Windows Server 2022—your guide to the new licensing editions

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The latest Windows Server operating system (OS) release adds major advancements to this widely trusted and adopted OS. Some of the new highlights include:

• Advanced multilayered security to help customers protect their data and harden the security of critical systems.
• Hybrid cloud capabilities that provide the ability to extend on-premises Windows Server environments into Microsoft Azure, enabling customers to manage, secure, and govern Windows Server on-premises, at the edge, or in multicloud environments from a single control plane.
• A flexible application platform that empowers developers and other IT professionals to build and deploy diverse applications, with advancements to Windows containers including application compatibility and the Windows Container experience with Kubernetes.

 

As your customers consider upgrading to Windows Server 2022, they may have some questions about the licensing editions. Microsoft has changed the options a bit, adding a new version of the Datacenter edition that’s built to run with Azure. HPE offers Reseller Option Kit (ROK) licenses for:

• Windows Server 2022 Essentials is typically for small and midsize businesses (SMBs) with basic IT needs. This edition allows for up to 25 users and 50 devices, requires no client access licenses (CALs), and is only for servers with one processor with up to 10 cores.
• Windows Server 2022 Standard is suitable for on-premises physical environments or lightly virtualized environments that require a flexible path toward virtualization.
• Windows Server 2022 Datacenter is designed for companies of all sizes that have demanding IT workloads and require advanced storage, virtualization, and application deployment.
• Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition is a special version of Windows Server designed and optimized for the optimal cloud computing experience. It is built specifically to run either as an infrastructure as a service (IaaS) virtual machine (VM) in Azure or as a VM on an Azure Stack HCI cluster.

To learn more about Windows Server 2022 and the licensing options, visit these resources:

• View the Microsoft doc: Comparison of Standard, Datacenter, and Datacenter: Azure Edition editions of Windows Server 2022.
• Visit the Microsoft Windows Server 2022 page on hpe.com.
• Read the Microsoft article: What’s new in Windows Server 2022.
• Learn how to implement Windows Server 2022 on HPE ProLiant servers.