Forum Discussion
SYSTEM CENTER IMPLEMENTATION & LICENSING Guide
To keep it simple, below is a straightforward example calculation that should address your question at a practical level.
Assumptions
- System Center 2022 Standard
- All VMs have 8 cores
- Core-based licensing (1 license per 2 cores)
System Center Components (4 Management Server VMs)
- 4 VMs × 8 cores
- 8 ÷ 2 = 4 licenses per VM
Required licenses:
4 × 4 = 16 System Center Standard
Managed Workloads (120 Virtual Machines)
- 120 VMs × 8 cores
- 8 ÷ 2 = 4 licenses per VM
Required licenses:
120 × 4 = 480 System Center Standard (Server ML)
Summary
Management Servers: 16 Standard
120 Managed VMs: 480 Standard
Total: 496 System Center Standard licenses
Note: “Server ML” is not a separate product; it refers to the System Center Standard license.
This calculation follows Microsoft’s published licensing rules; for final confirmation in your specific agreement, it’s still best to check with a Microsoft licensing partner.
Thank you for your response. However, I must respectfully disagree with your assumptions outlined below:
Assumptions Provided (Taken from your above comment)
- System Center 2022 Standard
- All VMs have 8 cores
- Core-based licensing (1 license per 2 cores), not clear this point? how?
What we understood from Microsoft Official Documentation is
- Minimum 8 cores per CPU
- Minimum 16 cores per server
- Core-based licesing (2 16-pack core license covers four VMs), right?
My primary concern remains around Server ML. For example, if I purchase two System Center Standard licenses to deploy four management servers and intend to manage 120 VMs, what exactly must be procured for those 120 VMs? Is Server ML a paper license similar to Client ML (CML), or does it involve a product key or another entitlement? This distinction is unclear, and even our vendor has not been able to provide a definitive answer.
Environment Summary
- Four Management Servers (planned purchase: 2 System Center Standard Licenses)
- 1000 Client MLs (paper licenses) for Windows 11
- 120 VMs requiring Server MLs, as per Microsoft guidance
Based on my current understanding, the requirement would be:
- 1000 CMLs for windows client machines
- 2 Standard Licenses for the four management servers
- 60 Server MLs (as mentioned per server requires 2 License, we have 120 VMs, means 120/2=60)
However, the nature of the Server ML—whether it is a paper license, product key, or another form of entitlement—remains unclear to me. Where can I find the pricing of Server ML?
In simple words, I need below,
1- Pricing for 2 System Center License
2- Pricing for 1000 CMLs
3- Pricing of 60 Server MLs
4 - Pricing of Software Assurance
Pricing should be for three years.