Those prices represent a 20 percent hike for organizations buying new Select and Open licenses, according to Horwitz. The per-device RDS CAL will cost $102 per year, while the per-user RDS CAL will cost $118 per year, according to the "Windows Server 2012 R2 Remote Desktop Services FAQ" document ( PDF).
#Buy windows server 2012 r2 cals upgrade
They won't pay extra for the upgrade to Windows Server 2012 R2, provided that the SA coverage period extends through Windows Server 2012 R2 general availability period.Īlso going up in price will be Remote Desktop Services (RDS) CALs for Windows Server 2012 R2. Of course, this scenario doesn't apply for organizations with Software Assurance (SA) on top of their Windows Server 2012 licensing.
"Customers who haven't already purchased licenses for Windows Server Datacenter, the Windows Server Standard-to-Datacenter Step-up, CIS Datacenter, or the RDS CAL should consider purchasing at least a single license before November 2013, which will lock in the current price for the duration of the EA enrollment term," Horwitz explained via e-mail. The timing of the release and price list is important because organizations can sometimes take steps beforehand to get a better deal.įor instance, organizations with Enterprise Agreements can buy at least one Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter edition license before GA to lock the price of subsequent purchases at the Windows Server 2012 rate, according to Rob Horwitz, research chair and cofounder of Directions on Microsoft, an independent consultancy. Windows Server 2012 R2 is scheduled for its "general availability" (GA) product release milestone on October 18, but it will be available for purchase on Microsoft's price list on November 1.
See the Microsoft "Windows Server 2012 R2 Licensing Datasheet" for pricing details ( PDF). $4,809 for Windows Server 2012 Datacenter edition licensing. It will cost $6,155 for the Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter edition vs. However, the Datacenter edition of Windows Server 2012 R2 edition will get a 28 percent price hike compared with Windows Server 2012 under Select and Open licensing. Prices will not be changing for the Standard edition of Windows Server 2012 R2 or for Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials.
#Buy windows server 2012 r2 cals how to
A report released last month by Directions on Microsoft offers a few suggestions on how to buy Microsoft's newest server, when it becomes available.