SPLA Compliance Your Check List!

This SPLA Compliance Check List document has been compiled by HP SLMS to assist Service Providers in understanding the
program and product licensing rules under Microsofts Service Provider Licensing Agreement (SPLA) with a view to reporting
license usage accurately and achieving compliancy. It covers the main areas to consider when assessing and quantifying
licensing requirements under SPLA. It is intended to be used in conjunction with Microsofts Service Provider Use Rights (SPUR)
document - which governs the use of Microsoft software products and is the only complete, up-to-date and legal source of
SPLA licensing information - as well as the SPLA agreement signed by the Service Provider with Microsoft.
Table of Contents
Licensing Types under SPLA .............................................................................................................................................................. 2
Software Dependencies .................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Windows Server 2012 R2 .................................................................................................................................................................. 3
SQL Server 2014 ................................................................................................................................................................................ 4
System Center 2012 R2 ..................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Core Infrastructure Server (CIS) Suites ............................................................................................................................................. 6
Cloud Platform Suite (CPS)................................................................................................................................................................ 6
Exchange Server 2013 ....................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Lync Server 2013 ............................................................................................................................................................................... 7
SharePoint Server 2013 .................................................................................................................................................................... 7
Productivity Suite.............................................................................................................................................................................. 7
Forefront Identity Manager 2010 R2 ................................................................................................................................................ 7
Remote Desktop Services, AD Rights Management Services & App Virtualization for RDS.............................................................. 7
Office 2013 ....................................................................................................................................................................................... 8
Azure ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 8
Rental/Managed PC Environments ................................................................................................................................................... 8
Hardware Ownership ........................................................................................................................................................................ 9
Disaster Recovery ............................................................................................................................................................................. 9
Downgrade Rights........................................................................................................................................................................... 10
License Mobility through Software Assurance ............................................................................................................................... 10
Internal Use .................................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Dedicated Hosting - Customer Owned Licenses ............................................................................................................................. 11
Windows Desktop OS...................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) - Streaming - Desktop as a Service (DaaS) ............................................................................ 11

January 15 Edition

Licensing Types under SPLA

Licenses under SPLA are non-perpetual or subscription licenses that can be used during the term of the agreement. The
following licensing models are available to Service Providers for offering Microsoft licensed products to customers:
Per Subscriber: A Subscriber Access License (SAL) is required for each unique individual user (or device, if permitted in the
SPUR) that is authorized to access or otherwise use the software product, regardless of the actual usage. With the SAL option,
subscribers can access any number of servers; separate server / processor / core licenses are not needed.
Per Processor: Each Processor License (PL) allows an unlimited number of users to access the software that is installed on that
processor for products licensed through a per processor model. SALs are not needed in conjunction.
Per Core: Each Core License (CL) allows an unlimited number of users to access the server software installed on the server with
a determined number of physical cores for products licensed through a per-core model.
Per Guest/Host Licensing Model: The Host/Guest licensing model requires both host licenses and guest licenses. Host licenses
are required for your host fabric, a collection of physical and virtual operating system environments (OSEs) that are
configured and operated as a unit to provide virtualization, networking, management, website, and file services. Guest licenses
are required for guest virtual OSEs.

Per Processor for Host: License the hardware per processor for the host fabric in which an instance can run
Per Instance for Guest: License for each virtual instance that runs on the host

Software Dependencies
With some Microsoft software products, there may be requirements for software to be used in conjunction with others as part
of a solution stack i.e. if you license Product A which requires Product B, then Product B will need to be licensed also. Service
Providers need to know what products are required to deploy a solution and ensure all these products are licensed
appropriately.
Microsoft publishes a Software Licensing Dependency Reference Guide. While designed for volume licensing programs, it
provides useful information on software dependencies from a purely technical perspective. SPLA can have additional licensing
requirements sitting on top of the technical dependencies so Service Providers should always consult the SPUR or contact HP
SLMS for advice. Here are some examples:

SQL requires Windows. This means that if you report SQL licenses, you also need to report Windows licenses covering
the Operating System.
SharePoint requires Windows & SQL: This means that if you report SharePoint licenses you also need to report
Windows licenses covering the Operating System, and SQL licenses covering the server(s) on which SQL is installed.
Hosted Exchange requires Windows: This means that if you report Exchange licenses, you also need to report
Windows licenses covering the Operating System.
Dynamics NAV requires Windows and SQL. This means that if you report Dynamics NAV licenses you also need to
report Windows licenses covering the Operating System, and SQL licenses covering the server(s) on which SQL is
installed.

