Licensing Windows Server VMs on Stack HCI

Jim leads the Directions on Microsoft editorial team and has been writing about technology since the early 1990s. Most recently... more

Systems running Azure Stack HCI need OS licensing for two layers: The Azure Stack HCI host OS and the guest OS running in any hosted VMs. The monthly subscription fee for Stack HCI does not include guest OS virtualization rights; if any VMs run Windows Server as their guest OS, customers must provide Windows Server licenses for them in addition to the Azure Stack HCI host licenses.

As of Oct. 2022, four options can be considered to license Azure Stack HCI and its Windows Server guest OS, each with different costs, rights, and technical capabilities:

License both host OS and guest OS via Windows Server Datacenter core licenses with Software Assurance (SA)
License the host OS with Azure Stack HCI subscription licenses and guest OS with Windows Server Datacenter licenses and no SA
License the host OS with Azure Stack HCI subscription licenses and guest OS with “Windows Server Subscription for Azure Stack HCI” licenses
License host OS with Azure Stack HCI subscription licenses and guest OS with

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