Windows Server 2016 Core Licensing Overview

Determining the required number of core licenses

Server software licensing for Windows Server 2016 Standard and Datacenter editions requires core licenses. For each server, the number of core licenses required equals the number of physical cores on the licensed server, subject to a minimum of 8 core licenses per physical processor and a minimum of 16 core licenses per server. Core licenses are sold in 2-packs and 16- packs.

Minimum requirements for Standard and Datacenter editions

The table below provides examples for various server configurations, and the minimum number of core licenses required.

• Standard: When all cores on the server are licensed (subject to a minimum of 8 core licenses per physical processor and a minimum of 16 core licenses per server), Standard has rights to use two OSEs or two Hyper-V containers and unlimited Windows Server containers.

• Datacenter: When all cores on the server are licensed (subject to a minimum of 8 core licenses per physical processor and a minimum of 16 core licenses per server), Datacenter edition has rights to use unlimited OSEs, Hyper-V containers, and Windows Server containers.