January 15 Edition

Windows Server 2012 R2

Windows Server is licensed per physical processor and Service Providers must license each physical processor on the server
which the software in installed. Licensing by Processor License allows an unlimited number of users to access the software.
Each license will be assigned to a single physical server and covers one physical processor. Each processor in the server must be
licensed.
Two main editions of Windows Server 2012 R2: Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter & Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard.
The functionality is the same in both editions with the only difference being in virtualization entitlements: Standard allows 1
instance to run on the licensed server, whereas Datacenter allows unlimited number of instances. Therefore, choosing between
the two editions will be based on your virtualization strategy. If your strategy depends on a highly virtualized environment,
Datacenter Edition would be an appropriate choice, as it provides you with optimum flexibility with its unlimited capacity for
virtualization. If your strategy depends primarily on a physical environment, Standard Edition provides you with the same full
features as Datacenter Edition but with fewer virtualization rights.
Determining the number of Physical Processor Licenses:
Each license covers one physical processor, so Service Providers must count the number of physical processors on the server.
Here are some examples:

Service Provider licenses a 2-processor server 2 Processor Licenses to cover a 2-processor server.
Service Provider licenses a 4-processor server 4 Processor Licenses to cover a 4-processor server.

Determining the number of virtual instances running

If you want to run additional VMs and you do not require the highly virtualized environment that Datacenter provides (which
has unlimited VMs), then you can purchase additional Standard Edition licenses for each processor and assign them all to a
single physical server to increase your VM entitlement on that server.
For example, for Standard Edition, if you assign two Standard Edition licenses to a 2-processor server, you will be able to run 1
VM on that server. If you add 2 additional Standard Edition licenses to that server, the number of allowed VMs on that
particular server will increase by one. Here are some examples:

Service Provider licenses a 2-processor server with 4 VMs 8 Processor Licenses for 4 VMs on a 2-processor server.
Service Provider licenses a 2-processor server with 6 VMs 12 Processor Licenses for 6 VMs on a 2-processor server.

Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials, the latest version of Windows Small Business Server Essentials, is also available under
SPLA. It can run on physical servers with up to two processors and has been designed for small businesses with up to 25 users.

January 15 Edition

SQL Server 2014

SQL 2014 is available in four main editions under SPLA: Enterprise Edition (licensed by Core only), Business Intelligence (licensed
by SAL only), Standard Edition (licensed by Core or SAL) & Web Edition (licensed by Core only).
With Core licensing for SQL 2014, there are two options available to a Service Provider

Physical Server Licensing: License all physical cores on hardware. Minimum 4 core licenses per physical
processor. Core licenses sold in 2-core packs.

License by Virtual Machine: License only the virtual cores deployed for each Virtual Machine. Minimum of 4
virtual cores per VM.

Unlimited virtualization is available for Enterprise Edition when the Service Provider licenses all Cores on the physical hardware.
Microsoft has also introduced SQL Parallel Data Warehouse, a special edition of SQL Server optimized to support data
warehouse solutions targeted primarily at SaaS ISVs. From a licensing perspective, the PDW appliance is considered to be a
single unit with two or more servers controlled by a single PDW virtual OSE. Service Providers should report all physical cores
running the SQL PDW software and report all physical processors running Windows Server Standard and System Center
Standard software each month. SQL PDW part number is only available with an amendment under SPLA.

Downgrade Rights
There are very specific downgrade rights that apply to SQL 2014. Please refer to the SPUR for full details on down-edition rights
per edition.

Core Factor Table (applies to SQL Server 2012 or later versions)

When licensing all Physical Cores on a Server, the number of licenses required equals the number of physical cores on the
server multiplied by the applicable core factor. The core factor is a numerical value associated with a specific physical processor
for the purposes of determining the number of licenses required to license all of the physical cores on a server.

Fail-Over
When a Service Provider is licensing SQL products by Core (if SQL 2014 or SQL 2012) or Processor License (if SQL 2008 R2 or
prior), the following are the rules on Fail-Over Servers taken from the SPUR document.
For any OSE in which you run instances of the server software, you may run up to the same number of passive
fail-over instances in a separate OSE in anticipation of a fail-over event. You may run the passive fail-over
instances on a server other than the licensed server. However, if you licensed the server software under the
Physical Cores of a Server section above and the OSE in which you run the passive fail-over instances is on a
separate server, the number of physical cores on the separate server must not exceed the number of physical
cores on the licensed server and the core factor for the physical processors in that server must be the same or
lower than the core factor for the physical processors in the licensed server. If you have licensed the server
software under the Individual Virtual OSE section above, the number of hardware threads used in that separate
OSE must not exceed the number of hardware threads used in the corresponding OSE in which the active
instances run.
Clustering
If there is any clustering in the server architecture where Virtual Machines float between servers in a server farm this will
need to be assessed.

