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Robert_M
Contributor
Contributor
‎06-05-2008 11:19 PM

MS Licensing question - 2000 SBS running on VMWare Server

I recently p2v'd a Windows 2000 SBS server because it was running on hardware that was about to die. For the last few days, the server has been happily running on VMWare Server on a Windows XP workstation. This has given me the the breathing room to put some thought into what type of server and OS to recommend to replace it.

The fact that the server is running on an XP box and the users haven't noticed any difference (small environment, light use on server) has me thinking that I could just recommend a new server with W2K3 STD on it, install VMWare server and continue to run the SBS server. This could save the company some $$$ in license(s) and CALs. It also would be easier to keep their existing domain alive, rather than migrate them to a new domain.

My diliemma is this: I don't have any idea if this is legal by MS's standards. (Note: the SBS COA on the old Dell server does not say OEM on it.)

Any licensing gurus out there??

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2 Replies
EllettIT
Enthusiast
Enthusiast
‎06-06-2008 01:09 PM

In my experience you'd get a different answer each time you asked the question of MS, is there anybody that really understands MS licensing? Smiley Happy All joking aside in answer to your question I'm not sure, chances are they would want you to re-license the OS since it's on a different box. However it the certificate doesn't state "OEM" (were they doing that with 2000?) I would think you'd be ok as long as it wasn't running on 2 box's at the same time. Just don't say I told you so when they start asking Smiley Happy

Just a thought, if you're somewhat comfortabe with Linux you could purchase a server with Linux on it (if you're buying Dell I think they sell them pre-bundled with Redhat or SUSE) to save a little $ the install VMware Server on it and run your 2000 SBS server from there. Might be more work than it's worth for the money you would save however...

Robert_M
Contributor
Contributor
‎01-20-2009 08:36 AM

Open the SBS Administrator Console, then on the right side click "About."

On this server, the product ID is:

XXXXX-OEM-XXXXXXX-XXXXX

So clearly this is an OEM license even tho the sticker doesn't say it.

So what I did was purchased 2003 SBS (Open Licensing) with the appropriate CALs and we are continuing to use the 2000 SBS.

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