Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Moving To Per-Core Licensing (arstechnica.com)

rbrandis writes: Windows Server 2012 has two main editions, Standard and Datacenter. They had identical features, and differed only in terms of the number of virtual operating system instances they supported. The licenses for both editions were sold in two-socket units; one license was needed for each pair of sockets a system contained.

Windows Server 2016 reinstates the functional differences between Standard and Datacenter editions. Datacenter will include additional storage replication capabilities, a new network stack with richer virtualization options, and shielded virtual machines that protect the content of a virtual machine from the administrator of the host operating system. These features won't be found in the Standard edition.

Windows Server 2016 licensing moves to a per core model. Instead of 2012's two socket license pack, 2016 will use a 2-core pack, with the license cost of each 2016 pack being 1/8th the price of the corresponding 2 socket pack for 2012. Each system running Windows Server 2016 must have a minimum of 8 cores (4 packs) per processor, and a minimum of 16 cores (8 packs) per system.

Comments

Re:Three original Stones still in the Stones

[smittyoneeach]

All of the above died during the Administration of Bush the Elder, and are kept "alive" through Caribbean rituals.

Re:Cores? Packs? Sockets?

[hairyfeet]

With Windows if you are good at running say a Win2K server? Its really not hard to pick up Server 2K12, the underlying guts and conventions with WinServer really don't change much from what I've seen. That USED TO BE the same with Linux, but now you have the snarling hydra that is SystemD gobbling up functions left and right.

I really wish it weren't true but it does hold true to my theory that MSFT never has to worry because the biggest threat to Linux is its devs and NIH syndrome. Hell look at what happened when MSFT put out the Vista Bomb, you had the major DEs throw out years worth of work for bug ridden alpha quality code that every distro instantly made default, Windows 8? Larry Potter and the Pulsing Puking Audio, I swear if I didn't know better I'd think Linux was run by a bunch of devs from Bizzaro who sit around saying things like "Oh No, things am stable and everything is working, this will make things too easy! We must break critical drivers and subsystems with am patch and replace well written system with alpha code, then users will feel they am leet for getting it running half as good as it did and we get fat support contracts...aren't me am smart?"