January 15 Edition

System Center 2012 R2

Server Management Licenses

System Center 2012 R2 Server Management Licenses are required for managed devices that run server OSEs (Operating System
Environments). Licenses are processor-based, with each license covering one physical processor. The number of Server
Management Licenses required for each managed server is determined by the number of physical processors in the server for
Datacenter Edition & either number of physical processors in the server or number of OSEs being managed for Standard Edition
(whichever number is greater).
With System Center 2012 R2, there is no differentiation between the types of workloads a Service Provider can manage with
either edition. The only difference is the number of Operating System Environments (OSEs) that can be managed: Datacenter
Edition allows the management of an unlimited number of OSEs per license. Standard Edition allows the management of one
OSE per license.
System Center 2012 R2 Datacenter: Each license covers one physical processor, so Service Provider must count the number of
physical processors on the managed server and acquire and assign that number of licenses to your server. Provided you acquire
and assign to your server the required number of Datacenter edition server management licenses, you may manage any
number of OSEs on that server.
System Center 2012 R2 Standard: For each managed server count the number of physical processors and the number of
managed OSEs. You need the number of licenses to cover the greater number (processors or OSEs).
Client Management Licenses
System Center 2012 R2 Client Management Licenses apply to managed clients or non-server OSEs. There are three per user
SALs available.

System Center 2012 R2 Client Management Suite includes Services Manager, Operations Manager, Data Protection
Manager and Orchestrator functionality.
System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager SAL will also include Virtual Machine Manager functionality.
Forefront Endpoint Protection joined System Center 2012 family of products and was rebranded System Center R2
Endpoint Protection.

Previous Editions
With the release of System Center 2012, the previous editions of System Center components were retired:

System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3

System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2
System Center Data Protection Manager 2010
System Center Service Manager 2010
System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2

However, Service Providers can continue ordering software product after they have been removed from the SPLA pricelist until
they have migrated to a newer version or their agreement expires (whichever comes first). New and renewal may only order
System Center 2012 products.

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Core Infrastructure Server (CIS) Suites

Core Infrastructure Server (CIS) Suites become an option when a Service Provider is deploying Windows Server 2012 R2 to
deliver Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) solution to end customers and they will also be managing/monitoring this environment
using System Center 2012 R2. Remember that is only licensed by Processor License (PL) under SPLA & that License Mobility
within Server Farms does not exist. System Center 2012 R2 Client Management Licenses are not included and would need to be
licensed separately.
CIS Datacenter PL = Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter PL + System Center 2012 Datacenter R2 PL: CIS Datacenter PL
currently offers savings to a Service Provider compared to paying for Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter PL and System Center
2012 R2 Datacenter PL parts separately. Each Processor License covers one physical processor, so Service Providers must count
the number of physical processors on the server and acquire that number of Processor Licenses for the server. Service Providers
can manage an unlimited number of OSEs on that server.
CIS Standard PL = Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard PL + System Center 2012 Standard R2 PL: Core Infrastructure Server
Standard PL parts currently offers savings to a Service Provider compared to paying for Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard PL
and System Center 2012 R2 Standard PL parts separately. For each managed server count the number of physcial processors
and the number of managed OSEs. Service Providers require the number of licenses to cover the greater number (processors or
OSEs)

Cloud Platform Suite (CPS)

Microsoft introduced the Cloud Platform Suite (CPS) from January 1 which provides heterogeneous virtual guest environments
with one management system across multiple server operating systems. Microsoft state it is the best option for highly
virtualized servers running applications built on multiple server operating systems.
Cloud Platform Suite is licensed in a Host plus Guest model under SPLA. Service Providers will license a Cloud Platform Suite
license for the hardware to create the host fabric in which instances can run. This is considered the Host license which
includes Windows Server 2012 R2, System Center 2012 R2, and Windows Azure Pack, host capabilities and rights to manage all
guests. They then license individual Cloud Platform Suite Guest licenses, which includes Windows Server 2012 R2 guest
capabilities, for each of the virtual instances that it wants to run. They must license the highest number of virtual instances that
it runs in a given month.
There are two fundamental differences between Core Infrastructure Suite (CIS) suites & Cloud Platform Suite.

