I'm trying to set up four virtual servers: two will be domain controllers/print file servers with 4 cores each, and the other two will be for ERP and RDP with 12 cores each. I want to run all of this on a single physical server, ideally with two 16-core CPUs. My main question is about licensing: can I just get two Windows Server 2022 Standard licenses to cover this setup? I believe that would let me manage 4 operating systems and cover the total of 32 cores I plan to use. Am I on the right track?
4 Answers
What kind of processor does your server have? You'll need to make sure to cover all cores, Windows VMs, and CALs as part of your licensing. Have you decided on hardware yet?
You can buy what you want, but keep in mind that to comply with licensing rules, you have to license all cores on the host, not just the ones you want for your VMs. So, even if you're only running one VM, you'll need to license all the cores. Just for your setup, using one server with two 16-core CPUs gives you the potential to run two VMs with that configuration. I often check my calculations at HPE’s licensing site for a bit of reassurance before I commit to buying.
From my understanding, you need to license every core on the server for each license you get. Given your dual 16-core setup, you're looking at needing to license all 32 cores just for the two VMs, which means you'd need licenses for a total of 64 cores to fully support them. Also, running domain controllers alongside file and print services isn't generally recommended due to performance concerns.
That’s an interesting perspective! But maybe consider that every environment is unique. What works for one might not work for another.
I haven’t ordered anything yet; I'm trying to gather all the info first. I could either go for one dual-processor server or two single processors, but licensing with Microsoft seems to complicate things since they charge per core. If I use Proxmox as the hypervisor, how does that affect licensing?
I really don’t get the math here. And honestly, running a DC with file servers has been fine for me. I've done it for years, and there's no official guideline against it. The major issues in virtual environments usually come from disk I/O-intensive applications.