About to be hit by the RHEL6 and Windows 2008 double whammy?
If you're just organizing your Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Extended Life (ELS) phase for the end of November don't forget Windows Server 2008 Extended Security (ESU) phase is about to rollover to year 2 in January! Unlike RHEL6 with WS2008 you'll need to cover all of the base licenses with ESU entitlements, and at 75% of the current list price that can prove to be a very expensive exercise. So if you won't have time to migrate off WS2008 your best option - depending on numbers - is to isolate them, either via host affinity in your virtual farms or by pushing them onto physical servers. Fortunately Red Hat licensing allows the choice of either physical sockets or virtual machines, so you can mix and match to suit. The tipping point is around 6 VMs, and again you can limit your exposure by applying host affinity rules in your virtual farms. There has been some conjecture as to whether the VM license covers one or two VMs - we are reliable informed that it does indeed cover two. The bottom line is of course, keep ahead of product lifecycles - it will always be more cost effective from a licensing point of view, but of course often difficult in the business context. The same situation will be upon us soon enough with WS2012 and RHEL7, so time to look ahead, ramp up the urgency, and get migrations on the agenda. So what do I get and what will it cost? Firstly - Microsoft: You'll need to be an Windows Server (for as many servers as need cover) Active Software Assurance (SA) customer. Costs are then dependent on the type of installation: In Azure: Customers running Windows Server in an Azure Virtual Machine will get Extended Security Updates for no additional charges above the cost of running the virtual machine. On-premises: Customers with active Software Assurance or subscription licenses can purchase Extended Security Updates for approximately 75% of the on-premises license cost annually. Hosted environments: Customers who license Windows Server through an authorised SPLA hoster will need to separately purchase Extended Security Updates under an Enterprise or Server and Cloud Enrolment, either directly from Microsoft for approximately 75% of the full on-premises license cost annually or from their Microsoft reseller for use in the hosted environment.
For Red Hat: You must have already have paid for a Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription before purchasing the ELS Add-On subscription for it. ELS Add-On is applicable to Standard or Premium subscriptions and can not be applied to self-support subscriptions. Note that ELS should be purchased prior to the start date of the ELS period (December 1, 2020 for RHEL 6), otherwise the ELS Add-On subscription will be back-dated to the start date. The cost on the Red Hat store is US$250 for Standard or US$775 for Data Center, so around AU$500 (2x VMs) to AU$1500 (Socket Pair).
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Extended Support for SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 will end on July 9, 2019. |
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What will 'end of support' mean? ... it will mean the end of regular security updates, and with the extent of hacks and attacks going on at any time - and the (legitimately) tough regulatory position on data protection - that would be a concern to all.
Now there are of course some options available at this stage to address this exposure:
- If you are an Azure customer, Extended Security Updates will be available for free in Azure for 2008 and 2008 R2 versions of SQL Server and Windows Server to help secure your workloads for three more years after the end of support deadline.
- If you run on-premise installations, you will be able to purchase Extended Security Updates for three more years as long as you have Software Assurance or Subscription licenses under an Enterprise Agreement enrollment.
So if it's free for Azure customers, what does it cost if I'm not? ...
75 percent of the full license cost of the latest version of SQL Server or Windows Server, purchased annually to cover only the servers that require the updates.
Ouch.
But wait, there's more. If you happen to run any IBM software under Windows Server, and you also run those servers in a virtualised environment, you need to be aware of an often overlooked limitation under IBM's sub-capacity rules. And that relates to 'Eligible Technologies'.
A quick glance through the regularly updated table by our ILMT development friends could come as a bit of a shock if you happen to still be running Windows Server 2003 - it's no longer an eligible technology - take a look at the snippet below under VMware:
You can view the entire list here.
And if it's 'not eligible', what does that mean? Basically that you'll need to revert to manual counting for that environment, and for which IBM provides a particularly onerous method and template as an Excel workbook downloadable here.
So taking the Windows Server 2003 omission as an example it's fair to expect that we'll see Windows Server 2008 drop off in equally quick time. Not only then is there a compelling cost imperative due to Extended Support, but an equally expensive overhead with IBM sub-capacity tracking and reporting as well (remember - you need to generate your sub-cap domain usage quarterly).
