SPLA 2012 R2; Cloud Platfrom Suite

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1 SPLA 2012 R2; Cloud Platfrom Suite Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Table of Contents WINDOWS SERVER 2012 R Q1. What are some of the features available in Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter and Standard editions?... 2 Q2. What are the price changes that are happening in SPLA and when will they be published?... 2 Q3. Why is Microsoft increasing the price of Windows Server Datacenter Edition?... 2 Q4. Why is Microsoft changing the price for Windows Server Standard edition in SPLA?... 3 WINDOWS SERVER 2012 R2 REMOTE DESKTOP SERVICES (RDS)... 3 Q5. Why is Microsoft changing the price of RDS in SPLA?... 3 Q6. I have licensing questions on existing products that I can t find the answers to in the available documents. Who can I reach out to?... 4 CLOUD PLATFORM SUITE... 4 Q7. What is the Cloud Platform Suite?... 4 Q8. Why should I run the Cloud Platform Suite?... 4 Q9. How is the Cloud Platform Suite licensed?... 4 Q10. How do I get the bits for the Cloud Platform Suite?... 4 Q11. When will the Cloud Platform Suite be on the SPLA pricelist?... 4 Q12. What is the difference between the Microsoft Cloud Platform Suite and the Core Infrastructure Suite?... 5 Q13. Is there a minimum number of servers that I need to run the Microsoft Cloud Platform Suite?... 5 Q14. Can I run the Microsoft Cloud Platform Guest on a hypervisor other than a Microsoft Cloud Platform Suite running Windows Server 2012R2 and System Center 2012R2?... 5 Q15. Can I move my Microsoft Cloud Platform Guest from my on-premises Microsoft Cloud Platform fabric to a hoster s Microsoft Cloud Platform fabric?... 5 Q16. I have licensing questions on existing products that I can t find the answers to in the available documents. Who can I reach out to?... 5

2 Windows Server 2012 R2 Q1.What are some of the features available in Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter and Standard editions? There are a variety of new features in Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter and Standard editions. Here are just a few examples: Enterprise-class virtual machine density, performance and mobility with best-in-class performance and scale for Microsoft workloads High-performance file-based storage on cost-effective, industry-standard hardware with inbox storage virtualization and tiering Highly available, in-box hybrid networking for bridging physical and virtual networks in a multi-tenant environment and across premises Protection and recovery of assets for all your workloads with simple and affordable disaster recovery options Flexible remote access to corporate resources from virtually anywhere and any device while helping to protect corporate information Q2.What are the price* changes that are happening in SPLA and when will they be published? Microsoft will implement price changes in SPLA for the following products: Pricelist Availability Dates Product Name Jan Jan. 2015** Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter** + 38% +13% Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard no change +20% Core Infrastructure Server Suite Datacenter +23% +9% Core Infrastructure Server Suite Standard no change +9% Windows Server 2012 R2 Remote Desktop Services +20% no change System Center 2012 R2 Client Management Suite +49% no change System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager +49% no change *Microsoft will phase in Windows Server Datacenter 2012 R2 price changes in two steps. **For pricing, contact your SPLA Reseller Q3.Why is Microsoft increasing the price of Windows Server Datacenter Edition? Microsoft takes pricing and licensing decisions very seriously. All pricing decisions take into account changing product value, customer and partner feedback, and market conditions. Windows Server Datacenter edition is optimized for highly virtualized environments and includes unlimited virtualization rights. This provides flexibility to add 2

3 and move virtual OSEs across licensed servers without need to track the virtual OSE counts on your servers. Over the past few releases, Windows Server has added in a tremendous amount of new features and enhancements, as well as significant performance and capacity improvements, to support highly-virtualized datacenter and cloud environments. A few of these examples include: High scale performance enhancements including support for: 320 logical processors on hardware 4TB physical memory 64 virtual processors per VM 1TB memory per VM 1,024 active VMs per host Live migration enhancements including cross-version live migration, live migration compression, and live migration with RDMA. The ability to grow or shrink VHDXs with no downtime. Hyper-V Replica enhancements including tertiary site support and sync intervals as low as 30 seconds. And much more. Q4.Why is Microsoft changing the price for Windows Server Standard edition in SPLA? There are no changes to the prices of Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard Edition in January Standard Edition pricing will change in January The Windows Server Standard edition has all the innovations and capabilities of Windows Server Datacenter edition to support virtualization. Includes all the new 2012R2 capabilities for hosting partners. Windows Server 2012 R2 Remote Desktop Services (RDS) Q5. Why is Microsoft changing the price of RDS in SPLA? Microsoft has added significant features and functionalities in the latest product releases for Windows Server Remote Desktop Services. To name a few, we added WAN Support, flexible storage alternatives, single management user interface, single installer and touch capability in the Windows Server 2012 release. We will be adding the ability to dynamically add and remove monitors, improved RemoteApp behavior, quick reconnect and DX11.1 support, and improved codec performance in the 2012 R2 release. 3

