I have a licensing question. The corporate license seems to allow installation of 4 VMs on same PC. Are these 4 VMs strictly required to run under Windows 7 Ent too? I.e. can I install these 4 VMs on my Hyper-V on a Windows Server-powered server? And not use the option to install the W7Ent on a physical machine at all?

I'm not asking about Server 2008 R2. I am perfectly clear about what server offers. There is such thing offered my Microsoft as Windows 7 Enterprise. It is what you get if you buy Windows 7 Pro + Software Assurance. And its allows 1 installation on a physical PC and 4 installations on Virtual Machines on same PC. Windows 7 Pro seems to allow the same. No, again, my question is - can these 4 installations for virtual machines be performed on VMs running under Server 2008?

I contacted a vendor, they said I can only install four more virtual W7s if the VMs are running under first W7 on a physical PC. But they didn't sound very sure.And I believe I heard from another reseller at a seminar that there's no such restriction (but I can't remember for sure) It would be great to hear from someone from MS about this option.

See if http://download.microsoft.com/download/3/d/4/3d42bdc2-6725-4b29-b75a-a5b04179958b/licensing_windows7_with_vm_technologies.docx helps.

Each VM needs its own license. Whether its desktop or server they are all the same. If you are a larger shop you can use a KMS server to manage you license pool. Windows MVP, paid Remote Assistance is available for XP, Vista and Windows 7. My page on Video Card Problems is now my most popular landing page. See my gaming site for game reviews etc. Developer | Windows IT | Chess | Economics | Hardcore Games | Vegan Advocate | PC Reviews

Here is the quote: <small> · Before you use an eligible Windows 7 licensed product, you must assign or allocate that license to a PC. That PC is referred to as the “licensed device.” · Use terms specify the maximum number of copies of the software per license that you may run on or remotely access from the licensed device at a time. · Copies may be run either directly on the physical hardware or in virtual machines (or otherwise emulated hardware systems). · You may run on the licensed device at any one time one copy, or instance, of the software directly on the hardware (the physical operating system environment) · If you have Windows 7 Enterprise with active Software Assurance, you may run up to four instances of the software in virtual machines. You may create and store an unlimited number of copies (for example, copies in VMs) for use on any licensed device. · Each hardware partition or blade is a separate physical hardware system and therefore requires a separate license. · In most cases, you may not reassign licenses for desktop PC operating system products within your organization. PCs without a hard drive (or diskless PCs) are treated the same as traditional PCs for the purposes of licensing. </small> That fifth paragraph still confuses me greatly! I can run 4 VMs with same Windows 7 Enterprise, under same license, it says. But am I restricted to running it on a "licensed device"? What if I proclaim my server the "licensed device" and run the VMs there?

Hi, Regarding Licence questions, please make a call to Microsoft Support for assistance. http://support.microsoft.comPlease remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

The Windows Server 2008R2 Enterprise allows install 4 itself or lower version of Windows Server 2008R2 on its VM environment. That means, You can install Ser08R2 on 4 VM using the same License Key. BTW, you are only allow to install 08R2, not W7.Best Regards, Nova C. Altesse, BBA, ABA, MCTS