Windows Server 2012 R2 License Concerns

Hi,
Good day.
This is my first post, hopefully I am in the right forum to ask.
I have recently transferred to a new job on a new company. There would be various projects also endorsed. One of them are upgrading of legacy IBM servers OS. They have already bought the latest Windows Server OS which is Windows Server 2012 R2 version.
But during the transition the upgrade of OS was given to me, during the upgrade of IBM x346 server there were multiple issues raised (RAID drivers for x64). I was only able to install Windows 2012 Standard version, but our license only have Windows Server 2012
R2.
Can I use the license of Windows Server 2012 R2 to Windows Server 2012? I do understand we have downgrade rights from Win2k12R2 to various OS like 2k8, 2k12 or 2k8 R2. But this is not a downgrade process. Can I simply input the product key to activate Windows
Server 2012 with Windows Server 2012 R2?
Hope you understand my question. Thank you.

Can I use the license of Windows Server 2012 R2 to Windows Server 2012? I do understand we have downgrade rights from Win2k12R2 to various OS like 2k8, 2k12 or 2k8 R2. But this is not a downgrade process. Can I simply input the product key to activate Windows
Server 2012 with Windows Server 2012 R2?
If you have purchased the license for WS2012R2, but wish to install WS2012, this is considered a "downgrade" of the license, and, this is usually a permitted entitlement. (it is not necessary to perform the technical installation of WS2012R2 and
then technically install WS2012 - it is permitted to "clean-install" WS2012)
To exercise this "downgrade right", confirm your entitlement to do so, and the entitled version/edition (via your licensing agreement).
You will then need to acquire the installation media for the desired version/edition, and also, acquire the specific license product key to do so.
You can acquire the relevant product key by telephoning Microsoft Product Activation Centre, and explain your scenario, that you wish to exercise your "downgrade rights" - you will be provided with a one-time-use Product Key for this purpose.
Or, have I misunderstood your question?
Don
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Download the trial version from here -
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VMs per Windows Server 2012 Std License?

Hello All,
Can anybody help me please? I have a question in Windows Server 2012 Std License.
1. If I have 2 Windows 2012 STD Licenses ( 2 CPUs) howmany VMs ( Windows 2012 Server OS installed) can I have on the same Physical Server?
2. Can we assign more than 1 license to a host?
3. If the limit is 4 VMs( 4 Windows server 2012 Std VMs) can we have more/other VMs ( like Linux) in-addition to 4 eligible VMs?
Thanks in advance,
Sudhir

In the Hyper-V world, virtual machines are not licensed. Microsoft does not require that you purchase a license for a virtual machine, ever.
Microsoft does require that you purchase a license in order to run a virtual instance of Windows, always. So, if you have 3 virtual instances of Windows Server Standard, then you need to purchase two Windows Server Standard licenses for the host, because
each license allows for up to two virtual instances of Windows Server Standard.
Since Microsoft does not require that you purchase a license for a virtual machine, they will not charge you to run non-Microsoft operating systems inside them. Whether or not you have to pay for a Linux virtual instance is entirely dependent
upon the licensing of that Linux distribution. Any checks you write for them wouldn't be to Microsoft, though.
This means that, yes, you can legally run an unlimited number of Linux guests on Hyper-V without paying additional licensing fees to Microsoft. If you are using Hyper-V Server and have no Windows guests, you won't pay Microsoft anything. If you are using
Windows Server with Hyper-V and have no Windows guests, then you have to pay for a single host license but you won't pay Microsoft anything else.
In the scenario that you presented, the necessary Microsoft licensing for a dual-core host with WS12-Std installed, 3 WS12-Std guests, and any number of Linux guests will be covered by two WS12-Std licenses. You have one leftover WS12-Std instance that
you can legally run on that host.
Eric Siron
Altaro Hyper-V Blog
I am an independent blog contributor, not an Altaro employee. I am solely responsible for the content of my posts.

Windows Server 2012 Standard License and VMs

Hi,
With one Window server 2012 Standard activated license, I will get 2 VMs. So is there a limit with Windows Server 2012 standard license I can stack and the the number of VMs I can create on one server or across servers (virtual environment). Consider that
all Windows server 2012 standard licenses are activated. If there is no limit on VM creation by add Standard license then why did Microsoft come with Data center licenses with unlimited VMs.
How does the standard license work on Vmware environment. Is there a limit on the number for VMs that we can create.
Please advise me.
Thanks.

