Server 2008 R2 to Server 2012 upgrade licensing

By Harrison H.
in Microsoft (Windows)

 Share

Recommended Posts

Proficient

Harrison H.

Posted
Posted

My company was granted some money via the UPS CTP program so we purchased a server from HP. We placed the order a few days ago, and it comes with 2008 R2 pre-installed (not configurable). Is there anything similar to the Windows 8 upgrade for $15 if you purchase a new PC, but for servers? If not, it's not a big deal. It would be nice to get 2012 though if possible.

Please don't say we should have waited. With the CTP program, you have to spend the money all at once, and we had to purchase a few laptops that we couldn't wait on the change to the server offering.

Grand Master

Aergan

Posted
Posted

Not heard of any offerings for Server 2012 yet other than they offer an expirable 180 day trial of both current releases. If you have an agreement (Volume licence or Software Assurance) I would drop your account manager an email or express your interest.

Proficient

Harrison H.

Posted
  • Author
Posted

That's what I was afraid of. This is an OEM pre-installed copy, and I do not believe it came with software assurance, unless that's built into the OEM licenses (doubtful). Unfortunately HP couldn't do anything for us in regards to 2012 when we placed the order.

Grand Master

Japlabot

Posted
Posted

I think that you can buy Software Assurance subscription separately. Also check what the upgrade path is to see that the bundled Edition is actually on the upgrade path with SA. With the CALs, get 2012 CALs as they are downgradeable to be 2008 CALs, so it is future proofed if you do get 2012 in the future. You will have to activate the licenses manually through Microsoft Clearinghouse as a 2008 Licensing Server won't activate 2012 licenses automatically.

Proficient

Harrison H.

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I think that you can buy Software Assurance subscription separately. Also check what the upgrade path is to see that the bundled Edition is actually on the upgrade path with SA. With the CALs, get 2012 CALs as they are downgradeable to be 2008 CALs, so it is future proofed if you do get 2012 in the future. You will have to activate the licenses manually through Microsoft Clearinghouse as a 2008 Licensing Server won't activate 2012 licenses automatically.

As I said, nothing 2012 was available. The server is pre-configured (defined by the program), so we barely got to choose anything there. We were lucky to get the CALs approved for purchase, and of course we had to pick 2008 CALs. It's great that UPS has the CTP program, but it's terrible because everything you purchase is pre-configured, and it isn't easy to get customization approved.

Proficient

Harrison H.

Posted
  • Author
Posted

There is no upgrade path for servers. So no, there is no inexpensive upgrade.

I know there is no technical upgrade path, I was just hoping there was some sort of "you got screwed into an old version after the release of the new, you are entitled to either" sort of option.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Posts

    • Dbrand thought they could get away with this Steam Machine case, Valve disagreed

      By PsYcHoKiLLa · Posted

      If Valve refused to let them make the case, I wonder if they've already partnered with someone else to do it? The fact that they didn't seek permission/licence before diving straight in is incredible though
    • Google pitches Spanner as one database for all AI agents with these new featues

      By Stup0t · Posted

      All your data's belong to us.
    • OpenClaw now has native mobile apps on iOS and Android

      By Karthik Mudaliar · Posted

      OpenClaw now has native mobile apps on iOS and Android by Karthik Mudaliar OpenClaw, the viral open-source personal AI agent, now has its own mobile app, available on both Android and iOS. Users can pair the app with an existing OpenClaw gateway and can start using new mobile-native features that are now available on the app. The app supports all the existing features you'd already have seen on OpenClaw's TUI, as well as some more, such as real-time and background Talk mode, action approvals, sharing from iOS, and optional access to device capabilities such as camera, screen, location, photos, contacts, calendar, and reminders. These features are available on both the Android and iOS versions of the app. What's important with these apps is that they don't run OpenClaw on your phone, but are actually just companion apps that require a running OpenClaw Gateway on an existing device, on macOS, Linux, or Windows via WSL2. To pair the app with your existing OpenClaw gateway, users need to run the command "/pair qr" on the TUI or existing chat interface, which brings up a QR code. Users can then scan this QR code to pair it up with the mobile app. There's also an option to manually pair the app by entering the host and a port. Previously, OpenClaw had been available on phones via WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Microsoft Teams, Matrix, and others. Now, with a native mobile app, the interface is much cleaner and more focused on just the OpenClaw, of course, with the added support for camera, screen, location, and more. It's important to note that OpenClaw comes with its own security warnings. There's always a chance of prompt injection with these tools, so users are recommended to double-check authentication, tool policy, sandboxing, and execution approvals rather than prompts alone. For users well-versed with the AI harness, a native mobile app makes it easier to approve an automation, share a link, use voice, or let an agent react to phone-side context.
    • Google pitches Spanner as one database for all AI agents with these new featues

