Options for getting ~150 Windows 7 Pro licences
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Doesn't matter, if you go volume licence route you get enterprise. As the software assurance is what gets you Enterprise edition licences.
Upgrading around 70 xp machines, (all of which have 7 pro oem licence stickers on them)
And buying around 70 new machines (70 of our machines are too old for 7)
So 140 machines total.
.
How do keys work in this situation? If we already have 70 Windows 7 oem licences, can these all work on the same ghost image?
If we moved to volume licencing, can these 70 be 'traded in' towards the total number?
Before this job, I only dealt with individual servers on different sites, so just bought individual server licences as they were needed.
Thanks for any info
And buying around 70 new machines (70 of our machines are too old for 7)
So 140 machines total.
.
How do keys work in this situation? If we already have 70 Windows 7 oem licences, can these all work on the same ghost image?
If we moved to volume licencing, can these 70 be 'traded in' towards the total number?
Before this job, I only dealt with individual servers on different sites, so just bought individual server licences as they were needed.
Thanks for any info
I'm not sure on the keys. Never been an issue for us - we use 7 Enterprise on Software Assurance so everything gets upgraded.
Going slightly off topic, ghost imaging isn't recommended nowadays. Microsoft created imaging tools for Windows 7, in fact the DVD installer uses the simplest version. We binned Ghost and the disk cloning machine we used for XP and now network build everything via SCCM. For smaller environments like yours the free MDT tools would provide most of the functionality.
To vastly simplify it, in essence you can build a reference machine with all the apps installed, MDT can then strip the hardware information out and capture a sysprepped image file. You can then deploy that image out in a task sequence, installing the correct drivers on demand for the PC, adding to the domain and running scripts if neccessary.
Going slightly off topic, ghost imaging isn't recommended nowadays. Microsoft created imaging tools for Windows 7, in fact the DVD installer uses the simplest version. We binned Ghost and the disk cloning machine we used for XP and now network build everything via SCCM. For smaller environments like yours the free MDT tools would provide most of the functionality.
To vastly simplify it, in essence you can build a reference machine with all the apps installed, MDT can then strip the hardware information out and capture a sysprepped image file. You can then deploy that image out in a task sequence, installing the correct drivers on demand for the PC, adding to the domain and running scripts if neccessary.
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If your using ghost, you should have Software Assurance (SA) cover, as that is what allows the "imaging rights" from Microsoft to be used. without SA you should only be building machines from the original supplied media.
As the machines all have OEM stickers on them, you should have the media to rebuild them, or your going to have to source an OEM copy of the windows & media. (shouldn't be too hard with good old google)
Now when you purchase a copy of windows 7 professional, (you cant actually buy Enterprise) with software assurance this give you access to Windows 7 Enterprise, as the enterprise edition is a benefit afforded by software Assurance. Enterprise is not legally available to non SA customers. And is not available as a SKU for direct purchase.
As the machines all have OEM stickers on them, you should have the media to rebuild them, or your going to have to source an OEM copy of the windows & media. (shouldn't be too hard with good old google)
Now when you purchase a copy of windows 7 professional, (you cant actually buy Enterprise) with software assurance this give you access to Windows 7 Enterprise, as the enterprise edition is a benefit afforded by software Assurance. Enterprise is not legally available to non SA customers. And is not available as a SKU for direct purchase.
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OK there are two ways to do this. And it appears Ms have changed their rules for windows 8.
volume licence customers do indeed get imaging rights under their Volume licence without the need for SA.
Do I have the right to reimage if I do not have Software Assurance? Yes. All Microsoft Volume Licensing customers, regardless of whether they have Software Assurance, can reimage as long as the eligibility requirements for reimaging are met
If you do not have a VL, then you need SA for each copy.
volume licence customers do indeed get imaging rights under their Volume licence without the need for SA.
Do I have the right to reimage if I do not have Software Assurance? Yes. All Microsoft Volume Licensing customers, regardless of whether they have Software Assurance, can reimage as long as the eligibility requirements for reimaging are met
If you do not have a VL, then you need SA for each copy.
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Key activation works one of two ways.
(1) You use a Mass Activation Key (MAK) which works just like the old volume keys in that you use it in your image instead of the default key. Every machine will individually authorise that key against Microsoft. This has a limited number of activations.
(2) You use a Key Management Server on your domain and add the KMS keys supplied to you against that server. This server authorises the keys with Microsoft and then acts as a local authentication point for all your machines so they never need to contact MS themselves. As long as they can contact your domain once every 6 months (configurable) they'll stay activated on the default install key.
