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Microsoft Won't Charge More for Multicore Licenses
esimp writes "According to technewsworld:
'As servers with dual-core processors come closer to hitting the market, Microsoft announced today it will not base its per-processor software licensing charges on the number of cores in a chip, sticking to the traditional price per processor, regardless of its number of cores." Update: 10/20 00:37 GMT by T : One of the identical links to TechNewsWorld's story has now been deleted.
Who actually monitors the 'daddypants' account anyway? I know the number of times I've bothered to report errors has been greater than the number of replies I've got or number of errors fixed (ie. none)
Anyway, um, lovely that Microsoft aren't charging for multicore licenses. I'm still amazed they even charge for SMP licenses.
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Maybe MS thinks they can't really argue processor = core. Well, actually they can if they wanted to.
But more seriously, is it a sign that MS has more benefits from this arrangement?
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I bet debian does not charge more either. Oh hell I am willing to go out on a limb and suggest that Red Hat will probably not either.
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That story on technewsworld is very similar indeed to the story on technewsworld.
Of course not, like everything else is becoming more virtualized. What if someone has 1 xeon counting as 2 processors running windows. Then they install vmware to install many windows OSes for testing. is that still 1 CPU? No lawyer can move at the pace of engineers!!!
Microsoft did the same thing with Hyperthreading, where under WindowsXP the number of physical processors determined if you needed to run Home or Professional. Previously, under Win2k if you had a dual HT machine, Win2k saw the machine as a quad processor and forced you to install advanced server to get the full performance. Under WinXP, you only need Professional (or home if you have a single processor).
In other news, computer manufacturers report sales of multi processor single core machines are down, while customers are clamoring for multi core single processor machines.
MS is expected to revise it's statement tomorrow.
-Adam
Major US Company with virtual monopoly on product decides not to screw over customers. Details to follow.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
Nevertheless, software vendors have proceeded cautiously on the core question, with rivals IBM, Oracle, Sun, Microsoft and others waiting to see how the others approach the issue, partly to learn what works and partly to have the opportunity to counter, according to DiDio.
:)
Good to see that atleast MS is brave enough to go ahead and do what they will. As much as I do not like their policies, atleast they didn't sit around waiting for others to show the way.
She said IBM is in a different situation since it makes money not only from software and services but also from hardware.
Ofcourse! This would mean that IBM would take up a position that hurt's Microsoft's stance
Should prove interesting.
While this seems like good news, I suspect after multi core server become common (or sooner) it will cost more per processor to license these applications.
-Frank
It's just common sense. Imagine if Ford built a twin-engine car and the government wants to charge twice the road tax....
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Admit it, we Penguinistas are dissapointed :)
What is a multi core processor?
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So why don't I just take a bunch of processors, link them together, and claim it is all one processor with multiple cores, and force Microsoft to set its price down to the single processor price???
After all, a multi-core processor is really just multiple processors in one package, isn't it?
--
./Amiga/.
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I heard that Linux will charge TWICE the current amount as much for Multicore GPL licenses. :)
Not charging per core, whew, thus reducing our enterprise's total cost of operation!
"...will base the pricing on the number of processors the operating system shows present in the machine"
Is today April 1?
No, it's October 19th. It's clearly marked right below the subject.
{and if the mods mark this informative i'll kill my self}
...What?
Indeed. Microsoft invented this. The good thing about mainframes was no matter how powerful the machine the cost for software was the same...
You daft bugger! Wasn't it obvious? They're both on the same core!
Anyway, um, lovely that Microsoft aren't charging for multicore licenses. I'm still amazed they even charge for SMP licenses.
Discount on bugs donchaknow.
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If you hate MS' copyright, why not use software which doesn't impose such a restriction?
It's not like Bill Gates is holding a gun to your head and forcing you to install Windows. If a free alternative exists, then you have no excuse - you're just freeloading scum.
...not engines, but axles.
Many toll roads charge by the axle. So if you have three (ie, you're towing a trailer or you have a big truck) they charge you more.
Uhm, you do realize that IBM, Sun, SGI, pretty much every big unix vendor will also scale OS costs per CPU? I know its fun to knock microsoft, but at least be rational about it.
{and if the mods mark this informative i'll kill my self}
Lucky for you I don't have mod points at the moment, then.
General Motors has decided to charge the same price whether you drive on two or four lane highways.
If someone says he and his monkey have nothing to hide, they almost certainly do.
With multicore, the CPUs are sharing a single memory bus. At the two-core level, this isn't too much of a performance hit, but by the time you hit four cores, you lose most of the benefit of that fourth core to the lack of memory bandwidth.
Intel's Xeon chips are running into this problem already. A single Xeon CPU has better memory performance than a single Opteron, but a four-way Opteron system, with a separate memory controller and RAM bank for each chip, blows away a four-way Xeon system, since the four Xeons have to share the memory controller and memory.
"They redundantly repeated themselves over and over again incessantly without end ad infinitum" -- ibid.
in other news, Microsoft is switching to a per-transistor licensing scheme.
A sigh of relief rose from the collective pirates of the world, who realized they would not have to spend the extra half-hour hacking Microsoft OS activation for machines with multi-core processors and could instead catch a Simpsons rerun.
You are in a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.
I'd expect that this has more to do with Intel than with Microsoft.
Intel has hit a brick wall. They're having a hard time increasing processor speeds. At some point, they'll realize that the best way to get a processing speed boost is to slap a second core in the processor and call it a Pentium 5 or Pentium 4 Ultra or something like that, and sell it in high end desktops like Alienware.
Guess what happens if Microsoft charges per core? Intel won't be too happy with them...
I'm sure that a part of the decision was not making Linux more attractive for low to mid end servers.
It's already less expensive than Windows, if they charge more for dual or quad cores, the will really jack up the Windows TCO.
Microsoft is a business, they want to make money. Sometimes you can make more money by selling things at a lower price.
LK
"Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
But microsoft is being smart and realized that 1) 1 proc 2 cores != 2 proc 1 core and 2) people will be happier upgrading their systems under this system.
MS is already being criticized that Windows is already too expensive. It is highly likely that multicore processors will hit the desktop market, and it would be bad for PR if Joe User found himself having to pay double because he has a dual core processor(even though he has no clue what a dual core processor really is).
"You spoony bard!" -Tellah
Am I the only one who laughed his ass off when he saw the "Redundant" rating next to that post?
Dammit, and here I am paying $699 for *each* CPU! I feel like I'm being totally ripped off. Maybe I should ask SCO for a discount?
Update: 10/20 00:37 GMT by T: One of the identical links to TechNewsWorld's story has now been deleted.
Yes, but can you guess which one?
AFAIK, Windows doesn't have any difference in functionality no matter how many processors you run, it's all about speed. Why should I have to pay for 2 servers when I'm only running 1? Is this some kind of speed tax?
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All do a fabulous job of preventing rings from forming on my coffee table.
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Doesn't most MS products actually charge per CAL/per user, or have some sort of hybrid "Pay $X for machine + x CAL's, and then $Y/CAL"
If that's the case, then there is virtually no difference!
So does Anonymous Coward have good karma?
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I suspect they are directly targeting Oracle's decision to treat each core as a separate processor for licensing costs. MS intends to further grab market share away from Oracle, and that's it. Oracle will soon have to relent on its greedy licensing practices, or they will slowly but surely find themselves about equally as relevant in the database market as Informix has become.
Paying more for an OS used on a multiple processor box would be like paying more for gas because you have an 8 cylinder engine instead of a 4 cylinder.
Totally STUPID!
The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese!
Mr. Coward, perhaps Clippy can help you out.