jaapbrasser.com

Hello, the software is to use for you as long as you have the subscription and you have to keep in mind that this is ONLY for test environments and NOT for production. This is clear stated in the license agreement. Best regards Meinolf Weber MVP, MCP, MCTS Microsoft MVP - Directory Services My Blog: http://msmvps.com/blogs/mweber/ Disclaimer: This posting is provided AS IS with no warranties or guarantees and confers no rights. understood about the test purposes. after retiring from a large international engineering firm where we in IT had many testing units and sw access, i now have my small home network i use with my hobby of microcontroller automation. a technet subscription might suit my home hobbiest status. it is no production environment.

on the contrary, i asked the correct question for my environment. thanks for the link and your prompt reply. it helped me decide which subscription to purchase for my needs here at home these days. thank you.