Amazon VGT2 Las Vegas: A Guide to Streamlining Microsoft Licensing on AWS

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As organizations increasingly transition their enterprise workloads to the cloud, minimizing expenses has emerged as a key objective. Licensing costs represent a significant portion of the expenses associated with operating Microsoft workloads on Amazon Web Services (AWS). This article will outline seven targeted strategies to help you cut costs while ensuring compliance with your Microsoft licensing arrangements on AWS.

Microsoft Licensing Options on AWS

AWS provides a variety of flexible licensing options for clients looking to deploy Microsoft workloads, as illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Microsoft Workloads Licensing Options

• License-Included (LI) Instances: By opting for license-included instances, you gain access to fully compliant Microsoft software licenses bundled with Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances. This model allows for pay-as-you-go billing without any upfront costs or long-term commitments. You can select Amazon Machine Images (AMIs) that come with either Windows Server alone or with both Windows Server and Microsoft SQL Server pre-installed.
• Bringing Your Own License (BYOL): There are two avenues for BYOL:
  • BYOL with License Mobility: This Microsoft Software Assurance (SA) benefit permits you to transfer specific product licenses to shared cloud infrastructure, including default tenancy on Amazon EC2. Eligible products include SQL Server, Remote Desktop Services User CALs, System Center Server, Exchange, and SharePoint. Active Software Assurance is a prerequisite for License Mobility. For further insights, check out another blog post here.
  • BYOL without License Mobility: For Microsoft products lacking License Mobility benefits, such as Windows Server or SQL Server without SA, AWS provides dedicated tenancy options for using those licenses in the cloud. Utilizing dedicated tenancy allows for licensing at the physical core level, potentially reducing license usage by over 50% when using burstable instances.

Cost Comparison: LI vs. BYOL

Utilizing BYOL can help you avoid paying for licenses you already possess, thereby decreasing your AWS expenditure. Table 1 presents the monthly cost of running a single c5.xlarge instance continuously in the US East (Northern Virginia) Region under different AWS LI pricing models, revealing that a substantial portion of the Amazon EC2 instance expense is derived from licensing in the LI model.

Table 1: Cost Comparison for LI Option

7 Strategies to Optimize Your Microsoft Licensing on AWS

1. Rightsize Your AWS Instances: Rightsizing involves selecting an instance type that aligns with your CPU, memory, and storage needs. By choosing the right instance size, you can avoid unnecessary expenses. Since Windows Server and SQL Server are typically licensed based on the number of vCPUs or cores, rightsizing your instances can lead to significant savings.
2. Utilize Your Existing Windows Server Licenses: Leveraging your current Windows Server licenses is one of the most effective ways to reduce AWS costs. Recent changes to Microsoft’s licensing terms mean that SQL Server 2017 and earlier versions without SA can only be deployed on a Dedicated Host. To qualify for BYOL, your Windows Server licenses must have been purchased before October 1, 2019.
3. License by Physical Core: BYOL permits licensing at the physical core level on Amazon EC2 Dedicated Hosts, maximizing your instance deployments. For instance, licensing Windows Server Data Center Edition allows you to deploy various instances using up to 96 vCPUs while only needing 48 core licenses.
4. Consolidate SQL Server Instances: SQL Server mandates a minimum of four core licenses per Amazon EC2 instance, leading to potential over-licensing if you are running instances with fewer than four vCPUs. Consolidating two instances with two vCPUs each into a single instance with four vCPUs can halve your licensing requirement.
5. Downgrade Your SQL Server Edition: SQL Server Enterprise Edition carries a much higher price tag than the Standard Edition. By downgrading, you can realize substantial cost savings. Many features, such as Transparent Data Encryption (TDE), are now available in the Standard Edition, allowing you to enhance your data protection strategies without the need for Enterprise Edition.
6. Monitor Your Usage: Regularly reviewing your instance utilization can help identify underused resources. By adjusting or terminating instances that aren’t needed, you can further optimize your licensing costs.
7. Consult Experts: For authoritative insights on optimizing your licensing strategy, refer to this resource, which provides valuable information on the topic.

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By implementing these strategies, you can effectively manage your Microsoft licensing on AWS, ensuring compliance while significantly reducing costs.