Time to act!
Microsoft have an advisory page here that is worth checking which also provides links to their end of support resource center for further advice and assistance. And if you're looking for a better tool than perhaps a spreadsheet for you IBM sub-cap reporting we have just the ticket with our ComplianceWare application - we recommend you check it out here!
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Well the new edition of Windows Server is now imminent - Microsoft have announced its GA for the second part of 2018 - with innovations across four key areas being Hybrid cloud, Cyber-Security, Application Platform and Hyper-converged infrastructure, all built upon the popular, solid foundation of Windows Server 2016.
So what does that all mean?
Hybrid cloud brings the management of servers across on-premise and Azure together with the Server Manager first demonstrated at Ignite in September 2017.
| Code named Project Honolulu the console provides easy integration to Azure services (such as backup) without disrupting applications or infrastructure. Check more here. |  |
Cyber-Security takes on three themes of Protect, Detect and Respond, with the introduction of Shielded VM's to protect virtual machines from compromised or malicious administration, and Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection.
The Application Platform has improvements targeted at developers across Windows Server containers (including Kubernetes under beta) and Windows Subsystem on Linux that allows Linux containers to be run side-by-side with Windows containers.
And the Hyper-converged cloud solutions are designed for flexibility and scale to offer high performance, manageability and security as a fully-deployed configuration, all administered through the Server Manager.
From a licensing perspective Windows Server 2019 will follow the current per-core metric, and include full support for System Server clients (also to release as a 2019 edition).
If you'd like to see more you can access the preview build via Microsoft's excellent Insiders program which just requires a simple registration - access it here or if you'd just like some more information you can just check out the Release Notes.
Hard to believe 2019 is not too far away already ...
While these three little snippets might not seem particularly sensational they are worth noting precisely for that reason - they are likely lurking in the background, ready to cost you money when you least need it!
| 1. IBM License Management Tool (ILMT) |  |
OK, so we all know that under the IBM sub-capacity rules we must produce a report from ILMT every quarter right? And we know that we must sign and date that record, and keep them all as an artefact that may be required during any audit too, right?
All good, then the tip:
All good, then the tip:
Make sure you have configured ILMT correctly and fully for VM Management.
What's so important about VM Management in ILMT? If not properly configured it will default to 120 PVUs per core, so you could be over-reporting without being aware. How can you tell if its configured? Firstly, it shows a status on the Dashboard, and secondly, if not configured servers will be displayed with a serial-like number beginning with 'TLM_VM' or similar.
If you need more information on how to configure just look here.
| 2. Microsoft Subscription Licensing. |  |
Microsoft in many ways have led the industry in a shift to SaaS offerings backed by subscription based licensing. While this may appear to have a favourable ROI initially, there are other Time-Value commercial components to consider.
Firstly, you need to be aware that your licensing is now not only visible but manageable real-time by Microsoft. So from a commercial perspective there is now no locked-in pricing for the typical 3 year term of an Enterprise Agreement, instead you will see price increases built-in year on year in your CPS. And more so, there is no 'True-Up' benefit whereby you would pay essentially half the cost in the year in which you deployed the product - you now 'reserve' the additional licenses you need to be drawn down, and you start paying from that month onwards.
The tip?
The tip?
Make sure you consider TVM with subscription changes in your ROI / Cost Comparisons.
And the last tip for 2017 ... a favourite topic here at Software Compliance ... processor to core conversion.
| 3. No 'unpacking' of Core Licenses So a quick tally of the number of core licenses across your Windows Server fleet divided by 16 gives you your number of 16 Pack licenses required right? |  |
Wrong! ... A license pack is applied to a server, so where you have say a 12 Core server you need to assign 6 x 2 Core packs - you can't assign 12 from your 16 Core pack, and then apply the other 4 elsewhere. A nasty - and potentially expensive error - if not properly considered in determining your conversion.
And so ends 2017 ... we look forward to a busy and productive 2018 for us all!
Gone are the more simplistic days of Microsoft Per Processor licensing when there was a basic assignment of a single license to a processor, unlimited use and access, all available across multiple editions of software. Indeed, Microsoft were touting per processor as a major point of difference looking back to even SQL Server 2008, going as far as to claim ‘thought leadership’ when it came to competitor licensing models aligned to multicore processors.
