Microsoft provides many options for standing up a virtualization platform with Hyper-V. There are a variety of options organizations can use to provision virtualized environments based on Hyper-V. However, like most enterprise software, Hyper-V requires licensing, which can differ depending on your solution for building your Hyper-V infrastructure. This post will consider Hyper-V licensing for beginners and the options available, including on-premises and cloud licensing.
Hyper-V Licensing Options
In general, there are three licenses you can use with Microsoft Hyper-V. These include the following:
- Free
- Standard
- Datacenter
Free Hyper-V
The Hyper-V free license is tied to the Hyper-V Server, a free download from Microsoft. With Hyper-V Server, you can run virtual workloads for free without licensing the Hyper-V host operating system. However, it is limited in features and capabilities when compared to the Standard and Datacenter licenses. For example, you do not get Live Migration, Storage Spaces Direct, or Failover Clustering with Hyper-V Server. However, it may be perfect for very small environments with specific use cases.
With Hyper-V Server, you do not get any licensing for guest virtual machines. To run Windows client or server operating systems, you must purchase licensing for these guest VMs. However, businesses can still run free, open-source operating systems like Linux without licensing.
Another consideration with Hyper-V Server is it is no longer offered with Windows Server 2022. The last version of Hyper-V Server is Hyper-V Server 2019, with an extended support end date of January 9, 2029.
Standard Edition
For many SMBs or small environments, running Windows Server Standard Edition with the Hyper-V role is a good option if only a small number of virtual machines are needed. Microsoft provides built-in licensing for up to two virtual machines per server with Windows Server Standard Edition.
With Standard Edition, you get enterprise features also found in Datacenter, such as Failover Clustering, Live Migration, and Storage Spaces Direct (S2D). However, there are still features only found in Datacenter, including Shielded Virtual Machines and software-defined networking features.
Datacenter Edition
The top-tier license for Microsoft Hyper-V is the Datacenter Edition. With Datacenter Edition, you get all the enterprise features with Microsoft Hyper-V and Windows Server. In addition, Datacenter Edition includes licensing for unlimited virtual machines per server.
For businesses requiring very dense virtualized environments running many virtual machines, Datacenter Edition is the license that allows running virtualized workloads without limits. In addition, with Datacenter Edition, you get the features not included in Standard Edition, such as Shielded Virtual machines and software-defined networking.
For many organizations, when virtual machines exceed 10 or more, Datacenter Edition licensing makes sense from a cost perspective.
Hyper-V Licensing Models
In addition to the three licenses mentioned, two different licensing models are available. These include the per-core and per-processor licensing models.
Per-Core Licensing
Per-core licensing is the most common licensing model used for Hyper-V. With this model, you need to purchase a license for each core of the physical server used for virtualization. For example, you must buy eight licenses if your server has two processors, each with four cores. The number of licenses required is based on the number of physical cores in the server, not the number of virtual cores allocated to the virtual machines.
Per-Processor Licensing
Per-processor licensing is another licensing model for older versions of Hyper-V. With this model, you must purchase a license for each physical processor in the server. So, for example, if your server has two processors, you would need to buy two licenses. Unfortunately, this licensing model is no longer available for Windows Server 2016 and newer running Hyper-V.
Pricing for Azure Stack HCI on-premises
Azure Stack HCI is an HCI solution enabled and licensed from Microsoft Azure. While it is not included in the traditional Windows Server and Hyper-V licensing, running Azure Stack HCI with the additional features and capabilities is becoming more attractive. In addition, Microsoft allows native Azure workloads like Azure Kubernetes Service to run on-premises with Azure Stack HCI, but not the traditional Windows Server with the Hyper-V role enabled.
Like Microsoft Azure, pricing for Azure Stack HCI is based on a subscription model, which includes licensing for the Azure Stack HCI software and support and updates. There are two different subscription levels available: Standard and Premium.
Standard Subscription
The Azure Stack HCI Standard subscription is for organizations requiring basic virtualization capabilities and support for a limited number of virtual machines. This subscription includes licensing for up to 16 cores and supports up to two virtual machines.
The Standard Subscription also supports Storage Spaces Direct, which provides a scalable, high-performance storage solution for virtualized workloads. Additionally, it includes support for failover clustering, which provides high availability for virtual machines and applications.
- The Standard Subscription costs $10 per core per month, with a minimum commitment of 16 cores.
More here: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/pricing/details/azure-stack/hci/
Premium Subscription
The Premium Subscription provides more advanced virtualization capabilities and support for a larger number of virtual machines. In addition, this subscription includes licensing for up to 16 cores and support for unlimited virtual machines.
In addition to the features in the Standard Subscription, the Premium Subscription includes support for Shielded Virtual Machines and Storage Replica, which can replicate data between servers.
- The Premium Subscription costs $20 per core per month, with a minimum commitment of 16 cores.
More here: https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/pricing/details/azure-stack/hci/
It’s worth noting that the pricing for Azure Stack HCI is in addition to the cost of the physical hardware required to run the solution. Additional charges may be associated with data transfer, storage, and other Azure services used with Azure Stack HCI.
Choosing the right licensing model
There are many license options to choose from with Microsoft Hyper-V. Despite the challenge of understanding the differences between each license, it provides businesses with many options to satisfy their individual use cases and technical challenges.
- With the traditional Windows Server and Hyper-V licensing, businesses can choose between free, Standard Edition, and Datacenter Edition. Each license builds on the capabilities of the license underneath. For example, with its free license, the Hyper-V Server may make sense for organizations looking to run Linux workloads. However, it does not allow you to use Live Migration.
- Standard Edition includes licensing for two virtual machines and provides access to the Live Migration, Failover Clustering, and other features not included with Hyper-V Server. This license may be suitable for small environments that need to run just a few VMs.
- When organizations need unlimited access to virtualization resources, the Datacenter Edition is the license to have. It provides licensing for unlimited virtual machines and all the features and capabilities with the Hyper-V platform, including Shielded VMs, software-defined networking, etc.
- Azure Stack HCI provides a compelling option for businesses utilizing Microsoft Azure and public cloud resources, allowing organizations to run workloads on-premises while still taking advantage of Azure-based management and even running Azure services on-premises.
Wrapping up
There are many different options with Hyper-V licensing. But first, organizations must choose the best option for their use cases and technical challenges. This choice now includes choosing between traditional Windows Server with Hyper-V role licensing and cloud-enabled licensing with Azure Stack HCI and deciding which licensing is needed for their virtual workloads.
Read More:
Beginners’ Guide for Microsoft Hyper-V: How to Configure Hyper-V Replication: Part 67
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