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| MOM 2005 Ships with New Licensing Model |
| Sep. 20, 2004 |
Highlights of Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005—software for centrally monitoring and managing the health of servers—include scalability, security, and management pack improvements; a new reporting system; a new operator’s console; and a new, less-expensive Workgroup Edition aimed at small businesses. However, Microsoft has changed how it licenses the full version: even though all management packs are now free, a shift from per-processor to per-server licenses plus managed device licenses will make it pricier in many scenarios. Licensing Now Similar to SMS MOM 2000 required per-processor Base Licenses for the MOM server and each managed server, and separate per-processor licenses for Application Management Packs (MPs)—sets of rules and scripts that define healthy application behavior needed to manage certain Microsoft server products. Customers license MOM 2005, in contrast, with a Base License for the server running MOM and an Operations Management License (OML) for each managed server, irrespective of the number of processors. In this model, all MPs are free. The new model is more rational and is similar to Systems Management Server’s (SMS’s) server/CAL licensing model, which eliminates a licensing inconsistency that could have posed problems for the upcoming bundling of SMS 2003 and MOM 2005 into a new product named System Center. While MOM 2000 was clearly targeted at managing servers, MOM 2005 aligns with SMS in that an OML is required for every "managed device," defined as "a single server, single personal computer, workstation, terminal, handheld computer, pager, telephone, personal digital assistant, or other electronic device." However, because each OML costs US$539, it’s unlikely customers will use MOM to monitor anything but servers. Effects of the Change In many cases, this licensing model change will penalize some customers. (See the chart "MOM Pricing Comparison".) Customers who have single-CPU management servers and who don’t need the extra-cost MOM 2000 Application MPs will prefer the old licensing model, because they pay US$190 less for each managed server. However, for most organizations, especially those with multiprocessor servers, the equation is more complex. For example, an organization using a dual-CPU MOM management server to monitor 10 single-CPU servers, 10 dual-CPU servers, and two quad-CPU servers would pay roughly US$11,866 under the old model compared with US$12,587 under the new model. However, the added cost of only a few Application MPs would make the old model more costly. The new model is definitely simpler, allows Microsoft to get product-specific MPs into customers’ hands at no additional charge, and does not financially penalize organizations that need to monitor multiprocessor servers. Migrating Licenses to the New Model As with any change to a product’s underlying licensing model, this change poses some challenges for existing MOM 2000 customers wanting to upgrade to MOM 2005. Any MOM 2000 customer enrolled in Software Assurance (SA) as of Oct. 1, 2004, for their Base License or Application MPs has the following upgrade options:
Requirements Eased by New SQL Bundle MOM 2005 can run on either Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003 and requires SQL Server 2000 licensed in per-processor mode. However, a more economical package, called MOM 2005 with SQL Server 2000 Technology, is available to any volume licensing customers for approximately US$1,649. This package not only includes the MOM 2005 server license but also includes a special per-server SQL Server license that does not require SQL CALs. Under this license, SQL Server can be installed either on the same server as the MOM management server or on a separate server, but it cannot be used for any other purpose than to host MOM or SMS databases. The consoles used by administrators and operators to configure and monitor MOM 2005 servers do not need MOM licenses and require only Windows 2000 Workstation or higher. Workgroup Edition for Small Businesses Although smaller companies (or their service providers) also need to know the health status of their systems, the cost and complexity of MOM 2000 kept it out of the low end of the market. A simpler, less expensive version, named MOM 2005 Workgroup Edition, now targets this market and provides most of the benefits of the full product. MOM 2005 Workgroup Edition is essentially the full version of MOM 2005 minus the reporting service, data warehouse, and the Microsoft Connector Framework (software used to integrate MOM with other management systems). Unlike the full version, Workgroup Edition can use the free MSDE database engine instead of SQL Server, although the engine is subject to a 2GB limit on stored data. Workgroup Edition comes with the same MPs as its bigger sibling and is easier to install. However, it can be installed on only a single management server and can manage a maximum of 10 servers. Workgroup Edition costs US$499 irrespective of the number of servers it manages (no OMLs are required). Unlike the full version, it must run on Windows Server 2003 and requires Active Directory. Resources For detailed information on MOM 2005, see "More Polished Operations Manager Nearing Completion" on page 3 of the July 2004 Update. An evaluation edition and more information about MOM can be obtained at www.microsoft.com/mom. Licensing and upgrade options are described at download.microsoft.com/download/A/9/2/A92D900F-4D2E-4D1F-8491-69BF58B55BB4/license_mom.doc. Five new MOM 2005 solutions accelerators are available for download. These accelerators provide technical and prescriptive guidance to enhance MOM 2005 capabilities in the areas of alert management and service availability. See www.microsoft.com/mom/evaluation/solutions/default.mspx. For a list of the most recent Directions on Microsoft coverage of licensing topics, see the Recent Changes to Microsoft Licensing page. |