If i had one server 2012 standard with its key, i could run it as a vm but not as a virtual host without having the license right?
a single WS2012STD license, allows you to run a server machine (hardware), if that hardware has no more than 2 processors. In this case, you can run 2 VMs, each VM is running WS2012STD. You can also run WS2012STD as the host hypervisor via Hyper-V.
So, that's really 3 OS installations, on the same 2proc machine. The limitation is that the host hypervisor OS is only permitted to do Hyper-V stuff, it's not permitted to use that OS for anything other than hypervisor functions.
If you implement in this way, you would only have purchased a single license for WS2012STD, so you would only have a single key, so you would use that key for the 3 OS installations.
If i bought the single server 2012 standard license, i'd be able to install it as a Host and activate with the key and it'd give me rights to run 2vms on it and for those vms i would have to have 2 keys to activate after installing server 2012 standart
software on them right?
see above.
if you buy via Volume Licensing, things change a little bit due to MAK/KMS keys (it gets a whole lot simpler :)
Sorry for being unclear on the clusters part, i meant HA/failover. we have 2 2008R2 enterprise servers in cluster with shared storage and i was trying to clarify how could i add more vms there.
assuming your failover solution involves traditional server hardware, each failover node is just another hardware machine, so, for each node you have to count up the procs and VMs, just as you would do for non-failover implementations.
if a server is installed and running/executing, it needs to be licensed.
with current configuration, each server is hosting 2vms and if anything happens single host can accommodate all four. I am assuming we have 2 enterprise licenses for them, but if i wanted to run 4vms on each host, we have to buy 2 more enterprise licenses
and install vm togerther with their keys?
There is no Enterprise for WS2012? (WS2012 has STD and DCE)
do you mean as in WS2008R2ENT ?
You can re-assign licenses from one machine to another machine (under the Volume Licensing terms. I'm not sure about Retail terms, you should check that). There are limitations on how often you can reassign licenses (no more than every 90days)
If hardware "fails", you are allowed to reassign the license in a shorter period than 90days.
Don
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This helps the community, keeps the forums tidy, and recognises useful contributions. Thanks!)

Windows Server 2012 The licensing mode for the Remote Desktop Session Host server is not configured

Hi
I have a standard Windows Server 2012 that is hosted in the cloud by a hosting provider -
This server has been up and running fir 6 months - recently we have been getting a warning
"The licensing mode for the Remote Desktop Session Host server is not configured" - The Remote Desktop Session Host server is within its grace period, but the RD Session Host server has not been configured with any license server.
Yet, we only use this with 2 connections as part of the standard licence agreement and this server is not used as a user's desktop only an ftp and web server- do therefore we do not need to purchase any cal licences (we have another server with the same
hosting company that does not have this issue and has been up for 18months)
Please can someone advise how I resolve this issue, the hosting company states that I must resolve it as they only host and resell the server licence
Thank-you
Richard Steele

Hi Richard,
You need to uninstall Remote desktop session host feature. After removing it, you will default two connections which does not need to purchase RD CALs'.
Thanks,
Umesh.S.K

Server 2012 Standard license and VM license for windows instances

Hi,
A question about VM instances on standard server 2012 license exists here
I cannot link it here as my account is not verified. The topic is titled "Windows Server 2012 Standard License and VMs"
My question is tad different...
If I understand this correctly, 1 windows server standard license provides support for 1 Physical Operating System Environment (The VM Host / POSE) and permission to run 2 Virtual Operating System Environment(VOSE).
Does this imply that I can install 2 additional instances of Windows Server 2012 Standard Edition on the permitted 2 VM instances on the server? Or... should I purchase additional licenses for each VOSE that runs windows?
Does the standard license provide rights to run 2 Virtual instances AND offer install and activation rights for 2 MS windows (virtual) environments AND install and activation rights for the windows host?
If license is require for each instance of server 2012 running on the VM ... can I avoid purchasing additional licenses for operating systems, say, if I run 2 Centos operating system instances in 2 VOSE?
Please help!
Thanks.

