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Windows BYO License VPSes - Legal?
I've been looking to get a Windows box for development, and the cheapest options that came across are KVMs with Windows OS as an option, but no license included. Hence, BYO (bring your own) license.
Could someone please shed light on whether this is legal? I do not know whether this violates Microsoft SPLA, and the provider I asked would not disclose the source of the Windows ISO.
Thanks!
Comments
The ultimate question is: Who cares? Microsoft does not.
As long as it's the Windows Server (2003, 2008, 2012, etc...) it's probably legal to provide the ISO for the VM for clients to install (I say probably because there are of course region restrictions, some people/companies that are prohibited from offering it via prior legal rulings, and other reasons why it might not be allowed).
If it's a consumer OS (Windows XP, 7, Vista, 8, 10, etc...) then that's a grey area. Technically consumer versions of Windows are not allowed to be offered publicly for VPSs without special licensing (meaning BYO is/was prohibited by Microsoft) and are supposed to be regulated by region but honestly I don't see Microsoft getting their lawyers involved unless the provider in question is altering the OS (disabling activation/patches/etc...) and/or pulling in over 6 figures in income solely from Windows services.
I'm not a lawyer and haven't read every page of every EULA out there but some of it I have read stated that consumer versions of Windows in a public/shared environment without a contract in place with MS is not allowed at all but some blogs and TechNet articles say it's allowed in certain cases. As for the server versions, it's much more lax and there are more cases where it's allowed than not allowed.
Microsoft's EULA is incredibly long and complex. Since you are using the server for only 'development', then you should be fine using a BYO license. MSDN and Technet licenses are designed for private non-commercial use anyway. I think you should be fine.
If you are running virtualisation software such a Hyper-V, or SQL processing and production use, then I would simply obtain a server with a provider that is SPLA certified.
Microsoft's EULA has no prohibition against using Microsoft's software to develop nuclear weapons, but don't try to use iTunes for that purpose.
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/10-ridiculous-eula-clauses-agreed/