\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019ve been seeing an increase with our customers getting emails with the subject line: Microsoft Software Asset Management Review. <\/b>Have you received this email? If you haven\u2019t yet, there\u2019s a good chance you may see one float in your inbox.\u00a0This is Microsoft\u2019s asset management team.\u00a0 Their goal is to help you understand the licensing you currently own and match it up with what you\u2019re running on your network.\u00a0 Basically, this is an audit.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Microsoft\u2019s SAM doesn\u2019t discriminate\u2014everyone is a target. You\u2019ll eventually have to deal with them so my recommendation is to not ignore the email. Now, just because you receive an email doesn\u2019t necessarily mean you\u2019re not compliant. Even if you\u2019re 100% sure you\u2019re compliant, it\u2019s still best to work with them.\u00a0 I can tell you that if their findings suggest that you\u2019re short on licenses, the only real penalty is that you have to buy the licenses. \u00a0There are no fines, you\u2019re not going to jail…this isn\u2019t the Orange is the New Black.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n I suggest that if you\u00a0do receive this email that you reach out to us here at GreenPages<\/a>.\u00a0 Like I said, I\u2019ve been doing this a long time and there are some particulars of licensing that IMO the SAM team doesn\u2019t know, especially when it comes to virtualization.\u00a0Just a quick example:\u00a0you may have 20 Windows Standard 2008 R2 VMs but only own five licenses.\u00a0 Are you in compliance? Yes.\u00a0 If you own Windows Enterprise 2008 R2 it allowed you to run up to 4 VMs with each license.\u00a0 In this example the SAM team didn\u2019t know the old rule when Windows 2008 R2 was around. \u00a0\u00a0I mean, let\u2019s face it, Microsoft licensing is confusing and the SAM team is human, so it\u2019s always good to get a second set of eyes on it.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n This post\u2019s goal is not to scare you and indict you of any wrong doing.\u00a0 It\u2019s to inform you.\u00a0 If you do see this email I wouldn\u2019t ignore it as much as you may be tempted to.\u00a0 Hopefully it’s a quick and painless process for you, but regardless please let us know how we can assist<\/a>.\u00a0 If you already have worked with the SAM team, we\u2019d love to hear your thoughts and experiences!\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here are some FAQs I get from our customers:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Do I need a Windows Cal and RDS Cal?<\/b>\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span>Yes, Microsoft requires you to stack the CALs.\u00a0 Same is true if you\u2019re running Exchange, SharePoint, Lync etc.\u00a0 Both the Windows and the specific application Cal is required.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n What\u2019s up with SQL Core licensing?<\/b>\u00a0 SQL moved from a per processor licensing model (when you got unlimited Cals) to per Core model when SQL 2012 was released.\u00a0 So, the deal is, if SQL is running on a physical sever, you have to tally up all the cores on that box.\u00a0 If SQL is running virtually you have to license all the cores allocated to the VM.\u00a0 A minimum of four cores are required for each scenario.\u00a0 This means that in a physical environment, even if the processor only has 2-cores, you\u2019re still required to license four.\u00a0 Same in the virtual world.\u00a0 If you plan on only allocating 2 cores to the VM, Microsoft requires that you pay for 4-cores worth.\u00a0 The reason is the price of the former per processor license is the same as the price of 4 cores today.\u00a0 Licenses are sold in two-core packs.\u00a0SQL Enterprise is now only licensed by the core.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n What is multiplexing?<\/b>\u00a0 This mainly pertains to SQL, but it basically means that if users are hitting an application directly or indirectly a CAL is still required.\u00a0 For example, your users are hitting a web server that has a back end SQL server.\u00a0 The users are not touching the SQL app directly, but they are accessing information from it.\u00a0 You need a CAL.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n How do I reimage and downgrade my OEM Windows 8 Pro with a Windows 7 Pro MAK that I don\u2019t have? \u00a0<\/b>First off, yes you can legally downgrade and reimage an OEM copy of Windows.\u00a0 The problem is getting the key to do it.\u00a0 \u00a0If you purchase a PC that has Windows 8 Pro, but you need to load Windows 7 Pro without a key, what you can do is purchase a single volume license of Windows Professional.\u00a0 The cheapest way to do it is by purchasing an SA Only sku of Windows Pro.\u00a0 You have 90 days to purchase this license after your PC purchase.\u00a0 This will give you the ability to log onto the Volume Licensing Services Center (VLSC) site and obtain a MAK Windows 7 and download.\u00a0 You only need to purchase one license as it will give you multiple activations.\u00a0 If you need more you can call Microsoft Clearing House to obtain more.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The Outlook that\u2019s included in Office Standard doesn\u2019t allow Personal Archiving or Retention Polices when using the Exchange Enterprise Cal, but standalone Outlook and the Outlook included in Office Pro Plus does?\u00a0 Isn\u2019t it the same Outlook?\u00a0 \u00a0<\/b>Yes, if you purchase the Exchange Cal you\u2019re likely doing so to use the Personal Archiving or Retention Polices that are included with it. However, for it to work properly, you need to either own standalone Outlook (basically you can purchase Outlook a la carte) or Office Professional Plus.\u00a0 For whatever reason the Outlook that comes with Office Standard doesn\u2019t work.\u00a0 Microsoft doesn\u2019t have an answer for this.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n By Rob O’Shaughnessy, Software Licensing Specialist, Pre-Sales Technical Support I’ve been working in the GreenPages licensing department for over 14 years and many readers are probably asking the question, “why?” Do you honestly like torturing yourself, Rob? No, not really. 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