Tag Archives: Licensing Guides

Visual Studio 2015 Licensing Guide

An updated Licensing Guide is available for Visual Studio 2015, so here’s an overview of the changes to the licensing which are all documented in the guide

Visual Studio Editions

  • Two editions remain unchanged (Visual Studio Professional and Test Professional), and two editions (Premium and Ultimate) are replaced with a single Visual Studio Enterprise edition (page 7)
  • These editions come with an MSDN subscription, although Visual Studio Professional is available without MSDN in some Volume Licensing programs
  • These products are no longer available as Full Packaged Product
  • Customers with active Visual Studio Ultimate/Premium with MSDN subscriptions are automatically converted to Visual Studio Enterprise with MSDN (page 31)

MSDN Subscriptions

  • The MSDN Operating Systems subscription is discontinued, and MSDN Platforms remains (page 7)
  • Extra functionality is added into the MSDN Platforms subscription – Lab Management and IntelliTrace (page 15)
  • Active MSDN Operating Systems subscribers can renew into Visual Studio Professional with MSDN (page 31)

Team Foundation Server

  • Team Foundation Server is licensed with the Server/CAL model but there are some tasks that actually require users to be licensed with more than a CAL ie with Visual Studio Enterprise or Test Professional, or with an MSDN Platforms subscription. The list of features that are available with only a CAL is increased and you can find the list on page 25. If you want a bit more detail and explanation, then Microsoft’s Brian Harry’s blog is a great place to go (http://bit.ly/1MclcwM)

Visual Studio Team Explorer

  • Visual Studio Team Explorer is no longer available as a standalone product (page 27) and again, Brian Harry’s blog gives some great background to this decision and also recommends some alternative ways of working

You can download the Visual Studio 2015 Licensing Guide here: http://bit.ly/1hkf7gn.

Windows Server 2012 R2 Licensing Guide

It’s always good to come across a new Licensing Guide and this Windows Server 2012 R2 one is pretty comprehensive. It’s dated April 2015 and has all the information contained in previously released datasheets as well as a long FAQ section where you’ll find all the usual suspects as well as a couple of useful Azure-related questions (Q21 onwards) clarifying a couple of Licence Mobility issues.

Definitely worth downloading for your Useful Licensing Guides folder: http://bit.ly/1e3uNa4.

Dynamics GP 2015 Licensing Guide

If you need a good introduction to the slightly surreal world of Dynamics GP 2015 licensing then this December 2014 guide is worth a read.

If you’re new to it all, hold on to your hats as you learn about licensing Solution Functionality with the Starter or Extended Packs, and licensing user access with Concurrent CALs, User CALs or User SALs.

If this sounds like your cup of tea, then head over to our Licensing Guides repository where you’ll find a guide for all Microsoft products – past and present –  https://bit.ly/MSlicensingguides.

CRM Server 2015 Volume Licensing Guide (February 2015)

CRM Server 2015 arrived in December 2014 and this Volume Licensing Guide gives a comprehensive overview of the licensing of this product with 27 pages of licensing detail. Essentially, CRM Server is licensed with the Server/CAL model and there are enhancements to the licensing rather than major changes from the 2013 version of the product. Read on for details and get the document here: http://bit.ly/1F28awR.

Firstly, there are Dual Use Rights for the CRM products now. This means that users licensed with CRM Online USLs have use rights equivalent to a CAL to access an on-premises deployment of CRM Server, and there’s a table on page 7 showing which USLs are equivalent to which CALs. Be aware though that these Dual Use Rights are only available for customers who are licensed with a server licence for the 2015 version of CRM Server rather than any earlier versions. They are allowed, however, to deploy an earlier version of CRM Server under that licence and the Dual Use Rights will still apply.

Customers licensed with CRM Server and CAL licences may add on access to CRM Online via USLs for Software Assurance. The available options are detailed in a table on page 16 and it’s updated for the new USLs that were added in 2014 – the Enterprise USL and the Social Listening Add-on. Alternatively, customers with CRM CALs may transition those licences to equivalent CRM Online USLs if they want to move to a fully user-based subscription licensing position, and the “License Transition Eligibility” table on page 18 shows the available options and again is updated for the Enterprise USL.

There’s a new section added for Unified Service Desk on page 10 explaining that the rights to install and use this functionality are included with the CRM Online Professional and Enterprise USLs as well as the CRM 2015 Professional CAL with Software Assurance. Note that this is the only way to license USD – it’s not available as a standalone licence.

Trials are available for CRM Server 2015 and there’s a change to the notification process: previously there was no notification that the 90 day trial was about to expire, now admin users will be warned of impending trial expiration.

And finally, as you would expect, the actual functionality in CRM Server 2015 is enhanced from CRM Server 2013, so the tables on pages 9 and 25-27 are updated to reflect what use rights each of the CALs now has. Equally CRM Server 2015 is now available through the MPSA so the Volume Licensing Programs information is updated on page 14.

Updated MVLC Guide

Customers buying through the MPSA need access to the Microsoft Volume Licensing Center (MVLC) and there’s an updated (September 2014) guide.

The previous guide was written at the time of the Windows Azure Active Directory Preview Portal and so all the processes and screenshots are (nicely) updated for the new Azure Management Portal. There’s also a useful new table on MVLC roles and permissions on pages 19/20 and one on AAD admin roles and permissions on page 31.

If your job involves accessing or teaching people how to use MVLC then the instructions in Appendices A and B are worth a read. Get it here: http://bit.ly/1vIzfze.

September 2014 MPSA Licensing Manual

There’s a new (September 2014) MPSA Licensing Manual which has been updated for SA.

Customers buying SA through the MPSA are governed by this document rather than the Product List (page 7) and there are pages of the rules you’d expect on how the benefits are calculated.

Most noteworthy, Planning Services, Training Vouchers, and 24×7 Problem Resolution Support are now ALL calculated on a points-based system and you can find the detail on page 8.

Get this updated guide here: http://bit.ly/1s4V5yE.

Updated Visual Studio 2013 Licensing Guide

There’s a new (July 2014) version of the Visual Studio 2013 Licensing Guide. No major changes – firstly, it’s updated for SQL 2014 throughout, both in the examples used and the fact that it’s now SQL 2014 that can be used as the VS Team Foundation Server database. Then there’s a new CAL waiver when VSTFS is accessed through a pooled connection from another integration application or service. As it says in the guide: “This removes licensing friction from integrating TFS with LOB applications like customer ticketing solutions and other ALM solutions.”

Download it here: http://bit.ly/1hkf7gn.

Visual Studio 2013 and MSDN Licensing Whitepaper – updated May 2014

The Visual Studio 2013 and MSDN Licensing whitepaper has been updated for May 2014. The key change is that MSDN subscribers can now access Windows client VMs in Azure (page 14). In addition: MSDN Platforms and Visual Studio Test Professional with MSDN subscriptions now also include a certain amount of Azure services (page 13); the Purchasing Channels table is updated to show that an MSDN Platforms subscription is now available under Open (page 7); and there are more details given for purchasing Visual Studio Online (page 10).

Download it here: http://bit.ly/1hkf7gn.