Bottom Line: If Hyper-v is being considered as an option to host VDI desktops, consider utilizing Windows Server 2012 Standard edition and buying Windows Server 2008 R2 with Software Assurance before the release of Windows Server 2012.
With the upcoming Introduction of Windows Server 2012
(September 4, 2012), Microsoft has reduced the number of server software
editions that offer hypervisors (Hyper-v) to two: Standard and Datacenter
editions. Microsoft has also modified
the licensing of the software by making both server editions processor based
licenses. Windows Server 2012 Standard’s
functionality has been elevated to match the Datacenter edition by providing parity
between the two editions with the exception of virtualization rights and licensing
cost. A Standard license permits up to
two server virtual machines to operate on two processors of a server, while the
Datacenter license allows the utilization of two processors by an unlimited
number of server virtual machines running on a server. Though the Datacenter edition permits
unlimited server virtualization, the functional parity between the Datacenter
edition and Standard edition allow the Windows Server 2012 Standard edition to
host virtual desktops for one fifth the cost of Datacenter edition. Through these modifications, Microsoft has
made the hosting of the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) desktops utilizing
Hyper-v less expensive and more competitive with other competing VDI solutions. This post will explore these changes and
discuss why these changes have made VDI desktops hosted on Hyper-v, more
affordable.
Hosting VDI under Windows Server 2008 R2
Microsoft commercially markets Hyper-v as one of the roles within
the Windows Server operating system and may be used to host server or desktop
virtual machines. Since the release of
Windows Server 2008 R2 edition, Microsoft increased the functionality of
Hyper-v to provide the capability of hosting VDI desktops. VDI was possible on three editions of Windows
Server 2008 R2; Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter. Though VDI was possible with
the least expensive server licensing option, Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard
edition, it programmatically constrained memory usage to 32 gigabytes. This memory constraint reduced the Standard
edition’s performance ability to everything beyond the implementation of a
small number of desktops. The Enterprise
and Datacenter editions, on the other hand, were capable of managing up to two
terabytes of memory, which provided a platform for a large scale deployment of
VDI.
Hosting VDI with Windows Server 2012
After the release of Windows Server 2012, Microsoft will be
marketing only two server editions with Hyper-v, the Standard and Datacenter
editions. Because the past technical constraints that
have kept the Standard edition from being considered for a VDI roll-out are no
longer an issue, both of these editions will be considered viable VDI host
options. The Datacenter and Standard
editions of Windows Server 2012 are both processor based licenses with a license
from either edition covering two physical processors on the assigned server. There are two major differences between the
two editions; the first difference is in how many virtual server instances may
exist on a server licensed under the two editions. A Windows Server 2012 Standard edition
license provides the right to execute two virtual server machines with two
processors. The Windows Server 2012
Datacenter edition license entitles the owner to run an unlimited number of
server virtual machines with two processors.
The second significant difference is in the cost of licensing each
processor on a server. A Windows Server
2012 Standard license will cost $882 (retail) or each processor may be licensed
for $441. The Datacenter license will
cost $4410 or $2205 per processor meaning that it will cost five times the amount
to license a processor using Datacenter than it does if a Standard edition
license is used. Assuming that Microsoft
does not add any licensing restrictions to using the Windows Server 2012
Standard edition hypervisor for VDI, the cost of hosting VDI desktops on the
Windows Server Standard edition will be one fifth the cost of the Datacenter
option. Though there are other
components required for a Microsoft VDI solution, this reduction in cost makes
the Microsoft VDI option more competitive with other VDI providers.
Windows Server 2012 Hyper-v licensing cost per Virtual Desktop Chart
The following chart provides an analysis of the cost per
virtual desktop assuming that six virtual desktops may be active on one
processor core. Within the chart, three
examples of the Hyper-v software licensing costs are provided. The first
example is entitled “Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard with Software Assurance
Upgraded to Windows Server 2012 Standard” and includes the virtual desktop
costs assuming that the Software Assurance license grant for Windows Server
2008 R2 Standard on four processor servers has been enacted (this was discussed
in the blog posted on August 16, 2012).
The second option provides the cost for Windows Server 2012 Standard purchased
after the September 4, 2012 release and the third option provides cost
information for VDI running on Hyper-v licensed through Windows Server 2012
Datacenter. Within each example there are the following four rows of
information:
·
Licensing costs per server
·
Cores per server
·
Virtual Desktops executing per server
(Assuming six desktops per core)
·
Cost per Virtual Desktop (Not
accounting for high availability)
Each of the three examples has cost information for a two
processor server and a four processor server as denoted by the labels on the
first row of the chart. Under the two
and four processor server labels in the first row are four columns which
provide cost for processors with either four, six, eight, or ten cores per
processor.
Two Processor Licensed Server
|
Four Processors Licensed Server
|
||||||||
| Hypervisor Licensing options | Four cores per procsr | Six cores per procsr | Eight cores per procsr | Ten cores per procsr | Four cores per procsr | Six cores per procsr | Eight cores per procsr | Ten cores per procsr | |
| 1. Windows server 2008 R2 Standard with Software Assurance Upgraded to Windows Server 2012 Standard - Lowest cost option per Virtual Desktop | Licensing costs per server |
$726.00
|
$726.00
|
||||||
| Cores per server |
8
|
12
|
16
|
20
|
16
|
24
|
32
|
40
|
|
| Virtual Desktops executing per server assuming six desktops per core |
48
|
72
|
96
|
120
|
96
|
144
|
192
|
240
|
|
| Costs per Virtual Desktop not accounting for high availability | $15.13 | $10.08 | $7.56 | $6.05 | $7.56 | $5.04 | $3.78 | $3.03 | |
| 2. Windows Server 2012 Standard purchased after the September 4th release | Licensing costs per server |
$882.00
|
$1,764.00
|
||||||
| Cores per server |
8
|
12
|
16
|
20
|
16
|
24
|
32
|
40
|
|
| Virtual Desktops executing per server assuming six desktops per core |
48
|
72
|
96
|
120
|
96
|
144
|
192
|
240
|
|
| Cost per Virtual Desktop not accounting for high availability | $18.38 | $12.25 | $9.19 | $7.35 | $18.38 | $12.25 | $9.19 | $7.35 | |
| 3. Windows Server 2012 Datacenter | Licensing costs per server |
$4,810.00
|
$9,620.00
|
||||||
| Cores per server |
8
|
12
|
16
|
20
|
16
|
24
|
32
|
40
|
|
| Virtual Desktops executing per server assuming six desktops per core |
48
|
72
|
96
|
120
|
96
|
144
|
192
|
240
|
|
| Cost per Virtual Desktop not accounting for high availability | $100.21 | $66.81 | $50.10 | $40.08 | $100.21 | $66.81 | $50.10 | $40.08 | |
