Monthly Microsoft License Update December 2022
Welcome to the December 2022 instalment of the monthly Microsoft license update from the Version 1 Microsoft License Consulting Team. Each month Microsoft release license changes on their product terms. Some of these changes will have a material effect with others having no impact whatsoever.
Before the end of November 2022, Microsoft announced a range of supplementary updates for Biztalk, SQL Server and Azure that did not make our November update, so this month’s post will provide a breakdown of these updates.
For your convenience, we have uploaded a recording that discusses these changes in more detail.
BizTalk Server: Updated License Model terms to require active Software Assurance to license by individual Virtual OSE.
There are 2 ways to license Biztalk under the Per Core License Model:
· Physical Core on the server
· Licensing each individual Virtual OSE
In the past with Biztalk Server 2020, there was no pre-requisite to have active Software Assurance (SA) if you want to license per Virtual OSE. There are required minimums (similar to SQL Server) for Biztalk, i.e. purchase a core license for each virtual core (virtual thread) allocated to the VM (with a minimum of 4 core licenses per VM). There are obvious benefits of having SA with Biztalk, such as license mobility and being able to run an unlimited number of VMs if the physical host is licensed with Biztalk with SA. With this update, Microsoft now mandates that SA is required as a pre-requisite when licensing Biztalk using the per-core model licensing individual Virtual OSEs.
SQL Server: Updates to support the launch of SQL 2022, including new Software Assurance benefits and License Model updates. With the launch of SQL Server 2022, there are many new features and benefits which we will cover in a separate session allowing for more time to understand the SQL Server 2022 details.
SQL Server 2022 has a new Software Assurance benefit, specifically for Containers; namely if you license a Virtual OSE (SQL Standard or Enterprise) with Software Assurance, you are permitted an unlimited number of containers in that Virtual OSE/machine. Without Software Assurance, the licensing treats a Container running SQL Server software like a Virtual OSE and must also account for the number of hardware threads that supports a Container. Licensing with Software Assurance is more and more appealing as it appears to make licensing easier with greater flexibility.
Azure Updates: Azure SQL Managed Instances & Azure SQL Server Virtual Machines both include updated fail-over entitlement usage rights.
For SQL Managed Instances:
• One geo-secondary specifically for disaster recovery purposes.
For SQL VMs:
• One Fail-over OSE for any purpose, including high availability; and
• One Fail-over OSE specifically for disaster recovery purposes.
For each scenario, customers will only be charged for compute, storage and any associated services, as applicable. Customers may carry-out maintenance-related operations for any permitted replica at any time, including:
• Database consistency checks or Checkdb
• Executing backups
• Monitoring resource usage data
For Managed Instances:
Customers may run Primary Workload and its DR replica simultaneously for brief periods of disaster recovery testing every 90 days and around the time of a disaster, for a brief period, to assist in transfer between them.
For SQL VMs:
Similarly, customers may also run Primary Workload and its DR Fail-over OSE simultaneously for brief periods of disaster recovery testing every 90 days, and around the time of a disaster, for a brief period, to assist in the transfer between them, but Fail-over OSEs permitted for disaster recovery must be asynchronous and manual.
For both deployment-types:
Number of vCores used may not exceed vCore size of corresponding Primary Workload, except for brief periods during upscaling, downscaling and failover events. Also, Replicas and Fail-over OSEs may not serve SQL Server data to users or devices or otherwise run active SQL Server workloads. As anticipated the month of December was light on product term updates, however the following was included:
Cryptocurrency: Universal License Terms for Online Services now include an acceptable use policy that clarifies mining cryptocurrency is prohibited without prior Microsoft approval.
DevOps Server: As we approach the launch of Azure DevOps Server 2022, Microsoft have updated terms to reference this new version.
Communication Services: Specific online services provide services for both voice and text communications; Microsoft simply clarify Communication Services may include applicable taxes and fees that vary from country to country.
As Microsoft license experts, we can help you simplify these and any other product changes and clarify what this could mean for your license position. If you have any questions relating to this or any other Microsoft licensing matter, please go to our website or contact us.
About the Author:
Karl is a Principal Licensing Consultant at Version 1, providing global Microsoft license expertise to organisations and ensuring customers get the best value from their Microsoft assets.
