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xen-users
Re: [Xen-users] How do I get Windows licenses for virtual machines?
Dustin Henning said the following:
Whether or not that "loophole" is legal is debatable.
No it isn't. It was widely employed and promoted by MS in back
channels. Reading the current Windows 7 OEM license
(http://oem.microsoft.com/public/sblicense/2008_sb_licenses/fy08_sb_license_english.pdf)
point 5c indicates it is still a valid option.
However, assuming it
is legal, said CD-ROM drive or audio cable would have to be installed in the
machine the license is being used on in order to meet the conditions of the
"loophole."
That's easy enough, assuming you still have a CD/DVD-ROM drive in your
machine.
Seeing as how a virtual machine technically has no hardware,
unless it is also legal to consider the host's hardware applicable to the
OEM license, this "loophole" still wouldn't be effective.
Have you read the license? IANAL, but I wouldn't dismiss it without
checking. I don't see any mention of virtualisation or VMs in the OEM
System Builder License. I could be reading the license too liberally,
but I think you are over complicating matters.
That said, it
would allow for the purchase of volume licensing for the virtual machine on
the hardware that had the OEM license once the OEM license was obtained, but
at that point, the cost is probably going to be greater than the initial
retail license (unless you are to have several Windows VMs on one machine,
but even then the volume licensing might require an OEM license per volume
license), and you are still keeping track of individual OEM licenses and
their keys the same way you are with the retail ones, only then that
tracking is in addition to the volume licensing.
When I read things like this I smile and think about how little I miss
proprietary software and the peripheral headaches that come with it.
Anthony, best of luck sorting out your licensing :-p.
- Ben
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