Update on Licensing and Virtualization Support for SharePoint Products and Technologies
Updated 08/25/08.
Today we’re excited to announce support and licensing updates for Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP1 running in virtual machines. This is part of a larger announcement affecting multiple Microsoft products, including Exchange Server, SQL Server and SharePoint Server.
As of today, we formally support SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP1 running under Hyper-V through our normal support channels. In addition, we now offer support for SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP1 running in 3rd party virtualization software that is certified through our Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP). The SVVP is an opt-in program that non-Microsoft virtualization providers can choose to participate in. A list of participating vendors is here.
We’re working on performance and deployment guidance for SharePoint Server 2007 running under Hyper-V that will be published in the next few days on Microsoft TechNet. This blog post will be updated with a link as soon as it’s published.
Update: Using SharePoint Products and Technologies in a Hyper-V virtual environment TechNet article has been published.
We have also updated our license terms to allow you to take full advantage of virtualization mobility by waiving the limitation on short-term reassignment (the 90-day license reassignment rule) for SharePoint Server 2007. Effective September 1, 2008, the new rule allows you to move your server licenses and software running instances from one physical server to another as often as you like in the following circumstance – both servers must be located within one or two datacenters within 4 time zones of each other.
We’ve compiled a short FAQ that should help with some common questions.
Q: Do you have any SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 deployment and configuration guidance for Hyper-V environments?
A: We’re working on it now and it will be published on Microsoft TechNet very soon (next couple of days) – this blog post will be updated as soon as the content goes live.
Q: Since SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 require SQL server, is there anything I should know about running SQL Server through Hyper-V in the context of a SharePoint deployment?
A: Follow the Hyper-V guidance provided by the SQL server Product Group, this can be found here.
Q: Do I need to install the recently released Infrastructure Updates for SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 to be supported in a Hyper-V environment?
A: No, but you need to deploy Service Pack 1. We strongly recommend installing the Infrastructure updates in addition to Service Pack 1 but they are not a prerequisite for Hyper-V support.
Q: Will SharePoint Server 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 continue to be supported on Virtual Server 2005 R2?
A: Yes, we are not changing any existing support policies beyond this announcement.
Q: Does this announcement include support for previous versions of SharePoint Server and Windows SharePoint Services in Hyper-V environment?
A: No. The support announcement only covers SharePoint Server 2007 SP1 and later, and Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP1 and later.
Q: Does this announcement also cover SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet Sites SP1, Forms Server 2007 SP1 and Search Server 2008?
A: Yes.
Q: Does the new licensing rule allow me to concurrently run as many instances of SharePoint Server 2007 as I can on one physical server with only one license?
A: No! You still need to purchase a license for every running instance of SharePoint Server 2007 (or SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet Sites, Forms Server 2007 and Search Server 2008).
