You have a variety of options for licensing Microsoft products running as workloads on VMware Cloud on AWS. You can use your existing licenses or purchase new licenses through VMware to use with VMware Cloud on AWS.

Bring Existing Windows Licenses to VMware Cloud on AWS

If you've already purchased Microsoft software, and the licenses are eligible, bring your own licenses (BYOL) to VMware Cloud on AWS. Bringing your own licenses allows you to:
  • Take advantage of the efficiencies of the cloud while using already-purchased perpetual licenses.
  • Extend the lifecycle of your software without additional hardware costs.
  • Expedite your migration to the cloud by using existing VM images.

The requirements for bringing your own licenses to VMware Cloud on AWS depend on whether you have Microsoft Software Assurance and license mobility benefits associated with those licenses and when those licenses were acquired.

  • If you do not have Software Assurance: You may migrate licenses for products purchased before October 1, 2019, or which were added as a true-up as part of an Enterprise Enrollment that was effective before October 1, 2019. These licenses can only be upgraded to versions that were available before October 1, 2019. See The Amazon Web Services and Microsoft FAQ for more information.
    Note: This scenario particularly applies to Windows Server licenses. Windows Server is not eligibile for license mobility benefits, and therefore you cannot migrate any Windows Server licenses purchased after October 1, 2019.
  • If you have Software Assurance: Microsoft License Mobility through Software Assurance allows many Microsoft licenses to be migrated to VMware Cloud on AWS. For more information on License Mobility, see License Mobility.

Subscribe to Windows Server and SQL Server Licenses from VMware

You can subscribe to Windows Server and SQL Server licenses for your use on VMware Cloud on AWS. The licenses are:
  • Offered for all hosts in the cluster. All hosts in a cluster must be licensed. You cannot mix licenses purchased from VMware with BYOL licenses in the same cluster.
  • Billed based on the maximum number of hosts that were deployed in that cluster during your billing cycle. You are not billed for maintenance or remediation hosts.
  • Billing begins when you select the license. If you choose to remove the license, you are billed for the entire billing period.
  • After you have selected the licenses, you may deploy an unlimited number of the applicable VMs on the licensed hosts.
  • For more information on pricing, see VMware Cloud on AWS Microsoft Server Licensing Pricing FAQ.

License Mobility

Eligible Microsoft server applications such as Microsoft SQL Server, may, in certain cases, be deployed on VMware Cloud on AWS using existing licenses.

License Mobility allows you to more easily move your workloads to a VMware Cloud on AWS SDDC, without any additional Microsoft software licensing fees. Microsoft Volume Licensing customers with eligible server applications covered by active Microsoft Software Assurance (SA) contracts may migrate licenses acquired after October 1, 2019. Not only will License Mobility make the transition easier for existing SA customers, it provides customers who prefer to purchase perpetual licenses the ability to continue doing so while still taking advantage of the efficiencies of the cloud.

Note: You may migrate licenses acquired before October 1, 2019 with or without Software Assurance (SA) or additional steps.

How to Sign Up

All customers using License Mobility through Software Assurance must complete a license verification process with Microsoft, and Microsoft will ensure that you have eligible licenses with active Software Assurance. To start the verification process and review additional details, go to: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/licensing/licensing-programs/software-assurance-license-mobility.aspx.

Within 10 days of deployment, complete the License Verification Form available on the Volume Licensing Document Search website and provide it to your Microsoft representative or preferred resell partner, so he or she can submit your form to Microsoft. Once submitted, Microsoft will confirm your eligibility and communicate your verification status to you and your chosen Authorized Mobility Partner.