4 Resources: To learn more about the product enhancements, please visit: Q6.I have licensing questions on existing products that I can t find the answers to in the available documents. Who can I reach out to? Partners: For general licensing questions, please contact your SPLA Reseller or the respective Account Manager. Cloud Platform Suite Q7.What is the Cloud Platform Suite? The Microsoft Cloud Platform Suite is a new licensing offer from Microsoft that will be available for Service Providers in the SPLA channel, starting January Q8.Why should I run the Cloud Platform Suite? The Cloud Platform Suite provides heterogeneous virtual guest environments with one management system across multiple server operating systems. The Cloud Platform Suite is the best option for highly virtualized servers running applications built on multiple server operating systems. Q9.How is the Cloud Platform Suite licensed? The Cloud Platform Suite is licensed in a Host plus Guest model. A customer will purchase a Microsoft Cloud Platform Suite license for the hardware to create the host fabric in which instances can run. This is considered the Host license. The customer will purchase individual Microsoft Cloud Platform Guest licenses for each of the virtual instances that it wants to run. A customer must license the highest number of virtual instances that it runs in a given month. The Cloud Platform Suite includes two SKUs: Host SKU: Includes Windows Server 2012 R2, System Center 2012 R2, and Windows Azure Pack, host capabilities and rights to manage all guests Guest SKU: Includes Windows Server 2012 R2 guest capabilities Partners will also have access to Service Templates for guidance on how to build their Microsoft Cloud Platform host fabric on their own hardware. Q10. How do I get the bits for the Cloud Platform Suite? The bits for Windows Server 2012 R2, System Center 2012 R2, and Windows Azure Pack will be available on the Volume License Service Center (VLSC). Q11. When will the Cloud Platform Suite be on the SPLA pricelist? 4

5 Cloud Platform Suite is expected to be on the SPLA pricelist in January Q12. What is the difference between the Microsoft Cloud Platform Suite and the Core Infrastructure Suite? There are two important differences between the Cloud Platform Suite and the Core Infrastructure Suite: Licensing Model: They have different licensing models. The Cloud Platform Suite brings a new Host and Guest licensing model. Environments: Both are ideal for highly virtualized servers, but while the Core Infrastructure Suite is ideal for managing a homogeneous environment of Windows Server workloads, the Cloud Platform Suite enables customers to manage a heterogeneous environment running multiple server operating systems. Q13. Is there a minimum number of servers that I need to run the Microsoft Cloud Platform Suite? Yes. A customer will need a minimum of 8 10 servers in order to operate a scalable cloud fabric. Q14. Can I run the Microsoft Cloud Platform Guest on a hypervisor other than a Microsoft Cloud Platform Suite running Windows Server 2012R2 and System Center 2012R2? No, the Microsoft Cloud Platform Guest can only be run on a Microsoft Cloud Platform host fabric; based on Windows Server 2012 R2 and System Center 2012 R2 or future versions. Q15. Can I move my Microsoft Cloud Platform Guest from my on-premises Microsoft Cloud Platform fabric to a hoster s Microsoft Cloud Platform fabric? Yes, you can move your Microsoft Cloud Platform Guest to any Microsoft Cloud Platform host fabric, even if it is in a third-party hosted environment. Q16. I am looking for pricing details for new offersin SPLA. Who can I reach out to? Microsot-designated SPLA resellers set final pricing in SPLA. Partners: For pricing in SPLA, contact your SPLA Reseller or the respective Account Manager. Q17. I have licensing questions on existing products that I can t find the answers to in the available documents. Who can I reach out to? Partners: For general licensing questions, please contact your SPLA Reseller or the respective Account Manager. 5

Services Provider License Agreement Cloud Platform Suite & Guest

Services Provider License Agreement Cloud Platform Suite & Guest Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Last modified February 2014 Table of Contents Q1. What is the Cloud Platform Suite?... 2 Q2. What is the