Licensing questions should be asked of a trained Microsoft licensing specialist. I haven't seen one of those lurking in this forum. www.microsoft.com/licensing.
That said, licenses are assigned to the physical host, not to VMs. The License you assign to the host grants you the "right to run" addition virtual operating system environments running Windows Server. It does not grant you additional licenses.
Licensing for Microsoft Windows Server operating system is controlled by Microsoft. Licensing for any other operating system is not covered by the virtualization rights of the Windows Server operating system. Therefore, if the CentOS virtual machines
are properly licensed by whoever licenses them, you can run however many instances that license allows.
A single Standard Edition license can be installed on the physical host granting you the right to run up to two virtual instances of Standard Edition. However, if you run additional services, such as file services or Active Directory or IIS, etc.,
on the physical instance, that means you can only run one additional virtual instance of Windows Server.
Free advice is worth every cent.
.:|:.:|:. tim

Windows server 2012 Standard Edition Licensing

We have SPLA aggrement with MS.
I know, can use two physical processors with Windows server 2012 Standard Edition.
If i am planning to install Windows server 2012 Standard Edition in a virtual environment, lets say it has four cores, then how many licenses we need to buy for this ? Is it like each core has been considered as an separate processor in virtual environment
for Windows server 2012 Standard Edition licensing ?
Thanks,
Amit.

We have SPLA aggrement with MS.
I know, can use two physical processors with Windows server 2012 Standard Edition.
If i am planning to install Windows server 2012 Standard Edition in a virtual environment, lets say it has four cores, then how many licenses we need to buy for this ? Is it like each core has been considered as an separate processor in virtual environment
for Windows server 2012 Standard Edition licensing ?
Note that some information will be different for SPLA (so, check the SPUR to ensure you are in correct compliance).
http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/licensing-options/spla-program.aspx
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(if the information provided, clearly states that "this applies to all Volume Licensing programs", this also applies to SPLA, unless SPUR states differently)
(contact your reseller/partner/advisor, or MSFT VL team if you are unsure)
Windows Server 2012 R2 FAQ
http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/windowsserver2012-r2.aspx#tab=4
Windows Server 2012 R2 Licensing Guide
http://download.microsoft.com/download/E/6/4/E64F72BF-55E9-4D85-9EFE-39605D7CE272/WindowsServer2012R2_Licensing_Guide.pdf
Licensing Brief - Licensing Windows Server 2012 R2 for Use with Virtualization Technologies
http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/briefs/win2008-virtual.aspx
Licensing Brief - Licensing Microsoft Server Products for Use in Virtual Environments
http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/briefs/virtual-licensing.aspx
Don
(Please take a moment to "Vote as Helpful" and/or "Mark as Answer", where applicable.
This helps the community, keeps the forums tidy, and recognises useful contributions. Thanks!)

Downgrade Windows Server 2012 License to WIndows Server 2008 R2

Hi all,
I'm looking to downgrade a windows server 2012 open license to windows server 2008 r2.
Thing is i do not have an existing windows server 2008 r2 VLK.
Can anyone confirm that this downgrade is possible, as clearinghouse is not helping by telling me that i can't buy windows server 2008 r2 licenses

Clearinghouse is right in stating you can't buy Windows Server 2008 R2
licenses anymore.
You'll need a Windows Server 2008 R2 disk kit and product key. They'll sell those to you, since you already own a license that allows you to install and use the software as part of your Windows Server 2012 license.

Where do I download a Windows Server 2012 R2 .iso from, for use with Hyper-v?

Hello,
Where do I download a Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard .iso from, for use with Hyper-v?
The only official download I can find is the evaluation version from here:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-server-2012-r2
Is it recommended to use the evaluation version and then license it to make it a full version, or is there a better official download?
Thanks
Paul

Hi Brian,
I don't personally have an MSDN subscription.
So using the evaluation versions is ok?
With a Windows Server 2012 R2 license, you can have two
Windows Server 2012 R2 virtual
machines, so I assume I can turn evaluation version VMs into full fledged servers?
Thanks
Paul
How did you acquire a Server 2012 R2 license without any installation media? Can you get the installation media from the same source? How did you install 2012 R2 on the host?
Bill

Server 2012 key activation for VMs that run on Server 2012 OEM license

Hi
My customer purchase a Dell Server with pre-install OEM Windows Server 2012 standard license, he created 2 VM and attempt to use key provided with physical host. It was fail with error message of 'Key is invalid'. Does customer need to obtain another
key for VM from Microsoft or Dell need to provide this?
thank you

Hi,
OEM key will not be recognized when trying to install a new system as it is not the standard format (25 bytes). As it is an OEM system you should suggest your customer to contact Dell for further help.
TechNet Subscriber Support in forum |If you have any feedback on our support, please contact [email protected]

