Azure Stack HCI OEM license and billing FAQ

For help with pricing information from this license first contact your OEM partner. For additional help, send an email to help-oemhci@service.microsoft.com.

This license is exclusively designed for Azure Local Premier Solutions, Integrated Systems, and Validated Nodes as a pre-installed license activated in Azure. Contact your OEM partner for more information.

Yes. Every physical core in the machine must be licensed. This license doesn't support a dynamic core license model. The base license covers up to 16 cores and extra two-core and four-core add-ons are available for systems with 16-cores or more.

For systems with 16-cores or more, you may combine licenses to cover all cores. For example, a 36-core system requires two 16-core licenses plus a four-core add-on license.

No. This license doesn't require annual renewals or subscriptions. It’s a prepaid license that once acquired remains valid for the lifetime of the hardware that the Azure Stack HCI OS is installed on. You can continue using the license if the associated hardware, where the Azure Stack HCI OS is installed, remains functional and supported.

You can use Windows Server Datacenter 2022, or an earlier version that Microsoft supports, as a guest license.

No. This license is limited to Windows Server Datacenter 2022 or earlier and doesn't include newer subsequent versions unless permitted by Microsoft. You can use Windows Server Datacenter 2022, or an earlier version that Microsoft supports, as a guest license.

For support with your Azure Stack HCI OEM license first contact your OEM vendor. For additional help, file an Azure support request through the Azure portal.

No. This license doesn't currently support environments with mixed nodes in the same Azure Local system. For more information, see Mixed-node scenarios.

Yes. AKS on Azure Local offers unlimited containers like Windows Server Datacenter offers unlimited virtualization. You can run as many containers and VMs as your infrastructure supports, without incurring extra licensing costs.

Yes. Windows Server Datacenter offers unlimited virtualization like AKS offers unlimited containers. You can run as many VMs and containers as your infrastructure supports, without incurring extra licensing costs.

Yes. An active Azure subscription ensures you automatically receive the latest updates and enhancements for Azure Local and Azure Kubernetes Services on Azure Local. However, it's important to know that while Windows Server under this license receives security updates and fixes, it doesn't include enhancements.

No. This license doesn't include reassignment rights. This means that the license is tied to the original hardware on which the Azure Stack HCI OS is pre-installed and can't be transferred to different hardware or systems. This approach ensures that the license and its benefits remain specific to the initial hardware setup.

Yes. There's an EULA that combines Azure Local (as the host), Azure Kubernetes Services on Azure Local, and Windows Server Datacenter 2022 (as the guest) into a single package.

No. This pre-installed license doesn't include product keys or COA, the license is automatically authenticated once you register the device in Azure. Should you have any failure that requires a re-install, contact your OEM vendor.

No. For this specific license, there's no requirement for other Device or User CALs. The absence of CAL requirements with this license is specific to this offering and shouldn't be interpreted as a general exception from CALs for other machine licenses or scenarios.