SharePoint Server Virtualization Rules

As virtualization becomes more popular in the data center, server software frequently runs in virtual machines (VMs) rather than on physical hardware. Virtualization rules for SharePoint Server 2010 remain consistent with those for SharePoint Server 2007 and also apply to the other SharePoint-related server licenses: FAST Search Server 2010 for SharePoint (FAST for SharePoint); SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet Sites, Enterprise; SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet Sites, Standard; and Search Server 2010.

The following rules are the most important.

Each server license provides the right to run only one instance of the server software. It does not matter if that instance runs within a traditional nonvirtualized environment or within a VM. Thus, a single physical server hosting two VMs, each running SharePoint Server software, requires two server licenses.

Regardless of how many SharePoint components run within an instance, only one license is required. SharePoint Server is designed as a set of discrete components. In multiserver SharePoint systems, servers are likely to be dedicated to a particular subset of SharePoint functions, such as indexing content for search, whereas in a single-server SharePoint deployment, one server is likely to run most or all of the components. Either way, only a single server license is required. FAST for SharePoint and Search Server also consist of multiple components and the same rule applies.