Everything That There Is To Know About VDI Licensing with Windows
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I am trying to collect a more or less definitive list of the VDI options and basic costs and considerations around Windows licensing. What are all of the ways that you can license VDI, like VDA and SA, and what gotchas have people found? What costs are people seeing?
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WATCHING INTENTLY.
(for no reason, really)
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From what I read, this is what I remember.
The broad stroke on accessing a VDI desktop is everything is licensed per device, not per user or not per machine.
The two per device licensing models are VDA, or Windows Upgrade VL + Software Assurance.
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Why would you need Windows Upgrade VL?
For example you can buy SA for a machine within the first 90 days of ownership, no upgrade required.
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@Dashrender True... you just need SA if it is a new machine.
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Are there any other paths other than VDA, SA or using one server install per user?
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Anyone with additional insight?
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It really would be nice to have a full time Microsoft person on here.
Like the other vendors.
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@Chris and @GregoryHall are with MS.
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I just remembered that you can get SA like privileges through InTune with OS support. I wonder if you can get VDI with that as well?
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@Dashrender said:
I just remembered that you can get SA like privileges through InTune with OS support. I wonder if you can get VDI with that as well?
Nothing like it last that I saw.
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Old article, but this is how bad VDA had gotten: http://www.brianmadden.com/blogs/brianmadden/archive/2012/03/01/4-ways-microsoft-is-screwing-the-desktop-virtualization-industry-and-why-i-m-quitting-the-mvp-program.aspx
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@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
I just remembered that you can get SA like privileges through InTune with OS support. I wonder if you can get VDI with that as well?
Nothing like it last that I saw.
Meaning you didn't know about InTucne with OS support or you don't know about VDI support through this?
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@Dashrender said:
@scottalanmiller said:
@Dashrender said:
I just remembered that you can get SA like privileges through InTune with OS support. I wonder if you can get VDI with that as well?
Nothing like it last that I saw.
Meaning you didn't know about InTucne with OS support or you don't know about VDI support through this?
We've done a lot with InTune and I've never seen any VDI options through it.
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Quoting @chris: I can definitely help with any licensing questions on this subject... in fact it is one that I know very well.
Windows SA will be less expensive over the long run, if you plan on hosting your desktop VMs longer than 3 years. Windows VDA is more for thin clients, 3rd party owned devices or any device that doesn't have SA. It is more expensive and doesn't include local install rights, like Windows SA does.
If you can use a Windows Server OS, going with a Data Center license might save some costs, versus going with a Windows desktop OS VM.
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@scottalanmiller said:
If you can use a Windows Server OS, going with a Data Center license might save some costs, versus going with a Windows desktop OS VM.
Definitely will if you plan to have them be around for more than 3 years (assuming 50 + device access) - but you still need RDS connections licenses, don't you?
Do you need RDS connection licenses when using VDI with SA?
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@Dashrender said:
Do you need RDS connection licenses when using VDI with SA?
No, RDS is for access to servers as a non-admin user. You don't need an RDS license to access your own desktop remotely.
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I'm no expert on VDI, but I use my InTune licence to create and licence a Windows VM on my server which I then remote desktop onto. That's VDI isn't it? I believe I'm ok to do that.
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@Carnival-Boy said:
I'm no expert on VDI, but I use my InTune licence to create and licence a Windows VM on my server which I then remote desktop onto. That's VDI isn't it? I believe I'm ok to do that.
A Windows Desktop VM is VDI. Last time I used InTune, it did not provide Windows licenses, when did they start that?
