Understanding the Differences between Server 2008 Versions

It is without a doubt that your business might benefit from using a top of the line IT platform such as Server 2008 r2 Enterprise.  The edition of the software you are to purchase, however, will depend on certain variables. These include how many virtual machines or VM’s you are about are to use and your rubrics for high availability.

If you want to use server 2008 functions such as Live Migration, you will need to purchase the Enterprise or Datacenter versions of the app as these are only available in the stock keeping units of each.  Then, the number of virtal machines that Standard supports is one physical OS and one virtual operating system. On the other hand, one physical operating system is supported by Enterprise followed by 4 virtual OS’s. While one actual operating system and virtual OS’s are unlimited with Datacenter.

Another thing you should take note of is that multiple licenses may be assigned to one physical server. If you buy 2 copies of Server Enterprise and assign them to a particular server, that then allows you to run up to 8 VM’s. You can also purchase 8 copies of Std Edition or two from Datacenter.

In terms of efficiency of use, several factors come into play, these include how you ration the VM’s per server. In the case of Standard Edition, it is ideal to use 3 VM’s while 3 copies of the Std platform are used. For Enterprise, it is better if you use 4 VM’s for each processor and 4 per server. If you have a dual processor and you want to use up to 8 virtual machines, 2 copies of Server Ent. Is the ideal to purchase.

It is most efficient to use Datacenter if you run more than 4 VM’s for every processor. This way you can use an unlimited amount of virtual machines per processor and you can in turn license each processor. You may also want to use Datacenter rather than Enterprise if you anticipate further requirements. Just take note that all the processors need to be licensed. Finally, it is important to remember that using the highest number of virtual instances limits you to running only the Hyper-V workload inside the parent partition. Running more workloads than that makes you lose a virtual instance right.

These are just some of the things to remember on when you’re deciding to get Server 2008R2 Enterprise or something else. Take note of these guidelines and see which ones are most appropriate to your business needs.