Server Software Licensing Models

Microsoft server OSs and server-based applications use several different kinds of server- and client-side licensing schemes. The total cost to license Microsoft server software is a combination of server- and client-based fees. In this chart, the three different types of server-based licensing fees are listed along the vertical axis, and the five types of client-based licensing fees across the horizontal. The resulting 15 boxes represent the possible combinations of server and client licensing fees; each box lists the products that support that particular combination (some products support more than one combination).

If a product comes in multiple editions, the generic product name is used to refer to all editions. For example, “Windows Server 2003” refers to the Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, and Web Editions of the product. Only when there are differences in the way the particular editions are treated with respect to licensing are the specific edition names mentioned in the chart.