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I have a question about my MSDN Premium Subscription. This is what I want to setup:

  1. Install Windows Server 2008 (maybe R2) on a Dev Box
  2. Install System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 (maybe R2) on the server.
  3. Create several VMs hosted on the server (and maybe some other machines).

I would then use the VMs to Develop, Test and Demo my software (Nothing else)

My question is, on which of these can I use the licenses downloaded from my Subscription? I think #3 is clearly in the scope of the Subscription, but is the Server OS License? Is the Virtual Machine Manager?

Any opinions would be welcome. Any facts (with supporting links or docs) would be very appreciated.

jmac
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Vaccano
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  • This question appears to be off-topic because it is about licensing and terms of service rather than programming. – jmac Mar 19 '14 at 06:13

4 Answers4

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From the main MSDN subscription page you can access the subscription information. The following was copied from that page. "Software Use Rights"

MSDN subscriptions are licensed on a per-user basis. One person can use the software to design, develop, test, or demonstrate his or her programs on any number of devices. Each person who uses the software this way needs a license.

Kim Major
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  • Though I have read this several times, upon re-reading i, I think (to me) it says that I can use it as I have stated in my question. It says "can use the software to design, develop, test or demonstrate". Because I plan to use it for only those purposes, I think I am covered. – Vaccano Jun 22 '09 at 00:29
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According to this wikipedia article: MSDN

You can use your license to test and develop, but for production level code, you will need a different license.

Jack Marchetti
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In these kind of cases, if in doubt, I would give Microsoft a call. They should be able to give you a definite answer.

But as far as the license goes, it doesn't look like a problem and my best guess is that you actually can install the host OS, with SCVMM and everything else, as long as you are using that server purely for software development. IANAL, so if you want to have a definite answer: Call Microsoft.

Jeroen Landheer
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In addition to Kim Major's answer, because of the per-user limitation (e.g. everyone working to a development SQL Server needs an MSDN license) it might be worth looking into an Microsoft Action Pack Subscription through the Partner Network. There are some very specific eligibility requirements but for small dev shops that are developing solutions with Microsoft products it is really useful. As you grow as an organisation you'd move towards Silver then Gold certification.

The basic premise is that Microsoft offer great value subscriptions to developers and get their pay out when your client pays for the production licenses to deploy your solution.

Once again, check the eligibility to be certain you qualify. There is a lot of misunderstanding around this offering.

misteraidan
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