Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition Product Key
Montana Strobl
If your server is running an evaluation version of Windows Server Standard or Datacenter edition, you can convert it to an available retail version. Run the following commands in an elevated command prompt or PowerShell session.
You can't convert an Active Directory domain controller from an evaluation to a retail version. In this case, install an additional domain controller on a server that runs a retail version, migrate any FSMO roles held, and remove Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) from the domain controller that runs on the evaluation version. For more information, see Upgrade Domain Controllers to Windows Server.
If the server is running Windows Server Essentials, you can convert it to the full retail version by entering a retail, volume license, or OEM key in the following command at an elevated command prompt:
Our client wants to expand RAM to its maximum on HP BL490c G6 server, but the issue is that MS Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2 (SP2) Standard Edition is installed there and it supports only 32GB of RAM.
Since this is database server, running MS SQL Server 2008, are there any steps to be performed in advance for an upgrade to run smoothly. It goes without saying, that all instance should be stopped prior to doing upgrade, but, nevertheless, any other things to consider, like stopping AV etc?
I've done similar upgrades from SQL Server 2008 to 2008R2 then to SQL Server 2012, but it was on a Windows Server 2008 box. I have one server left in my environment running Server 2003. I have using a 10 year old OS. The prior answer is correct, once the installer starts, just choose to upgrade an existing instance ()and make sure you do a full backup before hand). Good luck.
Microsoft has offered Standard and Datacenter editions of its Windows Server operating systems for several years, which continued with Windows Server 2022. However, the company introduced a new product called the Windows Server 2022 Datacenter Azure edition. As the name implies, this edition ties server workloads more closely to the Microsoft cloud platform and offers unique features to tempt customers who want easier patching and other perks.
Microsoft decided to drop the Windows Server Semi-Annual Channel that catered to organizations interested in emerging server technologies and stick with the Long-Term Servicing Channel, which produces a major feature release around every two years. All Windows Server 2022 editions follow Microsoft's fixed lifecycle policy and will receive five years of mainstream support followed by five years of extended support. While Microsoft always recommends a clean install of its server OS, Windows Server 2022 supports in-place upgrades from the two previous Windows Server releases.
These minimum hardware requirements will not be sufficient to run a workload with decent performance. Even Microsoft's own documentation points out the minimum requirements just to install Windows Server 2022 require at least 800 MB of RAM. Once Windows Server has been installed, the RAM can be decreased to 512 MB if necessary. As a best practice, organizations should match server hardware to the workload.
Administrators who deploy the server core version of Windows Server should note that Microsoft plans to stop developing the Server Configuration tool (sconfig) and remove it from the next Windows server version. The sconfig utility will still run upon sign-in, but Window Server 2022 will use PowerShell as the default shell rather than the command prompt.
Microsoft designed Windows Server 2022 Standard for physical machines or environments that are minimally virtualized. The retail price for Standard edition is $1,069 for use up to 16 cores. Systems with more than 16 cores will require additional licenses to cover each physical core on the CPU. Additionally, each client that accesses a Standard edition server requires a Client Access License (CAL).
Windows Server 2022 Standard largely has the same feature set as the Datacenter edition with some minor variations. For example, Standard edition limits the Storage Replica feature to a single partnership with one resource group and a 2 TB volume. Similarly, Standard edition only supports inherited activation if it is running as a guest on a Datacenter edition server. Standard edition also lacks support for software-defined networking and the Storage Spaces Direct software-defined storage feature.
The biggest difference between the Standard and Datacenter editions relates to virtual-machine licensing. Both editions support an unlimited number of Windows Server containers. However, the Standard edition limits this to two operating systems per license, meaning a Standard edition server can run a parent operating system and a single Hyper-V virtual machine or a single Hyper-V container. In contrast, a Datacenter edition license allows for an unlimited number of Hyper-V virtual machines or Hyper-V containers.
Like the Standard edition, this license allows Windows Server to run on up to 16 cores with additional licenses required for CPUs with more cores. CALs are also required for each client that accesses the server.
Microsoft also offers an Essentials edition of Windows Server 2022 that it targets for small businesses with up to 25 users and 50 devices. Windows Server 2022 Essentials sells for $501 and does not require CALs but is limited to 10 cores, a single socket and a single virtual machine. The feature set is the same as the Standard edition. Windows Server 2022 Essentials is only available through certain server hardware partners.
If you are in a micro organisation with a tight budget needing basic server features, go for Essentials. Choose Standard if your company is small to medium-sized and requires additional functionality and some virtualisation. If you work for a large enterprise with extensive virtualised IT infrastructure, the Datacenter edition is the right for you.
Have browsed the public and private images but after lots of searching I can still only find the datacenter edition of server 2019. Do Microsoft only support datacenter edition on azure or am I looking in the wrong place?
Dedicated infrastructure provides servers that are physically isolated for use by a single customer. Amazon EC2 has two dedicated infrastructure options: Dedicated Hosts and Dedicated Instances. If you bring existing licenses to Dedicated Hosts or Dedicated Instances, then you are using hardware that is fully dedicated to your use.