Eligibility for License Mobililty

To be eligible for license mobility, the following conditions must be met:
  • All Microsoft server products migrated to VMware Cloud on AWS must be eligible via the Microsoft License Mobility through Software Assurance program as set forth by Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/product-licensing.aspx
  • The server applications must be on the list of eligible products published by Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/product-licensing.aspx. The list includes:
    • Exchange Server
    • SharePoint Server
    • SQL Server Standard Edition
    • SQL Server Enterprise Edition
    • SQL Server Business Intelligence Edition
    • Skype for Business Server
    • System Center Server
    • Dynamics CRM Server
    • Dynamics AX Server
    • Project Server
    • Visual Studio Team Foundation Server
    • BizTalk Server
    • Forefront Identity Manager
    • Forefront Unified Access Gateway
    • Remote Desktop Services
Note: The following products are not eligible for License Mobility through Software Assurance:
  • Microsoft Server Windows operating system products
  • Microsoft Windows client operating system products
  • Desktop application products (for example, Microsoft Office)

Select License Options from the VMC Console

You can enable Windows Server and SQL Server licenses from the VMware Cloud Console.

Licenses are enabled and billed for all hosts in the cluster. Mixing VMware-provided Microsoft licenses with BYOL licenses in the same cluster is not supported.

If you have purchased VMware Cloud on AWS services through a reseller, your reseller must have signed a Software Services Reseller Addendum in order to enable these license options.

For details on Microsoft Server license pricing, contact your sales representative or reseller.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the VMware Cloud Console at https://vmc.vmware.com.
  2. Edit Microsoft Server Licenses.
    • If your SDDC has a single cluster, click Edit Microsoft Server Licenses at the bottom of the SDDC card.
    • If your SDDC has multiple clusters, click Actions > Edit Microsoft Server Licenses at the bottom of the cluster card.
  3. Select the licenses you want to purchase.
    Billing begins as soon as you select the licenses. See Subscribe to Windows Server and SQL Server Licenses from VMware for more information on billing.
  4. If you are part of an academic institution recognized by Microsoft as eligible for associated licensing rights and terms, select Academic institution recognized by Microsoft.
    For more information on academic licensing for Microsoft products, see Programs for Educational Institutions or speak with your Microsoft license representative. After you have enabled academic licenses for a cluster, you cannot revert to regular licensing terms.
  5. Select the checkboxes to confirm that you understand the license pricing and billing terms.
  6. Click Save.

Deploying Microsoft Server Instances

After you have licensed your SDDC clusters, you have the option to deploy your server instances from pre-packaged VMware VMs, from a VMware-managed content library, or by importing your own existing instances for deployment on VMware Cloud on AWS

Deploy Microsoft Server Instances from Pre-packaged VMs

VMware provides a set of pre-packaged VMs that are ready to deploy.

VMware provides a curated Microsoft software repository with the following OVF packages for your use:
  • Windows Server 2022
  • Windows Server 2019 Datacenter
  • Windows Server 2016 Datacenter
  • Windows Server Datacenter (provides Microsoft Semi-Annual Channel Release)
  • Windows Server 2019 Datacenter with SQL Server 2019 Enterprise
The following SQL Server features are pre-configured in the OVA:
  • Database Engine services
  • Client tools connectivity
  • Client tools backwards compatbility
SQL Server services are configured as follows:
  • SQL Service Agent: Automatic
  • SQL Server Database Engine: Automatic
  • SQL Server Browser: Manual
The following configuration was applied to the default SQL Server instance:
  • "Grant perform Volume Management Tool" is enabled
  • Min Server Memory: 0 MB
  • Max Server Memory: 5940 MB
  • Authentication mode: "Windows Authentication"
  • SQ Server Administrator Role: "BUILTIN\Administrators (Administrators)"
Note: If you need to add features to the installed instance, use the SQL Server ISO image provided in the same Content Library. See Create a VM Using a Microsoft ISO for more information on using the ISO images.
Note: Windows Firewall is enabled in all VMware-provided OVAs.
The OVF packages have the following configuration:
  • Hardware compatibility: ESXi 7.0 and later (Hardware Version 17).
  • 4 CPUs
  • 8 GB memory
  • Network adapter: VMXNET3
  • single 90GB VMDK attached to VMware Paravirtual vSCSI (PVSCSI) controller
Note: Access to the VMware-curated Microsoft software repository should be used only for deploying Microsoft binaries for use on VMware Cloud on AWS.