      By Karthik Mudaliar · Posted

      Google pitches Spanner as one database for all AI agents with these new featues by Karthik Mudaliar Google Cloud is introducing new features within Spanner, its distributed database, as a place where enterprises should keep their data, using which AI agents could make smarter and better decisions. In a detailed blog post, Google highlighted quite a few features coming to Spanner, including relational data, graph relationships, vector search, key-value access, full-text search, and operational analytics together in one database architecture. Google says that today's systems aren't well-made for AI agents. There could be data that is present in one system, search indexes in another, embeddings in a vector database, and relationship data in a graph database. This fragmentation isn't great for AI agents to do their jobs because they don't have access to all of this data in one place. This is where Google is positioning Spanner as a solution. Spanner is already a globally distributed relational database with strong consistency, and Google wants its customers to see it as a broader data layer for AI applications. The company introduced something called Spanner Graph, along with integrated vector search, full-text search, a Cassandra-compatible key-value endpoint, and a columnar engine for analytical queries on operational data. Google also added that its ScaNN-powered vector search can support indexes with more than 10 billion vectors, while the columnar engine can make some analytical scans up to 200 times faster. All of this isn't just exclusive to the Google Cloud Platform, and there's support for multi-cloud as well. This comes via Spanner Omni, which Google says is a downloadable, containerized version of Spanner that can run on Kubernetes and in environments outside Google Cloud, including Microsoft Azure and AWS, and even on-premises infrastructure as well as edge deployments. Google says that customers who are interested in the full-featured edition should contact the company, and there's no word on commercial availability or separate pricing. Those interested can read the full blog by Google Cloud, which details these features individually.
    • Kalmuri 4.2.5

      By Copernic · Posted

      Kalmuri 4.2.5 by Razvan Serea Kalmuri is your all-in-one, portable screen capture and recording solution designed for speed, simplicity, and flexibility. Whether you need a full-screen snapshot, a custom area, a scrolling webpage, or smooth video recording, Kalmuri delivers with ease. Capture text instantly from images with built-in OCR, keep floating images on top for quick reference, and use the precise color picker for perfect design matching. Customize hotkeys to work your way and share results instantly with built-in upload options. Kalmuri runs without installation, making it ideal for USB use, and offers an intuitive interface that’s easy to learn. Kalmuri key features: Video recording support (designation of whole screen and area) Whole screen, active program, window control, area application Extract text from images using optical character recognition (OCR). Support for PNG, JPG, WEBP, BMP, GIF file formats MP4 video recording powered by FFmpeg for high-quality results Full web page capture Share the captured image on the web Color extraction function Printer output Hotkey settings Adjustable via keyboard for area capture (Arrow key, Ctrl+Arrow key, Shift+Arrow key) File name format (sequential, datetime) Free to use it at work, at home, in government offices, at school, etc. Using Kalmuri portable for video recording Kalmuri’s portable version doesn’t include FFmpeg, which is required for video recording. Without it, you’ll get an “error FFmpeg.exe not found” message. To fix this, download FFmpeg from the provided link, extract it, and place FFmpeg.exe in Kalmuri’s folder. Kalmuri will then recognize it automatically, allowing you to start recording in high quality instantly. Kalmuri 4.2.5 changelog: Fixed an intermittent crash when using Area Capture Improved stability for Area Capture and screen recording Resolved a capture issue that could occur right after startup Download: Kalmuri 4.2.5 | 24.2 MB (Freeware) Download: Kalmuri Portable 4.2.5 | 2.1 MB View: Kalmuri Website | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware

  • Recent Achievements

    • First Post
      rosiecharles earned a badge
      First Post
    • Reacting Well
      Juan Dela earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Week One Done
      Collagen Project earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Reacting Well
      Wakeen1966 earned a badge
      Reacting Well
    • Rookie
      Almohandis went up a rank
      Rookie

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      516
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      273
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      143
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      98
    5. 5
      macoman
      54
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!