Servers
What to check when buying a server
The decisions that hurt are rarely visible on the quotation. Here is what to look at before signing.
Windows Server licensing is one of the most common places to get a quotation wrong. The difference between the two editions is not mainly features — it is how many virtual machines you may run.
Standard: each licence grants the right to run two virtual machines. For more, you buy additional licences — one more for the third and fourth VM, another for the fifth and sixth.
Datacenter: grants unlimited virtual machines on that physical server.
There are feature differences too, but for most businesses the decision turns on those two lines.
Licensing is based on the physical core count of the server. The rules:
So a 2-processor server with 12 cores each = 24 core licences.
This means hardware choice directly affects licence cost. A faster processor with fewer cores can work out cheaper than a slower one with many.
Roughly: once you pass about 10 to 12 virtual machines per server, Datacenter costs less than the equivalent stack of Standard licences.
The exact number depends on current pricing and your core count. But the logic is simple: you buy one Standard licence per two VMs, and at some point that total exceeds the unlimited-rights edition.
If you virtualise heavily, have the calculation done. It can easily be a five-figure difference.
The server licence is not enough. Every user or device accessing the server needs a client access licence.
Two options: per user or per device. If people use more than one device, user CALs are cheaper; on shared machines worked in shifts, device CALs are.
If you use remote desktop you also need RDS CALs. This is the line item most often missing from quotations.
Before buying, answer three questions:
A quotation given without those answers is a guess. We run the calculation and put both scenarios side by side, then recommend whichever is cheaper.
Ask us about microsoft server solutions, or request a free assessment directly.
The decisions that hurt are rarely visible on the quotation. Here is what to look at before signing.
Both work. What decides it is licensing, what your backup product supports, and what your team already knows.
Running past end of support is not a technical preference — it is a compliance position, and usually not a defensible one.