Microsoft has changed the licensing of its Windows Server Datacentre operating system, allowing users buying new servers licensed with the OS to run an unlimited number of virtualised Windows Server instances.
Microsoft said that unlimited virtualisation rights would significantly extend the savings customers gain through server consolidation on the Windows Server platform.
"Together, Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter Edition and Virtual Server 2005 R2 are an ideal, cost-effective platform for "scale out" virtualization," it said.
By licensing a server"s processors with Windows Server Datacenter Edition, users would be able to run Windows Server Standard Edition, Enterprise Edition, Datacenter Edition or a mix of the three editions without having to track the number of virtual machines or pay for additional Windows Server licences.