Licensing Model: Cloud Platform Suite is on a Host and Guest model

Environments: Both are ideal for highly virtualized servers but while Core Infrastructure Suite is ideal for managing a
homogenous environment of Windows Server workloads, the Cloud Platform Suite enables Service Providers to
manage a heterogeneous environment running multiple server operating systems.

Exchange Server 2013

Exchange Server 2013 is available in Basic, Standard, Standard Plus, Enterprise, & Enterprise Plus editions. The two Plus SALs
include Outlook. Functionality differences between all Exchange Server 2013 editions are covered in detail by the SPUR (p3233). Exchange software is server software and is installed by the Service Provider, while Outlook software is client software
installed by the client. With the exception of Client Software, outlined in Appendix 1 of the SPUR, no software licensed
through SPLA can be installed on the end-users device or hardware. A Subscriber Access License (SAL) is required for each
unique individual user that is authorized to access or otherwise use the software product, regardless of the actual usage. The
number of mailboxes does impact the license requirement for the product under SPLA.

January 15 Edition

Lync Server 2013

Lync Server 2013 is licensed by Subscriber Access License (SAL) and available in Standard, Enterprise, Plus and Enterprise Plus
editions. Functionality differences between all Lync Server 2013 editions are covered in detail by the SPUR (p34-36).
Service Providers have the option of acquiring and assigning SALs to either (i) users or (ii) devices. Each user SAL permits one
user, using any device, to access instances of the server software on your servers. Each device SAL permits one device, used by
any user, to access instances of the server software on your servers.

SharePoint Server 2013

SharePoint 2013 Standard and Enterprise editions are available as user SALs under SPLA. If licensing Standard, then only
Standard SALs need to be reported. SALs are additive when licensing Enterprise edition, however, meaning Service Providers
must also report usage for Standard SALs if they are licensing Enterprise SALs. When licensing a mix of SharePoint Standard and
Enterprise, Service Providers need to ensure that users with only Standard SALs do not have any access to Enterprise features
to be compliant. In an audit situation, a clear trail must be presented otherwise the Service Provider may be viewed as under
licensing. SharePoint 2013 Standard and Enterprise is available in user SALs (intranet). SharePoint Hosting is available in
Processor Licenses (internet) models under SPLA. Some customers may require a mix of SALs and Processor Licenses if mixed
access intranet and extranet is needed.

Productivity Suite
Productivity Suite SAL provides cost savings as a suite over buying component SALs separately. It provides rights equivalent to
Exchange 2013 Standard SAL, Lync Server 2013 Enterprise SAL & SharePoint Server 2013 Standard SAL. It is licensed per user
SAL only.

Forefront Identity Manager 2010 R2

Forefront Identity Manager 2010 R2 is licensed per user SAL under SPLA. On 1 April 2014, Microsoft introduced a new Forefront
Identity Manager Synchronization Service for Hosting 2010 R2 offering in response to scenarios where SPLA customers used
only Synchronization Services. Forefront Identity Manager Per Processor has Synch Services for hosters who have a need to
sync an end customers active directory to a hosted active directory for the purposes of running hosted applications like
Exchange, SharePoint and Lync.

Remote Desktop Services, AD Rights Management Services & App Virtualization for RDS
Remote Desktop Services SAL
Under SPLA, Service Providers must report a Remote Desktop Services Subscriber Access License (SAL) for every user authorized
to access the Windows Server 2012 RDS functionality, regardless of actual access. Service Providers must also acquire a
Windows Server 2012 Remote Desktop Services SAL for each user that is authorized to directly or indirectly access Windows
Server 2012 Remote Desktop Services or Windows Server 2012 to host a graphical user interface (using the Windows Server
2012 Remote Desktop Services functionality or other technology).
Active Directory Rights Management Services SAL
Service Providers must acquire a Windows Server 2012 Active Directory Rights Management Services SAL for each user that is
authorized to directly or indirectly access the Windows Server 2012 Active Directory Rights Management Services functionality.
Application Virtualization for Remote Desktop Services
Service Providers must acquire a Windows Server 2012 Remote Desktop Services SAL for each user that is authorized to directly
or indirectly access the Microsoft Application Virtualization for Remote Desktop Services functionality. Application Virtualization
SAL is only available for Service Providers to stream any non-Microsoft application to the end-users device with the exception
of Dynamics NAV.