From 2016 though (and noting the GA of SQL Server 2017 from October 2017), following their conformance and gradual demise of the processor metric, there are now primarily three Per Core licensing models:
So let’s take a look at 2 more common server products afflicted by this change, SQL Server under (1) and Windows Server under (2) – and if you are intending to use Self-Hosting or SPLA rights note that there are further considerations not covered here, the context of this blog contained to licensing acquired under Microsoft’s Volume Licensing offerings (refer: Microsoft Commercial Licensing)
From 2016 though (and noting the GA of SQL Server 2017 from October 2017), following their conformance and gradual demise of the processor metric, there are now primarily three Per Core licensing models:
- The Per Core model used by SQL Server and BizTalk Server;
- The Per Core/CAL licensing model used by Windows Server (Standard and Datacenter edition) following the release of Windows Server 2016;
- The Management Servers (core-based) licensing model used by System Center (Standard and Datacenter edition) following the release of System Center 2016.
So let’s take a look at 2 more common server products afflicted by this change, SQL Server under (1) and Windows Server under (2) – and if you are intending to use Self-Hosting or SPLA rights note that there are further considerations not covered here, the context of this blog contained to licensing acquired under Microsoft’s Volume Licensing offerings (refer: Microsoft Commercial Licensing)
SQL Server 2016
With SQL Server 2016 Per Core licensing, each server running software or any of its components (such as Reporting Services or Integration Services) must be assigned an appropriate number of SQL Server 2016 core licenses. The number of core licenses needed depends on whether you are licensing the physical server or individual virtual operating system environments (OSEs), across either edition.
With SQL Server 2016 Per Core licensing, each server running software or any of its components (such as Reporting Services or Integration Services) must be assigned an appropriate number of SQL Server 2016 core licenses. The number of core licenses needed depends on whether you are licensing the physical server or individual virtual operating system environments (OSEs), across either edition.
Unlike the Server+CAL licensing model, the Per Core model allows access for an unlimited number of users or devices to connect from either inside or outside an organisation’s firewall. With the Per Core model, you do not need to purchase client access licenses (CALs) to access the SQL Server software.
When running SQL Server in a physical OSE, all physical cores on the server must be licensed, noting software partitioning does not reduce the number of core licenses required except when licensing individual virtual machines (VMs). A minimum of four core licenses are required for each physical processor on the server, with the use of hyper-threading not affecting the number of core licenses required when running in a physical OSE, only those licensed under individual virtual machines (which are still subject to the four core minimum).
So with the basics understood you’ll then want to familiarise with what you gain with the addition of a Software Assurance subscription…
Key SQL Server SA Benefits
- License Mobility: If you are deploying to a server farm with technology such as VMware’s vMotion you’ll need SA for license mobility, now extended to cloud providers that are Microsoft Authorised Mobility Partners;
- Unlimited VMs: don’t be mistaken by the ‘Enterprise’ license denotation – without SA you can only run up a maximum number of VMs (with unlimited vCores) equal to the number of core licenses assigned to the server, and without SA that means having to buy more licenses should you exceed the maximum;
- Failover Rights: A secondary server used for failover support does not need to be separately licensed for SQL Server as long as it is passive (ie. not serving data, such as reports to clients running active SQL Server workloads, nor performing any “work”, such as additional backups being made from secondary servers) and the primary SQL Server is covered with active SA, noting the licenses must cover the higher number of associated server cores in the HA coupling.
And be cautious – the components of a SQL Server license cannot be separated. While management tools and other software identified as additional or supplemental software such as product documentation, client connectivity tools, software add-ins, and Software Development Kits (SDKs) can generally be distributed and run on any number of devices for use with a licensed instance of SQL Server software, other licensed components such as the SQL Server Database Engine (DB), SQL Server Services for Windows, Master Data Services (MDS), Analysis Services (AS), Integration Services (IS), Reporting Services (RS), and Data Quality Services (DQS) will require licensing if deployed to other servers. You can find more details of the components at: SQL Server Software Components
And for Non-Production: Effective April 1, 2016, SQL Server Developer Edition became a free product, available for download from the Microsoft Dev Essentials program as a potential alternative to the likes of a Visual Studio subscription. SQL Server 2016 Developer Edition is a fully featured version of SQL Server software—including all of the features and capabilities of Enterprise Edition--licensed for development, test, and demonstration purposes only.