In all cases you are responsible for the number of machines you license - the MAK is usually supplied with a higher number than you buy.
MAK are harder to manage as if you destroy a machine you cannot get that "activation" back unless you've saved it previously. You may eventually need to go and ask for more activations, possibly triggering an audit. With KMS it just keeps a rolling total of activations. You also have the problem of keeping the MAK key secure so that someone doesn't post it on the web or use it at home, using up your activations.
There's a few other points you need to know, but that's as simple as I can explain it
(1) You use a Mass Activation Key (MAK) which works just like the old volume keys in that you use it in your image instead of the default key. Every machine will individually authorise that key against Microsoft. This has a limited number of activations.
(2) You use a Key Management Server on your domain and add the KMS keys supplied to you against that server. This server authorises the keys with Microsoft and then acts as a local authentication point for all your machines so they never need to contact MS themselves. As long as they can contact your domain once every 6 months (configurable) they'll stay activated on the default install key.
In all cases you are responsible for the number of machines you license - the MAK is usually supplied with a higher number than you buy.
MAK are harder to manage as if you destroy a machine you cannot get that "activation" back unless you've saved it previously. You may eventually need to go and ask for more activations, possibly triggering an audit. With KMS it just keeps a rolling total of activations. You also have the problem of keeping the MAK key secure so that someone doesn't post it on the web or use it at home, using up your activations.
There's a few other points you need to know, but that's as simple as I can explain it
I can think of two main reasons :
1) Hardware support - some of our Windows 7 capable kit (that was running XP) won't run Windows 8.1 due to manufacturers dropping driver support for various bits of hardware.
2) Software support - took us nearly two years to get most of the applications we use tested/upgraded/bodged to work on Windows 7. Some of those won't work on Windows 8.
For typical corporate use with tens if not hundreds of applications across the estate, Windows 7 is the best option before you even start looking at other issues like the interface and having to upgrade back end servers to support the new features. Windows 7 still has plenty of life in it - extended support runs until 2020.
1) Hardware support - some of our Windows 7 capable kit (that was running XP) won't run Windows 8.1 due to manufacturers dropping driver support for various bits of hardware.
2) Software support - took us nearly two years to get most of the applications we use tested/upgraded/bodged to work on Windows 7. Some of those won't work on Windows 8.
For typical corporate use with tens if not hundreds of applications across the estate, Windows 7 is the best option before you even start looking at other issues like the interface and having to upgrade back end servers to support the new features. Windows 7 still has plenty of life in it - extended support runs until 2020.
You need to get on a Volume License scheme - remember that Windows VL licenses are only upgrades, so you will need a qualifying OEM license on each machine already - so for a business if you want Windows 7 Enterprise then you need to buy PCs with an OEM license for a Pro version of Windows and then buy the quantity of seats you require and then pay for Software Assurance on top if you want to be able to upgrade in the future without having to re-purchase all your licenses.
There is no concept of "trading in" licenses, you need a valid OEM license and then you need a VL license if you want to apply Software Assurance to it. Don't forget your CALs if you want the client operating systems that you've legally licensed to be able to legally use the resources on the server operating system that you have also legally licensed. Yes it's a little bit like robbery. I'm glad I got out of the Microsoft game.
Softcat are one of the best people I've ever dealt with for MS licensing, for giving you a straight answer as well as sorting out the purchasing.
I find it very hard to justify purchasing OS licenses as opposed to just using the OEM version that is supplied with the PC, since PCs are cheap and you replace them every 3 years anyway.
There is no concept of "trading in" licenses, you need a valid OEM license and then you need a VL license if you want to apply Software Assurance to it. Don't forget your CALs if you want the client operating systems that you've legally licensed to be able to legally use the resources on the server operating system that you have also legally licensed. Yes it's a little bit like robbery. I'm glad I got out of the Microsoft game.
Softcat are one of the best people I've ever dealt with for MS licensing, for giving you a straight answer as well as sorting out the purchasing.
I find it very hard to justify purchasing OS licenses as opposed to just using the OEM version that is supplied with the PC, since PCs are cheap and you replace them every 3 years anyway.
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As well as the reasons given by magicboy above, you have to factor in user training. Windows 8 interface requires a shift in thinking even if you make drastic changes so that it acts more like XP/Win7. We're almost certainly not going to upgrade Windows 7 for our ~4000 users until at least Windows 9 SP1 - by that time most users will have had some experience on their own PCs with Windows 8/8.1