January 15 Edition

Office 2013
There are two ways that a Service Provider can license Office software to deliver a hosted solution under SPLA. The first option
involves hosting on Windows Server and users connect to it using Remote Desktop Services; the second is on Rental/Managed
PCs where Office SALs need to be reported.
A similar approach is taken to license other desktop productivity software such as Visio (Standard & Enterprise) or Project
(Standard & Enterprise).
(i) Using Remote Desktop Services
Office is hosted on Windows Server and Service Provider is required to license the entire software solution stack appropriately.
Therefore they need to report Windows Server licenses, Office SALs & Windows Remote Desktop Services SALs. Windows
Server 2012 licensing is described above. A SAL for Remote Desktop Services (RDS) is required for each unique end user
authorized to access the hosted Office service. A SAL for Microsoft Office (Office Standard or Office Professional Plus) is
required for every unique end user who is authorized to access the hosted Office service. The quantity of RDS SALs and Office
SALs reported must always match.
(ii) Rental/Managed PC
If Service Provider is providing a Rental/Managed PC with Windows, they need to report a Windows Professional Upgrade SAL
assigned to each laptop or PC as part of the SPLA Rental PC amendment. Rental rights are available only through an
amendment - the Managed PC Amendment (K04). Service Provider would need to sign this amendment to get access to
Windows Professional Upgrade SKU that has to be installed on top of their OEM version of Windows.

Azure
Windows Azure Services platform is considered a Data Center Provider by Microsoft and can be used by Service Providers to
deliver software services under the same terms as those governing the use of other Data Center Providers. Use of products on
Windows Azure is subject to Microsofts verification under the terms of the Service Providers SPLA. Windows Azure is not
available to be licensed through the SPLA. It can be purchased either directly at windowsazure.com or via a Microsoft
Enterprise Agreement.
Only v2013 agreements include language to support the use of Azure as the Datacenter Provider. Even though SPLA
agreements prior to v2013 do not include the language to support Azure as Datacenter Provider, those Service Providers are
permitted from use of products on Windows Azure to provide software services and are not obliged to sign a new v2013
agreement before use of products on Windows Azure to provide software services becomes an option. Microsoft state that
signing a SPLA v2013 agreement does open up greater possibilities for the Service Provider in the whole area of Datacenter
Providers, Software Services Resellers etc. An important point to make is that Service Providers must comply with the rules in
the SPUR regarding what products are available for licensing on top of data center providers server. Products are designated
YES in the SPUR as Eligible for Software Services on Data Center Providers.

Rental/Managed PC Environments
Operating System upgrade licenses are offered in SPLA only for the scenario where the Service Provider is providing
rental/managed PCs to end customers on a rental or subscription basis, and only through the Rental/Managed PC Amendment
(K04).
Request for the amendment needs to be sent to the local Microsoft Licensing Sales Specialist (LSS) and accompanied by
information on what OEM client OS licenses the Service Provider will be bringing to the solution, a high level explanation of
service they plan to offer along with the relevant Program Signature Form.

January 15 Edition

Hardware Ownership
Under all SPLA v2010 agreements, Service Provider must own or lease the hardware on which the SPLA-licensed product is
installed to provide software services regardless of the location of the servers (e.g. at end-user premise, Service Providers own
datacenter). SPLA v2013 agreements will allow SPLA-licensed product to be installed on end customer-owned hardware.
SPLA v2013 agreements will allow SPLA-licensed product to be installed on end customer-owned hardware provided the Service
Provider maintains day-to-day control and management of this hardware.

Disaster Recovery
Note the following extract covers Disaster Recovery rights and is taken from the Universal License Terms of the July 14
Service Provider Use Rights (SPUR):
Disaster Recovery Rights
For each instance of eligible server software licensed in the Per Processor or Per Core licensing models that you run in a physical or virtual
OSE on a licensed server, you may temporarily run a backup instance in a physical or virtual OSE on a server dedicated to disaster recovery.
The license terms for the software and the following limitations apply to your use of software on a disaster recovery server:
The disaster recovery server can run only during the following exception periods:

For brief periods of disaster recovery testing within one week every 90 days

During a disaster, while the production server being recovered is down

Around the time of a disaster, for a brief period, to assist in the transfer between the primary production server and the disaster
recovery server

In order to use the software under disaster recovery rights, you must comply with the following terms:

The disaster recovery server must not be running at any other times except as above.

The disaster recovery server may not be in the same cluster as the production server.

