Purchase/Install Win2008 Server STD Government Volume License on a Server/PC with no operating system.

Hello. I work at a public civil service in the EU and we have a Server/PC with no windows operating system.

We have a network of 15 client PCs with Windows O/S.

I want to know if we can legally purchase and install Windows 2008 Server Standard Open Volume Government License and 15 Device CALs on this specific blank server/pc?

All I could find at the Microsoft site was this info but it does not clearly state about Server & Open Volume Government licenses on a blank Server/PC

http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/resources/faq.mspx

Q. Can I order a PC with no operating system from a manufacturer and then use my Volume License to install Windows on the desktop?

A. No. Volume License agreements—including Academic, Government, and Public Sector—never cover the initial full Windows Client operating system license. Volume License agreements cover only Windows Client upgrade licenses. Windows upgrades are designed to upgrade previously acquired qualifying desktop operating system licenses. See the PUR for more information on qualifying underlying licenses.

http://download.microsoft.com/download/E/E...er%20hi-res.pdf

Or do we have to buy the Retail version of Windows 2008 Server Standard?

Please any help will be highly appreciated.

Edited November 11, 200817 yr by alx_test

If you have a VL agreement, it requires the machine underneath have an OEM or retail license before you can "upgrade" it to a VL install. This is true for Server and Client OSes.

If you got a "bare" server with no OS, you need to either purchase an OEM license or a retail license copy of Server 2008 for that hardware before you can install the VL licensed copy on that machine. This is true for ALL volume license agreements.

Volume License for Servers is always a full license you do not need an OEM install.

For Windows Vista/XP in licensing it is only available as an upgrade so you need a previous version install.

Feel free to contact me directly for more information.

Then that would be a change from the last documentation I saw (admittedly in the 2003 timeframe, but still). Why is this stuff not more readily public? I guess I'll have to answer that one on my own.

Then that would be a change from the last documentation I saw (admittedly in the 2003 timeframe, but still). Why is this stuff not more readily public? I guess I'll have to answer that one on my own.

This information IS available, but only if you have access to it. For example, I have access to MSOpen and the OCE, most people don't. Which is why when I talk about things like OfficeReady, people can't find information about it. Its the same idea. Its out there but sometimes you need an account to see it.

Then that would be a change from the last documentation I saw (admittedly in the 2003 timeframe, but still). Why is this stuff not more readily public? I guess I'll have to answer that one on my own.

This information IS available, but only if you have access to it. For example, I have access to MSOpen and the OCE, most people don't. Which is why when I talk about things like OfficeReady, people can't find information about it. Its the same idea. Its out there but sometimes you need an account to see it.

No, I mean, I have access to an Open Business agreement EULA and PUM. However, it doesn't touch on server OSes in either way, just client licenses. Seems like the question would have been answered had it not been omitted. I guess it's fair to assume that if it doesn't say specifically that you need an OEM or retail license for Server, that you do not, but making assumptions with a EULA or PUM can be dangerous (probably why the question got asked in the first place).