Windows Server 2016
For both Standard and Datacenter editions, the number of core licenses required equals the number of physical cores on the licensed server, subject to a minimum of 8 core licenses per physical processor and a minimum of 16 core licenses per server (sold in 2-Core and 16-Core packs).
For both Standard and Datacenter editions, the number of core licenses required equals the number of physical cores on the licensed server, subject to a minimum of 8 core licenses per physical processor and a minimum of 16 core licenses per server (sold in 2-Core and 16-Core packs).
Which means being very careful when you tally your overall requirement – make sure you account for the 16-Core per server minimum across any single CPU servers you might have in your inventory where you might otherwise under-allocate (where <16).
And the differences in the editions?
- Standard: When all cores on the server are licensed (subject to the minimums), you can deploy two OSEs or two Hyper-V containers and unlimited Windows Server containers.
- Datacenter: When all cores on the server are licensed (subject to the minimums) you can deploy unlimited OSEs, Hyper-V containers, and Windows Server containers.
(and if you're looking for a definition of containers, look no further - go here)
So, To Finish …
Bear in mind that in both cases you will still need to account for the CAL requirements if necessary (and remember to count all direct and indirect users/devices, ie. no multiplexing), typically via the likes of a Core CAL Suite or equivalent, which as an example provides the following licenses:
Noting that the likes of SQL Server CALs and Dynamics/CRM CALs must be acquired separately.
- Windows Server CAL
- SharePoint Server Standard CAL
- Exchange Server Standard CAL
- System Center Configuration Manager Client Management License
- System Center Endpoint Protection Client Management License
- Skype for Business Server Standard CAL
Noting that the likes of SQL Server CALs and Dynamics/CRM CALs must be acquired separately.
Microsoft have provided a very helpful Licensing Brief across Core Licensing that I would also recommend reading for more information.
Well the New Year is now in-play and completing a major Year-2 True-Up for a large Microsoft Enterprise Agreement provided a prompt to refresh on the Windows Server 2016 conversion prior to those nasty renewals that come around so soon.
Much like the SQL Server 2014 migration the Windows Server 2016 shift (which started from October 2016) presents an opportunity for customers with active SA to transition their processor based licenses to core based ensuring coverage is gained across the full physical cores in their environment.
Essentially, where you have a ‘server density’ of 8 cores or less per processor and 16 cores or less per server a full license grant is assumed – there is no need to record your environment as you’ll get the full complement of licenses by default.
If however your server density is higher there’s some work to be done! You’ll need to ensure your entire Windows Server landscape is inventoried and formally documented ready for the expiration of your current SA, at which point you’ll only pay the additional SA, not additional licenses. But if you are not prepared and time gets away on you there’s potentially significant cost down the track as those uncounted cores come to light (the dreaded audit perhaps), so it pays to get organised and active way before your renewal date.
And as a postscript - if you're using subscription licenses be aware that although you can vary down at anniversary, if you varied up at any time during the year - well that applies from the date of install.
Much like the SQL Server 2014 migration the Windows Server 2016 shift (which started from October 2016) presents an opportunity for customers with active SA to transition their processor based licenses to core based ensuring coverage is gained across the full physical cores in their environment.
Essentially, where you have a ‘server density’ of 8 cores or less per processor and 16 cores or less per server a full license grant is assumed – there is no need to record your environment as you’ll get the full complement of licenses by default.
If however your server density is higher there’s some work to be done! You’ll need to ensure your entire Windows Server landscape is inventoried and formally documented ready for the expiration of your current SA, at which point you’ll only pay the additional SA, not additional licenses. But if you are not prepared and time gets away on you there’s potentially significant cost down the track as those uncounted cores come to light (the dreaded audit perhaps), so it pays to get organised and active way before your renewal date.
And as a postscript - if you're using subscription licenses be aware that although you can vary down at anniversary, if you varied up at any time during the year - well that applies from the date of install.