Shared Computer Licensing on Windows Server 2012 R2

Hello All,
I've installed Office 365 onto our Windows Server 2012 R2 server. Everything went through fine. I used the following configuration file:
<Configuration>
<Add SourcePath="location it's saved" OfficeClientEdition="32">
    <Product ID="O365ProPlusRetail">
      <Language ID="en-us" />
<ExcludeApp ID="Access" />
<ExcludeApp ID="Groove" />
<ExcludeApp ID="InfoPath" />
<ExcludeApp ID="Lync" />
<ExcludeApp ID="Project" />
<ExcludeApp ID="SharePointDesigner" />
<ExcludeApp ID="Visio" />
    </Product>
</Add>
<Updates Enabled="True" UpdatePath="\place that it is located" />
<Display Level="Full" AcceptEULA="TRUE" />
<Logging Level="Standard" Path="%temp%" />
<Property Name="SHAREDCOMPUTERLICENSING" Value="1" />
</Configuration>
After the installation I am able to access Word 2013, etc. Once I log off of the server, and go back on I am no longer able to access Word 2013, etc. I am getting the following error:
"Sorry we are having some temporary server issues" And it loops if you click try again. Click on cancel, and we get "Microsoft Office can't find your license for this application. A repair was unsuccessful, or was cancelled. Microsoft
Office will now exit."
I've checked the registry at HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\15.0\ClickToRun\Configuration
and it is there. No files were in %localappdata%\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Licensing.

Hi,
It seems to me that Office was trying to connect to the Internet for licensing, but somehow cannot connect to the server.
The error "Sorry we are having some temporary server issues" is vague, the most likely cause of the error is blockage of access to certain ports. Please first check if your firewall setting/antivirus program is blocking any Office 365 IP addresses
or ports:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh373144.aspx
Some users also reported that they were able to get rid of this by switching to a different network connection, so probably you might also want to have a try.
Hope this helps, please feel free to post back with any findings.
Regards,
Ethan Hua
TechNet Community Support
It's recommended to download and install
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REMOTE DESKTOP SERVICES CLIENT ACCESS LICENSES FOR MICROSOFT WINDOWS SERVER 2012 STANDARD AND DATACENTER

I am using a window 7 professional service pack 1 and I purchase REMOTE DESKTOP SERVICES CLIENT ACCESS LICENSES FOR MICROSOFT WINDOWS SERVER 2012 STANDARD AND DATACENTER. but the seller did not send me any installation CD or instruction
on how to use it.
Please how can I use it on my window 7 professional service pack 1.
Thank you.

Though Bill is absolutely correct for most CALs, Remote Desktop Services does have its own special licensing server. I haven't installed one on 2012, yet, but here is a step-by-step guide for 2008.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd983943(v=ws.10).aspx
Here is a lab guide for 2012 -
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj134160.aspx
But, the explanation of your environment begs the question - what are you trying to do? You say you have a desktop OS and you are talking about Windows Server products. In that light, your question does not make a lot of sense.
. : | : . : | : . tim

Windows Server 2012 Used: Error Message from Windows 7 PC: Remote session was disconnected because there are no remote desktop license servers available to provide a license. Please contact the server administrator.

We are using Windows Server 2012 Standard installed in VMWare / Virtual machine and to access this we use vSphere client and Remote Desktop Connection / service was already enabled and was working fine with User PCs / laptops remote desktop into the server
2012, until it gave an error message of: Remote session was disconnected because there are no remote desktop license servers available to provide a license. Please contact the server administrator. whilst logging into the server.
We DON'T use Active Directory nor and we don't use domain and not looking to use it any-time soon.
I checked the RD Licensing Diagnoser and it says the grace period has expired and the licensing mode for the remote desktop session host server is not configured. I have checked the Remote Desktop Gateway has been stopped and I tried to start it and it
resumed to stop, here I assume its where the licensing part comes in to re-enabled this.
I have been trying to follow these articles online: http://ryanmangansitblog.com/2013/03/27/deploying-remote-desktop-gateway-rds-2012/ and http://www.concurrency.com/blog/rds8-add-a-licensing-server-2/#Install the overview part that I cannot get into,
because I think we have to be is AD DS for this which we don't. Is there a way around this for non domain / just standalone set-up? Is it a must / requirement we need to be in a domain in order for Remote Desktop Connection to work?
Also, we have a Windows Server 2012 RDS CALs - 10 (software and licence key), will the licence key work for the Windows 2012 Server Standard? We do not want to install the other Server mentioned which comes with CAL / licence key as its time consuming
to reinstall other programs. I have installed Server role service of Remote Desktop Licencing and automatically installed other associated services needed. in the RD Licencing Manager, the Server had a red cross and I "Activate Server"
where I followed: http://www.concurrency.com/blog/rds8-add-a-licensing-server-2/#Install in Install Licences section and I have used the licence key of CAL - 10 mentioned above; it stated I have successfully completed the install licences wizard and displayed:
10 Windows Server 2012 - RDS Per User CAL installed, and in the RD Licensing Manager the server turned into a green tick and added the licence.
I then tested the Remote desktop connection from my PC and the same error message was there and checked the RD Licensing Diagnoser and the same error messages was there. I haven't restart the services of Remote Gateway / the server itself; do I really
need to reboot server?
Any advice / guidance would be very much appreciated and this is a urgent matter.
Thank you for your time.

