Windows Server 2022 licensing (Datacenter or Standard)

[JasWee88]

Hi all,

My team is split between getting Windows Server 2022 Datacenter or Standard license, and our reseller is not well versed in advising us on this matter.

Specs of my infrastructure:

6 physical host, 2 processors per host, 8 cores per processor

32 VMs

I am trying to understand the OSEs, software-defined networking, and software-defined storage limitations for the Standard license as I can't find any information on this.

From what I read, I will need 6 Standard (16 cores) licenses to cover for my 6 physical hosts (16 cores each), and an additional of 10 Standard (16 cores) licenses for 20 additional OSEs I wish to spool up (on top of the 12 OSEs I am entitled to from the 6 Standard licenses). Please correct me if I am wrong.

However, shouldn't software-defined networking and storage be dictated by host software (VMWare ESXi or Nutanix AHV)? How is this tied to the Server Standard licensing?

Regards,

J.Wee

[#2]

Why do you need VMware or Nutanix? You get Hyper-V included for free in both - Standard or Datacenter. If you chose Datacenter and add Software Assurance you do not only get the free upgrade to 2025 but you will earn the Azure Hybrid Use Benefits which amongst other benefits give you the use right of Azure Stack HCI for free.