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Windows core licensing—does anyone actually count?

VPS Hosting by olya 24 replies 2.7K views
olya

Member OP

Always Free

14 #1

Windows Server core licensing on VPS platforms is a recurring source of confusion. Here is a structured breakdown.

1. SPLA (Services Provider License Agreement) is the correct vehicle for hosters offering Windows VMs. The hoster reports monthly usage to Microsoft.

2. "Core licensing" means you need licenses per physical core on the host, not per vCPU allocated to you. The hoster bundles this into your price.

3. Pro tip: if your provider charges $5/month for Windows, they are likely eating SPLA costs or using a promotional allocation. Heads up: this is unsustainable at scale.

Audit probability for individual VPS customers is functionally zero. Microsoft audits SPLA resellers, not end users. Your compliance anxiety is misplaced unless you are the hoster.

I have compiled this from Oracle Cloud documentation and direct experience with licensed software procurement. No affiliation with Microsoft.

licensing is a suggestion
armstrongvds

Member

ARM Enjoyer

#2

Insane value on Ampere Altra for Windows workloads actually!

Oracle's free tier ARM instances run Windows Server 2022 just fine if you bring your own license. 4 cores, 24GB RAM — runs circles around most budget x86 VPS for compilation workloads.

I know, I know, "Oracle" — but the hardware itself is legit. I've got Visual Studio builds finishing in 8 minutes that take 25 on my old Leaseweb 2-core.

Anyone actually done the BYOL math vs SPLA-included?

one small ping for man...
rudi3

Member

sudo rm -rf /

#3

The BYOL Math is actually quite simple or? You take your existing Software assurance license and divide by the Utilization rate but actually the Hosters themselves must report the CoreCount correctly and many actually do not or? I have seen Providers claiming Eight cores licensed when the PhysicalHost has SixtyFour and the Math does not work at all because MicrosoftSPLA requires FullLicensing per Physical processor and the Virtualization rights are actually separate or? This is all in the Product terms document itself which I have read MultipleTimes.

The Audit probability for EndCustomers is nearZero but for Resellers it is actually significant and I know one Hostinger partner who received the Letter last year and the Process itself took FourMonths.

jane_ffm

Member

#4

Thanks for raising this, @olya — it's a topic I handle regularly as a customer.

From the Contabo side, here's how they structure it:

  • All Windows VPS plans include SPLA licensing in the monthly price
  • They report physical host core counts monthly through their reseller channel
  • No separate "Windows tax" — it's baked into the plan tier

I'm happy to share my experience with their SPLA setup via DM if you're evaluating providers and want verification. Compliance isn't just paperwork for me — it's how I sleep at night.

— Jane

Single mode till I die 💀
prague1983

Member

btw I use Arch

#5

Oh this thread again

"does anyone actually count" — the auditors do, eventually

Just use Debian. Skill issue.

oops: 0000 [#1] SMP
DO

Member

#6

Oracle's free tier still exists?

FyreJun

Member

#7

Which Windows Server 2022 build did you use?

armstrongvds

Member

ARM Enjoyer

5 #8
dot8 said:
Oracle's free tier still exists?

Barely. They keep trimming it but the ARM quota still renews monthly. I have three accounts in a spreadsheet tracking which one is in grace period this month.

The trick is they don't police BYOL enforcement on ARM. You upload an ISO, install, activate with your own key. No SPLA involved because you're the licensee.

one small ping for man...
FyreJun

Member

#9
armstrongvds said:
I have three accounts in a spreadsheet tracking which one is in grace period this month.

2022 Datacenter Eval, then slapped my Visual Studio subscription key on it. Build 20348.1547 if you're chasing specific patch levels.

The ARM64 build is on the VLSC now, wasn't two years ago. Had to hunt for it.

prague1983

Member

btw I use Arch

#10
FyreJun said:
Just use Debian. Skill issue.

This is a thread about SPLA compliance, not your religion. Some of us have .NET codebases older than your Arch install.

That said, my Debian boxes at Hetzner cost half and never phone home about license counts. Different problem, different solution.

oops: 0000 [#1] SMP

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