A Dedicated Host is a physical EC2 server fully dedicated to you. Amazon EC2 Dedicated Hosts allow you to use your eligible software licenses from vendors, including Microsoft, on Amazon EC2, so that you get the flexibility and cost effectiveness of using your own licenses, but with the resiliency, simplicity and elasticity of AWS. With Dedicated Hosts, you have an option to control instance placement and gain visibility into the number of sockets and cores installed on a host. You can use these features to bring your own software licenses bound to virtual instances, sockets, or cores, including Windows Server, SQL Server, and SUSE Enterprise Server.
There are various factors to consider when licensing passive failover for SQL Server. The information below pertains only to the SQL Server licenses and not the Windows Server licenses. In all cases, you must license Windows Server. For more information on SQL and failover server scenarios, visit this Microsoft SQL Server Licensing guide.
In contrast, when System Center products are purchased individually as Client Management Licenses, and are not purchased as part of System Center Standard or System Center Datacenter suites, the licenses are intended for managing end user clients rather than server environments.
The latest server OS released by Microsoft, Windows Server 2022, offers a variety of features and improvements in performance, connectivity and security. AWS customers can make the best out of running Windows Server 2022 on EC2 by leveraging the elasticity and breadth of resources offered on AWS. Customers can start using various features of Windows Server 2022 readily by accessing the Windows AMIs offered by AWS.
Glossary
AMI (Amazon Machine Image): Is a template for the root volume for the instance (for example, an operating system, an application server, and applications), manages launch permissions that control which AWS accounts can use the AMI to launch instances. Contains a block device mapping that specifies the volumes to attach to the instance when it's launched.
AWS (Amazon Web Services): offers a broad set of global compute, storage, database, analytics, application, and deployment services that help organizations move faster, lower IT costs, and scale applications.
AWS Management Console: access and manage Amazon Web Services through a simple and intuitive web-based user interface.
BYOL (Bring Your Own License): is a process you can use to deploy software that you have previously licensed on physically dedicated AWS hardware. If you BYOL, you do not pay for instances with licensing included in the cost. Instead, you pay the same rate as EC2 instances with Amazon Linux pricing. When you BYOL, you are responsible for managing your own licenses.
CloudEndure: offers reliable business continuity solutions that minimize data loss and downtime due to human errors, network failures, external threats, or any other disruptions. Our Disaster Recovery and Migration solutions are powered by innovative workload mobility technology, which continuously replicates applications from any physical, virtual, or cloud-based infrastructure into Amazon Web Services (AWS). As such, CloudEndure is uniquely qualified to support large-scale, heterogeneous environments with diverse applications and infrastructure.
Custom AMI: is an AMI created in your account either built from an imported image or captured from an existing instance. For example, you can launch an instance from an existing AMI, customize the instance, and then save this updated configuration as a custom AMI. Instances launched from this new custom AMI include the customizations that you made when you created the AMI.
EC2 (Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud): provides scalable computing capacity in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud.
EMP (End-of-Support Migration Program) for Windows Server: program that helps customers with migration of their legacy Windows Server applications to the latest, supported versions of Windows Server on AWS, without any code changes.
EOS (End of Support): is a term used to reference Microsoft ending support for a product, in accordance with their Product Lifecycle policy.
Hyperscale: refers to the facilities and provisioning required in distributed computing environments to efficiently scale from a few servers to thousands of servers. Hyperscale computing is usually used in environments such as big data and cloud computing.
In-Place Upgrade: upgrades the operating system files while your personal settings and files are intact.
Instance (EC2 Instance): is a virtual server in the AWS cloud. Its configuration at launch is a copy of the AMI that you specified when you launched the instance.
LI (License Included): refers to the use of Amazon's Microsoft Licensing Agreement for Windows Server and SQL Server.
LTSC (Long Term Servicing Channel): is a release channel of Windows Server released once per 2-3 years with stability and long term support in mind. LTSC releases provide a predictable OS experience and provide 5 years of traditional support starting from initial release, plus an additional 5 years of extended support for security updates.
VMIE (AWS VM Import/Export): is an AWS Service used to import Operating System Images to AWS EC2 in an offline mode.
RDS (Amazon Relational Database Service): is a web service that makes it easier to set up, operate, and scale a relational database in the cloud. It provides cost-efficient, resizable capacity for an industry-standard relational database and manages common database administration tasks.
SA (Software Assurance): is a comprehensive program offered by Microsoft to help deploy, manage, and use Microsoft products efficiently.
SAC (Semi-Annual Channel): is release channel of Windows Server released twice per year with a limited support life cycle, ending 18 months from initial release. SAC releases allow customers to pilot the latest OS features quickly, but are not intended for long term use.
SMS (AWS Server Migration Service): is an AWS Service used to import Operating System Images to AWS EC2 in an online mode.
WorkSpaces (Amazon Workspaces): is a managed, secure cloud desktop service. You can use Amazon WorkSpaces to provision either Windows or Linux desktops in just a few minutes and quickly scale to provide thousands of desktops to workers across the globe.