Hotfix Released here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2916846

Windows server 2012 Data Center with VDI configuration error message ( The remote session was disconnected because there are no remote desktop license servers available)

Dears,
I have two windows server 2012 Data Center and I configured (Virtual Desktop Interface)VDI on it's.
All my clients connected on both of servers by used Remote Desktop sessions ,5 months since.
Currently,when the clients is connected on the both of servers they received the following error:
"The remote session was disconnected because there are no remote desktop license servers available to provide license"
Kindly note, I installed windows Licenses Server Data Center on the both of servers.
Regards.

Hi,
Please let us know if you have purchased RDS CALs and install it in your RD licensing server.
Also, on RD Session host servers, please make sure that you have specified the license mode and point them to the RD licensing server.
Remote Desktop Services Client Access Licenses (RDS CALs)
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753650.aspx
RD Licensing Configuration on Windows Server 2012
http://blogs.technet.com/b/askperf/archive/2013/09/20/rd-licensing-configuration-on-windows-server-2012.aspx
Hope this helps.
Jeremy Wu
TechNet Community Support

Windows Server 2012 Foundation, in a Workgroup - "The server did not finish checking the license compliance. If the server is joined to a domain, make sure that the server can connect to a domain controller"...

Every few days we see two dialogs with the following messages:
Dialog 1, title: Check for Licensing Compliance is Incomplete
The server did not finish checking the license compliance. If the server is joined to a domain, make sure that the server can connect to a domain controller.
Dialog 2, title: Check for Licensing Compliance is Incomplete
The server did not finish checking the license compliance. If the server is joined to a domain, make sure that the server can connect to a domain controller. If the license compliance check cannot be completed, the server will automatically shut
down in 8 day(s) 23 hour(s) 0 minute(s).
The server is not (and never has been) joined to a domain or had any DC roles installed. In fact its still connected to the default Workgroup.
The server was configured in our office and never showed this message until it was installed on site. The main difference from what I can see is that when installed on site it was given a static IP address and does not have any DNS settings in the network
adapter properties.
I have scoured a number of forums on this error but in almost every other instance of this error message the servers are connected to a Domain Controller and the solutions generally are linked to dis-joining and rejoining the domain. Unfortunately this is
not an option for this scenario.
I initially thought that adding some relevant DNS server IP address may resolve the issue, however, we have the exact same model server configured exactly the same running at a different site that does not experience this problem. This server also has no
DNS server configured.
I have seen a post that suggests turning off the servers "Foundation Checking", but I'm unsure how to do this.

Thanks for your response Vivian.
I can confirm that this server is not (and never has been) a member of any active directory, it is configured as a Workgroup server. It was initially configured on a network that does have an active directory, but was never joined to it. During that time it
never displayed these messages.
The server was moved into production on a different site and network and setup with a static IP address.The site network does have its own active directory but the server was not joined to it. It is whilst on this new network that these messages began.
Since my original post DNS servers have been added and the Microsoft activation has been verified, however, the messages are still appearing.
There are only 2 user accounts configured on this server. The local admin account and another local admin user.
The remote desktop services roles have been installed but not yet configured. I don't think that has any bearing on this scenario though.
The description of this error in the above "Introduction to Windows Server 2012 Foundation" link states:
This error occurs when the server cannot finish checking the requirements for the root domain, forest trust configuration, or both. It usually happens when the server cannot connect to a domain controller. If the situation persists, the server will
shut down 10 days after the first time the compliance check failed. Each time this error message occurs, it will state the actual time remaining before the server will shut down. If you restart the server after it has shut down because of non-compliance, the
server will shut itself down again in 3 days.
The above description leads me to the following question - In a Workgroup environment, does the server still try to contact a domain controller to establish a level of trust? If this is the case could it be that the server can no longer see the initial DC
on its new network and this is what is triggering the messages?
Am I clutching at straws here?

Windows Server 2012 R2 License Concerns

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