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Can you help me with my software licensing question?
It's pretty common to hear people recommend using a "test server" for testing everything from backup/restore to software patches.
Some Microsoft server products are fairly expensive. Are people really buying additional licenses for testing purposes? I can see buying extra hardware, but the cost of duplicate software could get pretty outrageous.
I've looked in to MSDN and Technet but licenses obtained via these subscriptions don't seem to be appropriate for "IT" testing, only development testing and evaluation. I suppose one could always use trial products, but what a hassle...and perhaps that's even a violation of the trial agreement.
So I'm not trying to start an ethical debate or anything. I'm wondering what the most cost effective approach would be. Is there an alternative to buying full retail licenses? (Specifically, products like Windows Server, Exchange Server, SQL Server, and Sharepoint.)
Licences obtained through Technet (or MSDN) are the most common way of doing this. These licences are aimed at use for just that. They cannot be used in live production environments, but are there for testing, training and development. Whether you consider testing, as testing an application, or testing an infrastructure setup.
I believe Technet subscription does not allow you to use your licences for development and test of applications, where as MSDN does.
If you cannot afford a Technet or MSDN subscription, most Microsoft server software is available for a limited time based trial, often more than enough to test, or train for a specific purpose. Microsoft even provide pre-setup virtual machines for this sort of thing, for products like Exchange and OCS.
One other great program they have is the Action Pack. $300 a year for most of the mainstream software they produce. Check it out here. You need to be a registered member, but that is free.
As a student, I have access to various versions of Windows Server through both Dreamspark and MSDNAA. Obviously I can't use these licenses at work, so I install them at home into virtual machines and test different configurations that way. It's good for learning how to use server roles that you might not have had experience with before, like RRAS or Hyper-V.