If you’re interested in the seven different Planning Services SA benefits then there’s a document for each one here: http://bit.ly/1geheow. Just filter by Software Assurance on the left hand side.
Visual Studio 2013 and MSDN Licensing Whitepaper – updated May 2014
The Visual Studio 2013 and MSDN Licensing whitepaper has been updated for May 2014. The key change is that MSDN subscribers can now access Windows client VMs in Azure (page 14). In addition: MSDN Platforms and Visual Studio Test Professional with MSDN subscriptions now also include a certain amount of Azure services (page 13); the Purchasing Channels table is updated to show that an MSDN Platforms subscription is now available under Open (page 7); and there are more details given for purchasing Visual Studio Online (page 10).
Download it here: http://bit.ly/1hkf7gn.
The Little Black Book of Licensing Gotchas
NEW! These delightful little booklets detail ten of the top Licensing Gotchas and make a useful reference if you’re about to start an IT project in your organisation or are responsible for licensing compliance.
Don’t unwittingly be wrongly licensed – order your FREE copy today! http://bit.ly/1kkRl68.
The MCP 70-671 and 70-672 Exams: An Overview and Some Resources
An Overview
Microsoft offer two exams in Microsoft licensing at Microsoft Certified Professional level: the obliquely named 70-671 and 70-672 exams. They’re primarily aimed at Microsoft partners who sell the software, but actually look good on the CV or résumé of anyone who works in Microsoft licensing. Both of the exams test you on your knowledge of the Microsoft products and their licensing models, and then the 70-671 exam focuses in on the Microsoft licensing programs aimed at small and medium businesses (Open and Open Value) while the 70-672 exam concentrates on those aimed at large organisations – so Select Plus and Enterprise Agreements.
The exams are localised and available all over the world and thousands of people have the certification – both because it’s recognised worldwide as a benchmark in licensing knowledge, but also because it’s required at several levels in the Microsoft Partner Program for partners in the Volume Licensing and SAM Competencies.
It’s worth knowing that the exams were launched in 2009 and although they’ve been updated a little since then, you do need to focus on being familiar with the licensing details of slightly older versions of the key products: so Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, SQL Server 2008 R2, and the 2010 versions of the System Center products, for example.
Some Resources
We’ve got some nice resources available if you’re studying for these exams. The first is a series of tests which offer sample exam questions, and you should use these to get a feel for the types of questions that are in the exams, as well as to check that your knowledge is complete. These tests are free for you to take as many times as you like as you prepare for your exam and you can find a separate test for each of the key areas of the exams here: www.licensingschool.co.uk/70-671 or www.licensingschool.co.uk/70-672.
If you’re currently working on learning the topics required for the exams then I’d recommend some training resources. Over the years I’ve trained lots of people to pass these exams, and it made sense to put everything people need to know in one place. So, I wrote a book for each exam. For each topic there’s an explanation with some nice graphics, some tips on applying your knowledge in the exam, and then some recap questions. At the end of each book there are sample scenarios so you can check you’re thinking the right way for the exams. You just need to search for “Lessons in Licensing” on your local Amazon site to find the Kindle versions, or if you prefer hard copies, then you can order those here: www.licensingschool.co.uk/shop.
Many people have had success in passing their exams with these resources (check out the lovely Amazon reviews!) and if you’re studying for these exams I wish you the best of luck!
Enterprise Sideloading FAQ
An interesting FAQ document on the changes to Enterprise Sideloading. Two main things I hadn’t seen before: the Windows 8.1 Update unlocks Windows Industry Pro and Enterprise devices for Sideloading regardless of whether or not they’re domain joined; the Sideloading key that comes with Sideloading Rights starts with 25 activations and you can contact Microsoft support to get further activations.
Download the full FAQ here: http://bit.ly/1mM87yj
Enterprise Agreement Program Guide – updated April 2014
If you need an overview of the EA then this Enterprise Agreement Program Guide might be just the ticket. Updated in April 2014 it includes licensing changes for Windows Enterprise, and covers Azure as well as the Server and Cloud Enrolment. There’s also advice on SA credit if you’re renewing SA from another agreement.
Download it here: http://bit.ly/1j8qQli.
Program Guides for the Education VL Programs
If you need Program Guides for the Education Volume Licensing programs then they’re all in one place here: http://bit.ly/1l8VWYA.
The Enrolment for Education Solutions guide is the most recent one, having been updated in March 2014.
Using the MAP Toolkit with Windows 8
An interesting Microsoft article on how the MAP Toolkit can help you identify a mis-licensed computer (one using a Windows VL licence but that did not ship with an OEM-installed version of Windows) and a mis-versioned computer (one using a Windows VL licence but that did not ship with a qualifying OEM-installed version of Windows): http://bit.ly/QnvizU.
Resources on ISV Royalty Licensing
If ISV Royalty licensing is your thing then this is the place to go for a Program Overview, the Program Guide and an FAQ document: http://bit.ly/1shoiRw.
Overview of the Changes to the April 2014 Volume Licensing Product Use Rights
Unsurprisingly, it’s SQL Server that grabs the headlines in the April 2014 PUR, so let’s start with a summary of what’s updated for this product:
- The 2012 Standard, BI and Enterprise editions are all updated to their 2014 equivalents and there are just two changes to the licensing – see the next two bullet points
- Licensing a passive fail-over server is now an SA benefit. The details are on page 72 and confirm that if you’re licensed with the Server/CAL model you do need SA on your CALs too, and if you’ve moved your licences to a third party shared server under Licence Mobility rights then you don’t get these fail-over server rights
- There’s a new CAL waiver for batch jobs for the BI edition on page 27, and just for completeness you should note that these rights also apply to the BI 2012 version of the product – see page 27 of the May 2014 Product List
- There’s a useful new section added for SQL Server 2014 Enterprise edition when it’s licensed with the Server/CAL model. It confirms the following key facts all in one place on page 37:
- This edition is only available under SA renewal
- It may only access 20 physical cores
- Each licence permits the running of SQL in 4 VOSES and licences may be stacked to allow SQL to run in additional VOSES
- Down-edition rights are to BI, Standard, Workgroup or Small Business editions, and the 20 core limitation is removed when BI is installed
- Licence Mobility is available with active SA
- The Power BI for Office 365 USL can’t be used as an alternative to a SQL CAL to access the server
There are a couple of changes to the Windows family, where the licensing rules for Windows client and his first cousin Windows Embedded get ever closer:
- Firstly, page 10 confirms that if you’ve got active SA on your Windows 8.1 Enterprise/Industry Enterprise licences then you can move both the licence AND the SA to a replacement device
- The SA benefits for both flavours of Windows are now much more similar and so the sections have been combined in the Software Assurance Appendix on page 73. Notably, Windows Industry Enterprise SA gains VDA rights
There are a couple of other updates:
- AX 2012 R2 is updated for R3 with the only significant change being that, like SQL 2014, its fail-over server rights move to being an SA benefit – see page 67
- BizTalk 2013 is updated for R2 so it looks like we can expect to see that product in June then 😉
There’s some clarification added to the Disaster Recovery Rights SA benefit – formerly known as Cold Backup Server Rights:
- There’s confirmation added on page 68 that a Windows Server licence is not required for the Disaster Recovery server as long as certain (listed) conditions are met
- And a statement is added on page 69 stipulating that the Disaster Recovery server may not be used as a production server
And finally we say a few goodbyes:
- Lync Online Plan 3 is at last removed
- System Center Advisor is also removed as this is no longer an SA benefit, but became a free service way back in January 2013
- And Data Protection Manager 2010 for System Center Essentials also slips quietly away