Microsoft Windows Server 2016

Three Primary Editions of Microsoft Windows Server 2016

Essentials

Small businesses with
up to 25 users and 50 devices

Standard

Low density
or non-virtualized environments

Datacenter

Highly virtualized and
software-defined datacenter environments

Choose from three primary editions of Microsoft Windows Server 2016 based on the size of your organization, as well as virtualization and datacenter requirements. Then, explore the expanded benefits of Software Assurance that’s designed to support your transition to the hybrid cloud.

Pricing and Licensing Overview

 

To give you a more consistent licensing experience across multi-cloud environments, we are transitioning from processor-based licensing to core-based licensing with Windows Server 2016

Data center and Standard editions.

Windows Server 2016 edition
Ideal for
Licensing model
CAL requirements*
Pricing Open NL ERP (US$)***
Datacenter**
Highly virtualized
and software-defined
datacenter environments
Core-based
Windows Server CAL
$6,155
Standard**
Low density or non-
virtualized environments
Core-based
Windows Server CAL
$882
Essentials
Small businesses with up to
25 users and 50 devices
Specialty servers
(server license)
No CAL required
$501

*CALs are required for every user or device accessing a server. See the Product Use Rights for details.
**Datacenter and Standard edition pricing is for 16 core licenses.
***Pricing is shown in USD and may vary from country to country. Please contact your Microsoft representative for a quote.

Windows Server 2016 feature differentiation

Feature
Datacenter
Standard
Core functionality of Windows Server
✔
✔
OSEs / Windows Server containers with Hyper-V isolation
Unlimited
2
Windows Server containers without Hyper-V isolation
Unlimited
Unlimited
Host Guardian Service
✔
✔
Storage features including Storage Spaces Direct and Storage Replica
✔
✖
Shielded Virtual Machines
✔
✖
Networking Stack
✔
✖
Compare with Windows Server 2012