Procedure

  1. Subscribe to the VMware-curated Microsoft software repository by creating a subscribed Content Library using the following URL: https://vmc-microsoft-templates.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Images/lib.json
    For more information on creating Content Libraries, see https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-2A0F1C13-7336-45CE-B211-610D39A6E1F4.html.
  2. Deploy the desired OVF into your environment.
    For more information on deploying OVFs from Content Libraries, see https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-3C02B3FC-5DE6-48AA-9AD3-7F0D1C7EC4B6.html.
  3. Make any necessary modifications to the VM, such as adding vCPUs, adding disks, or changing network settings.
    For more information on configuring VMs, see https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-4AB8C63C-61EA-4202-8158-D9903E04A0ED.html.
  4. Configure the compute gateway firewall using the VMware Cloud Console to allow outbound HTTP and HTTPS access to the internet.
    This is required for initial activation of the Windows server image. For more information about firewall configuration, see https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-on-AWS/services/com.vmware.vmc-aws-networking-security/GUID-A5114A98-C885-4244-809B-151068D6A7D7.html.
  5. Power on the VM.
  6. Configure a Windows Server password to secure the VM according to your corporate security policy.
  7. (Optional) Convert the VM into a template for re-use.
    You might need to reactivate VMs cloned from the template.

What to do next

  • Update your VM with the latest patches and security updates. Although VMware supplies current versions of Microsoft products, it is your responsibility to apply the latest maintenance updates and security patches to ensure that the products run in a secure environment. Follow your enterprise recommendations on updating any binaries that you import into your SDDC.
  • Update firewall rules. The activation and patch update process requires that the VM have internet access. Follow your enterprise guidelines on whether these firewall rules should be modified after activation.

Create a VM Using a Microsoft ISO

VMware also provides access to ISO images that you can use to deploy Windows Server machines.

VMware provides a curated Microsoft software repository with the following ISOs for your use:
  • Windows Server 2022
  • Windows Server 2019 Datacenter
  • Windows Server 2019 Language Pack
  • Windows Server 2016 Datacenter
  • Windows Server Datacenter (provides Microsoft Semi-Annual Channel Release)
  • SQL Server 2019 Enterprise. Use this ISO if you need to add features to the SQL Server instance.
Note: Access to the VMware-curated Microsoft software repository should be used only for deploying Microsoft binaries for use on VMware Cloud on AWS.

Procedure

  1. Subscribe to the VMware-curated Microsoft software repository by creating a subscribed Content Library using the following URL: https://vmc-microsoft-templates.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Images/lib.json
    For more information on creating Content Libraries, see https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-2A0F1C13-7336-45CE-B211-610D39A6E1F4.html.
  2. Create the VM.
    For more information on creating VMs, see https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-AE8AFBF1-75D1-4172-988C-378C35C9FAF2.html.
  3. Install the guest operating system and any other software from the ISO images.
    Three different language ISO images are available in addition to the English language ISO:
    The content library is updated with the following versions of the software for the relevant language:
    • Windows Server 2019 Datacenter
    • Windows Server 2019 Language Pack
    • Windows Server 2016 Datacenter
    • Windows Server 2016 Language Pack
    • SQL Server 2019 Enterprise. Use this ISO if you need to add features to the SQL Server instance.
    For more information on installing software from ISO images, see https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-55FC02D4-F5B3-4357-BB6B-78240B7F16BA.html.
  4. Install VMware Tools on the VM.
  5. Copy the activation script to the VM.
    An ISO image containing the activation script is located in the subscribed Content Library.
    1. In the vSphere Client, navigate to the subscribed Content Library and click Other Types.
    2. Attach the VM's CD/DVD drive to the Windows_Activation_Script ISO in the Content Library.
      For more information on connecting a Content Library ISO file to a VM, see https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-BE1C18D2-8FF0-4F41-AA35-A4BA71D62EB4.html.
    3. Copy the Activation.ps1 script file to the VM's local disk.
  6. Make any necessary modifications to the VM, such as adding vCPUs, adding disks, or changing network settings.
    For more information on configuring VMs, see https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-4AB8C63C-61EA-4202-8158-D9903E04A0ED.html.
  7. Configure the compute gateway firewall using the VMware Cloud Console to allow outbound HTTP and HTTPS access to the internet.
    This is required for initial activation of the Windows server image. For more information about firewall configuration, see https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-on-AWS/services/com.vmware.vmc-aws-networking-security/GUID-A5114A98-C885-4244-809B-151068D6A7D7.html.
  8. Power on the VM.
  9. Run the activation script.
    1. In the guest operating system, open a command window and change to the directory where you copied the Activation.ps1 script.
    2. Type powershell Activation.ps1 and press Enter.
  10. Configure a Windows Server password to secure the VM according to your corporate security policy.

