Hi,

I am wondering if someone can give me some advice on the best way to handle buying Windows 2000 and 2003 licenses for Windows dedicated servers?

I am mainly trying to figure out what the best options are for purchasing Windows server licenses.......... and then how to price Windows servers accordingly compared to Linux dedicated servers.

It seems like different companies handle this in different ways, as I've seen some companies where the Windows servers cost the same amount as comparable Linux server, and others where Windows servers cost even $100 or $200 more a month.

If anyone can give some advice on the purchasing of licenses for this purpose and the best way to price them, I'd appreciate.

Thanks,

Zadillo

You can either
a) Buy each license individually from MS ($1000 per license)
or
b) Get a MS Services Provider License Agreement

Originally posted by Joseph_M
You can either
a) Buy each license individually from MS ($1000 per license)
or
b) Get a MS Services Provider License Agreement

Assuming you go with option a), what is considered a reasonable amount to add on to the monthly rate per month?

With option b, how would one go about doing that? What would the advantages be to buying the licenses individually? What would the costs end up being like, in terms of what it would cost us, and how much we might have to reasonably add on to the costs of the monthly fee for the servers?

Thanks,

Zadillo

To be honest unless you've been in the industry a while and have been dealing with Windows servers, its not worth your while. You're much better off buying them from an MS Partner. I am an MSP so I can show you my own range of plans, as well as those of other MSPs so that you can find the best deal for your needs.

option a) Reasonable amount per month to add is $30 per month
option b) You'd need to apply to Microsoft, have at least 3 MCEs on your team and rent a certain number on a monthly basis.

Talking to a Microsoft partner may be your best bet - especially to determine exactly what you need. If you want to just check some prices online, do a Google search on Rite2U and go to one of the companies that have a Rite2U website. There is a Microsoft Licensing Wizard on the left hand side of the page. You can go through the wizard until you get to a list of the different Microsoft products available and read the description of each and the prices are listed there. It doesn't matter too much which Rite2U site you select as the prices are all the same for each company. That price is determined by the company that sets up the pass through Rite2U sites for the small computer dealers. That company is one of the 5 or 6 large national distributors that CompUSA and other computer dealers purchase from. They are an authorized distributor for Microsoft and others. The Rite2U sites are just an easy way for small computer dealers to have ecommerce sites. Prices are basically retail but I understand the Microsoft licensing prices are pretty good.

A bit long winded but I hope it helps some.

Originally posted by Arkansas
Talking to a Microsoft partner may be your best bet - especially to determine exactly what you need. If you want to just check some prices online, do a Google search on Rite2U and go to one of the companies that have a Rite2U website. There is a Microsoft Licensing Wizard on the left hand side of the page. You can go through the wizard until you get to a list of the different Microsoft products available and read the description of each and the prices are listed there. It doesn't matter too much which Rite2U site you select as the prices are all the same for each company. That price is determined by the company that sets up the pass through Rite2U sites for the small computer dealers. That company is one of the 5 or 6 large national distributors that CompUSA and other computer dealers purchase from. They are an authorized distributor for Microsoft and others. The Rite2U sites are just an easy way for small computer dealers to have ecommerce sites. Prices are basically retail but I understand the Microsoft licensing prices are pretty good.

A bit long winded but I hope it helps some.

Thanks for the advice... although running through that, I get to Operating Systems, but then the only 2 results are Windows XP Pro licenses..... no Windows 2000 or 2003 Server.

Would you have any recommendations for an MS Partner that would be reliable and good for a hosting provider to deal with?

-Zadillo

If you look around you can find them cheap. We have a dist. we get it through for $500 / Windows 2000 server no cals . we just buy the cals sep for $50 / piece

Originally posted by Joseph_M
To be honest unless you've been in the industry a while and have been dealing with Windows servers, its not worth your while. You're much better off buying them from an MS Partner. I am an MSP so I can show you my own range of plans, as well as those of other MSPs so that you can find the best deal for your needs.

option a) Reasonable amount per month to add is $30 per month
option b) You'd need to apply to Microsoft, have at least 3 MCEs on your team and rent a certain number on a monthly basis.

As far as I know, the SPLA has no monthly minimums. You also do not need to have 3 MCSEs on staff - I believe 2 MCPs will do, as long as one is an MCSE. You can also apply for a waiver if you don't have any MCSEs on staff but plan on adding them or have people who will become certified within the next 6 months.

The biggest problem (IMHO) with the SPLA is that tracking and reporting are entirely manual using their complicated MOET tool and Microsoft only accepts payments through ACH draft or wire transfer.

Other than that, it's a fairly attractive way to stay complaint and keep costs low.

Originally posted by Jay Suds
As far as I know, the SPLA has no monthly minimums. You also do not need to have 3 MCSEs on staff - I believe 2 MCPs will do, as long as one is an MCSE. You can also apply for a waiver if you don't have any MCSEs on staff but plan on adding them or have people who will become certified within the next 6 months.

The biggest problem (IMHO) with the SPLA is that tracking and reporting are entirely manual using their complicated MOET tool and Microsoft only accepts payments through ACH draft or wire transfer.

Other than that, it's a fairly attractive way to stay complaint and keep costs low.

Is there anywhere I could read more about this, the pricing, how to join it, etc.?

Thanks,

Zadillo

Also, speaking of this, I noticed that RackShack for example is selling Windows servers that are 1.7 GHz Celerons with Windows 2003 Server Web Edition (my understanding is that this is a specialized version of Windows 2K3 server that can't run some software, and will only essentially run some specific server software and services). I'm wondering if that is worth offering too, at least on lower priced deals. I see they are offering this for a starting price in the $89 a month range, which seems pretty low even acknowledging that it's W2K3 Server Web Edition and a Celeron processor.

-Zadillo

I think this is what you're looking for for infos:

http://www.microsoft.com/serviceproviders/


specifically this:

http://www.microsoft.com/serviceproviders/licensing/licensing.asp