Cloud Platform Suite

Microsoft announce a new Cloud Platform Suite which will be available through the SPLA channel from January 2014. You can download the FAQ here: http://bit.ly/1gh0Yz1, but read on to get the overview.

The Cloud Platform Suite will offer an alternative to the Core Infrastructure Server Suite; both are offerings to license the core infrastructure of Windows Server and System Center, but they’re aimed at different types of highly virtualised environments.

With CIS Suite Datacenter licensing you buy a CIS Suite Processor licence for every physical processor in the server and then you’re licensed to run as many Windows Server virtual machines, managed by System Center, as you want to on that server. For a highly virtualised environment it’s seen as a cost-effective option. Actually, it’s a cost-effective option in a homogeneous environment where all the VMs are running Windows Server. It’s a slightly different story in a heterogeneous environment where there are VMs running different operating systems; you’re paying for unlimited virtualisation but you don’t need to run Windows Server in all of your VMs.

This is where the Cloud Platform Suite will be at its most convenient. The physical machine is again licensed by processor with the new Host licences which include Windows Server 2012 R2, System Center 2012 R2, and the Windows Azure Pack for that host machine. These Host licences will be cheaper than their equivalent Core Infrastructure Server Suite licences because you’ll then separately license the virtual machines that will run on that host machine. For any Windows Server VMs you’ll purchase a single Guest licence per instance, which will license that VM to run Windows Server and to be managed by System Center. But here’s the interesting bit – if you also want to run a large number of, say, Linux VMs on the same host then there are no guest fees for those VMs at all.

So, key takeaways:

  • the Cloud Platform Suite arrives in January 2014, and
  • its new licensing model has the potential to offer Service Providers a more cost effective way of licensing a highly virtualised heterogeneous environment.

Microsoft’s Partner Quoting tool goes live

Microsoft announce that their Partner Quoting tool is live, currently in the UK, US and Canada. The tool is aimed at LSPs to enable them to create EA customer quotes with supporting documentation without needing intervention from Microsoft. Partners can also initiate quotes and then pass them to a Microsoft Licensing Sales Specialist (LSS) for a final customised solution with, for example, discounts and amendments applied. http://bit.ly/1aI57tC

Beta release of Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit v9.0

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit v9.0 is available in beta. Key highlights include improved usage tracking for RDS and SQL Server, support for inventory of Microsoft products by Software ID (SWID) tags, and updated scenarios and reports for Azure and the Server and Cloud Enrolment.

Get the full details here: http://bit.ly/1aFw9lo

Azure Rights Management Services Licensing Terms

This blog post from the Rights Management product team at Microsoft gives a good summary of Azure RMS licensing. It details the licences required for both traditional on-premise customers as well as those who have moved to Office 365, and explains how partners should license solutions such as virtual meeting rooms for their customers.

Read the full post here: http://bit.ly/17LlUbS

BizTalk Server 2013 Licensing Datasheet

BizTalk Server 2013 Licensing Datasheet and FAQs from Microsoft. Useful sections include an overview of Core licensing for BizTalk, licensing BizTalk in virtualised environments, and how customers should move from Processor licences to Core licences. If you know your SQL Server 2012 licensing, then this is almost identical: http://bit.ly/1bLT7sr

Microsoft announce their new Volume Licensing program

Microsoft announce their new Volume Licensing program available on 1 December 2013, initially in the UK, US, Canada and Germany. The main benefit to customers will be the ability to buy a combination of on-premise software and Online Services through a single agreement, but there will be a simplified agreement structure and improved web tools to manage software purchases too. http://bit.ly/1hRciGh

Updated Lync 2013 Licensing Guide – November 2013

This newly released Lync 2013 Licensing Guide has some interesting amendments in four main areas with, as usual, some licensing elements disappearing completely and other freshly-imagined notions taking their place. Get the guide here: http://aka.ms/tnydo0

Out: Connectivity to Public Instant Messaging Users

  • Firstly, there’s an update on the capability to connect with certain public IM service providers. Windows Live Messenger disappears completely (end of an era!) and it’s confirmed that the agreements in place with AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) and Yahoo! Messenger will end on 30 June, 2014

In: Lync Room Systems

  • If you’ve not heard of these, then this Lync Team Blog article is a good place to start (http://bit.ly/1cYdmpQ). Essentially, a Lync Room System is an “integrated meeting room solution” that consists of high definition touch displays and video cameras, wideband audio and a meeting console – that’s everything you need for your successful Lync meeting of course! If you feel the need for a picture of said system then you’ll find one on the Lync Team Blog. It is, in fact, a full Lync client and, as such, it’s a device that needs to be licensed, and you’ll need to allocate a Standard and Enterprise CAL to it if you’re licensing by device

Out: Lync Online Plan 3

  • Lync Online Plan 3 (for Microsoft-hosted Enterprise Voice) disappears from the guide. Customers with an Office 365 E4 plan continue to get a subscription to the Lync Server Plus CAL which means they can use an on-premise Lync server to deploy Enterprise Voice or, alternatively, the recommendation is to work with a partner for a hosted solution. Full details on page 17

In: New Licensing Lync Devices section

  • There’s a new section on licensing devices that connect to a Lync server. There’s good news that your USB headset won’t need to be licensed (!) and more useful confirmation that “Optimized for Lync IP Phones” will need Standard and Plus CALs (or their users will, of course). But for me, the most interesting note was that Lync phones don’t need Windows CALs as they authenticate against Lync Server, not Active Directory, and don’t access any Windows Server features