From Oct 1st, and in the Oct 1st PUR and Pricelist, we will offer 2 brand new VDI Suites, Standard and Premium

A little info on the Suites themselves and then to the Licensing

Customers can now buy different components of the server and management infrastructure required to run VDI through a single licensing vehicle.

This licensing vehicle has two SKUs: The VDI Standard Suite and VDI Premium Suite. Both suites complement the VECD license, by following the same device-based annual subscription pricing model, they do not replace the need for VECD*

The VDI Standard Suite is a collection of technology to help organizations deploy the basic infrastructure for VDI. Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is the virtualization platform for hosting your servers and desktops. Management of your virtual infrastructure is taken care of the various system center components, including System Center Virtual Machine Manager, System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 and System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2. Applications can be delivered dynamically via App-V, since MDOP is also included in the VDI standard suite. The standard suite also enables restricted use rights for Remote Desktop Services, to deliver VDI desktops to users.

The VDI premium suite is for customers who want additional flexibility from their VDI environment. Remote Desktops Services is unrestricted, thereby enabling customers to deliver both session based desktops as well as VDI desktops. The VDI Premium Suite also includes App-V for RDS, thereby allowing organizations to deliver applications dynamically to the Remote Desktop Server, effectively reducing silos for RDS applications.

In addition to being simple to purchase, both SKUs provide customers with excellent value.

The standard suite retails at $21/device/year, whereas the premium SKU retails for $53/year**

 

VDI Suite Licensing

All the T&Cs for VDI Suite licensing are in the Oct 1st PUR – some edited highlights below

Each VDI Suite license permits:

1. use and access of VDI software on or from your VDI licensed device and other devices running permitted instances of VDI software and
2. management of virtual client OSEs on your VDI hosts.

VDI Standard Suite and VDI Premium Suite provide rights to use or access any version of the following VDI software during the term of your Select or Enterprise enrolment or Open Value agreement:

• Windows Server Remote Desktop Services (“RDS”)
• System Center Virtual Machine Manager (“VMM”)
• System Center Configuration Manager (“SCCM”)
• System Center Operations Manager (‘SCOM”)

Terms for VDI Suite License

You may directly or indirectly access RDS from your VDI licensed device except as follows. You may not access Windows Server software to host a graphical user interface (using RDS functionality or other technology) either:

• directly from your VDI licensed device or
• indirectly through a virtual OSE on your VDI host.

Despite anything to the contrary in the product use rights for Windows Server, you do not need an RDS CAL for either the VDI licensed device or the VDI host to permit this access. You must, however, acquire and assign a base Windows Server CAL to both devices or to the accessing user

 

Extended Terms for VDI Premium Suite ONLY:

Remote Desktop Services. In addition to the right to access RDS functionality from any device covered by a VDI Premium Suite, you may also access Windows Server for purposes of hosting a graphical user interface. The requirement to have a separate Windows Server CAL still applies.

Application Virtualization for Remote Desktop Services. You will be deemed to have acquired one Application Virtualization for Remote Desktop Services software license if you acquire a VDI Premium Suite license. You may use the software on your VDI host and access and use it from VDI licensed devices to which you have assigned VDI Premium Suite licenses. Despite anything to the contrary in the Product Use Rights for Application Virtualization for Remote Desktop Services you do not need a Application Virtualization for Remote Desktop Services CAL to access the Application Virtualization for Remote Desktop Services software. The requirement to have a separate Windows Server CAL still applies.

Reassignment of VDI suite licenses. Despite the limitation in the product use rights, you may reassign your license, but not on a short-term basis (i.e., not within 90 days of the last assignment). You may reassign your license sooner if you retire the VDI licensed device due to permanent hardware failure.

 

Notes:

Definitions.

• “Client OSE” is an operating system environment (“OSE”) running a client operating system.
• “VDI licensed device” is a device to which you assign a VDI suite license and from which you access and remotely use virtual client OSEs.
• “VDI host” is a device on which you host virtual client OSEs running software you access and remotely use from VDI licensed devices.
• “VDI suite license” means the VDI Standard Suite license or the VDI Premium Suite license or both.
• “VDI software” is the Microsoft software for which you are granted use, access or management rights under the “VDI suite license”).

Note: You may assign VDI suite licenses only to devices. You may not assign VDI suite licenses to users.

Note: VDI suite licenses are subscription licenses. The right to use software under a subscription license expires upon expiration or termination of the enrolment or agreement under which you acquired the license.

*Note: VECD is required as well as VDI Suite Std or Premium if you want Windows XP Pro, Vista or 7 in a VDI environment you need VECD subscription per Device also

** Pricing is always a guide, contact your MS reseller