What to do next

  • Update your VM with the latest patches and security updates. Although VMware supplies current versions of Microsoft products, it is your responsibility to apply the latest maintenance updates and security patches to ensure that the products run in a secure environment. Follow your enterprise recommendations on updating any binaries that you import into your SDDC.
  • Update firewall rules. The activation and patch update process requires that the VM have internet access. Follow your enterprise guidelines on whether these firewall rules should be modified after activation.

Import Your Windows Server VM into VMware Cloud on AWS

You can import an existing VM running Windows Server into VMware Cloud on AWS.

When you import virtual machines, you are responsible for ensuring that a license is available for the Microsoft workload either using BYOL or using VMware-supplied licenses.

Procedure

  1. Import your Windows VM to VMware Cloud on AWS.
    You can use a variety of methods to do this including cold migration, migration with vMotion, migration with HCX, or cloning from a Content Library template you have created.
  2. Do one of the following in order to maintain the activation status of the Windows Server instance.
    • Use the VMware-supplied activation script as described in Activate or Reactivate a Windows Server VM.
    • Maintain network connectivity to your enterprise's managed KMS server or another solution to update and maintain the activation status of your workloads.
    • Install and maintain a KMS in your VMware Cloud on AWS SDDC.

Activate or Reactivate a Windows Server VM

You can use a VMware-provided activation script to activate or reactivate a Windows Server VM that is licensed for your VMware Cloud on AWS SDDC with VMware-supplied licenses.

Operations that change the BIOS UUID or Disk ID of the Windows Server VM will result in the VM requiring activation. These operations include:
  • Cloning a VM
  • Converting a VM to a template

Procedure

  1. Subscribe to the VMware-curated Microsoft software repository by creating a subscribed Content Library using the following URL: https://vmc-microsoft-templates.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Images/lib.json
    For more information on creating Content Libraries, see https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-2A0F1C13-7336-45CE-B211-610D39A6E1F4.html.
  2. Copy the activation script to the VM.
    An ISO image containing the activation script is located in the subscribed Content Library.
    1. In the vSphere Client, navigate to the subscribed Content Library and click Other Types.
    2. Attach the VM's CD/DVD drive to the Windows_Activation_Script ISO in the Content Library.
      For more information on connecting a Content Library ISO file to a VM, see https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.vm_admin.doc/GUID-BE1C18D2-8FF0-4F41-AA35-A4BA71D62EB4.html.
    3. Copy the Activation.ps1 script file to the VM's local disk.
  3. Configure the compute gateway firewall using the VMware Cloud Console to allow outbound HTTP and HTTPS access to the internet.
    This is required for initial activation of the Windows server image. For more information about firewall configuration, see https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Cloud-on-AWS/services/com.vmware.vmc-aws-networking-security/GUID-A5114A98-C885-4244-809B-151068D6A7D7.html.
  4. Run the activation script.
    1. In the guest operating system, open a command window and change to the directory where you copied the Activation.ps1 script.
    2. Type powershell Activation.ps1 and press Enter.

What to do next

  • Update your VM with the latest patches and security updates. Although VMware supplies current versions of Microsoft products, it is your responsibility to apply the latest maintenance updates and security patches to ensure that the products run in a secure environment. Follow your enterprise recommendations on updating any binaries that you import into your SDDC.
  • Update firewall rules. The activation and patch update process requires that the VM have internet access. Follow your enterprise guidelines on whether these firewall rules should be modified after activation.