Windows Server licenses are not required for the disaster recovery server if the following conditions are met:

The Hyper-V role within Windows Server is used to replicate virtual OSEs from the production server at a primary site to a disaster
recovery server.

The disaster recovery server may be used only to

run hardware virtualization software, such as Hyper-V,

provide hardware virtualization services,

run software agents to manage the hardware virtualization software,

serve as a destination for replication,

receive replicated virtual OSEs, test failover, and

await failover of the virtual OSEs.

run disaster recovery workloads as described above

The disaster recovery server may not be used as a production server.

Use of the software on the disaster recovery server should comply with the license terms for the software.

Once the disaster recovery process is complete and the production server is recovered, the disaster recovery server must not be
running at any other times except those times allowed here.

January 15 Edition

Downgrade Rights
Under SPLA rules, Service Providers license the most current version and are entitled to apply downgrade rights to install
previous versions. There are no generally restrictions on prior versions however some specific rules come into play, particularly
for SQL. This extract covering downgrade rights is taken from Microsofts Service Provider Use Rights (SPUR):
Rights to Use Other Versions
License terms for products permit use of one or more copies or instances at a time. For all these products, for any permitted
copy or instance, you may create, store and run in place of the version licensed, a copy or instance of a:

prior version;

different permitted language version; or

different available platform version (for example, 32 bit or 64 bit).

You may not use different versions of different components, such as server software and additional software, unless the
license terms for the product expressly permit you to do so.

License Mobility through Software Assurance

In a shared environment, License Mobility through Software Assurance enables an end users Microsoft software licenses that
are under active Software Assurance coverage (procured through their own volume licensing agreement) to be leveraged by a
Service Provider to provide hosted software services to that same end customer. License Mobility is a Software Assurance
benefit under Volume Licensing.
Some Microsoft software products are License Mobility through Software Assurance eligible, others are not. Exchange Server
2013, Lync Server 2013, SharePoint Server 2013 and SQL 2012 are all License Mobility through Software Assurance eligible
however Windows Server 2012 R2 is not as it is consumed as part of the IaaS infrastructure software tier.
There are also a number of terms & conditions that must also be satisfied and approvals sought from Microsoft. Service
Providers that want to offer License Mobility through Software Assurance are required to sign the Mobility Addendum to the
SPLA Agreement. There is also a simple license validation process for end users where they need to choose an authorized
partner for License Mobility through Software Assurance, fill out a License Verification Form available on Microsofts Volume
Licensing Software Assurance page) and Microsoft will verify that the licenses are eligible for License Mobility through Software
Assurance.
End customers can assign application server licenses to run server instances on shared hardware in a Service Provider's
datacenter. However, despite sharing hardware, such server instances must be dedicated to a single customer, and cannot be
shared with other customers.

Internal Use
Internal use of software licensed by a Service Provider under SPLA is permitted, however there is a 50% rule that must be
adhered to on a product-by-product basis. The full conditions associated with Internal Use are covered in the following extract
from the Service Provider License Agreement (SPLA) between Microsoft and Service Provider. Note Customer = Service
Provider:

January 15 Edition

Dedicated Hosting - Customer Owned Licenses

End Customers can outsource their solutions to a Service Provider to be managed in a physically dedicated environment. Here,
the end customer could use their own licenses - this can include Microsoft OS (Windows Server) and application software regardless of whether they are under Software Assurance coverage or not, and it would be an option for the Service Provider to
license additional infrastructure products through SPLA, if they wished.
Extract from Product Use Rights (PUR), which governs Microsoft volume licensing programs, states:
Outsourcing software management: You may install and use permitted copies of the software on Servers and other devices
that are under the day-to-day management and control of third parties, provided all such Servers and other devices are and
remain fully dedicated to your use. You are responsible for all of the obligations under your volume licensing agreement
regardless of the physical location of the hardware upon which the software is used."

Windows Desktop OS
Windows Desktop OS cannot be offered in a virtual environment. Service Providers can offer desktop software in a
Managed/Rental PC environment. Service Provider must install the desktop software on laptops that they own and lease the
hardware and software to the end customers. The laptops must have an OEM version of Windows and then the Service
Providers must report Windows SALs under SPLA.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) - Streaming - Desktop as a Service (DaaS)

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) or Streaming are not supported under SPLA rules. There are two options available to
Service Providers to provide Desktop as a Service (DaaS), if this is something they wish to explore (a) Sessions based via Remote
Desktop Services (b) Rental Device /Desktops.

January 15 Edition