CloudatCost OpenDNS Issue
-
Have you every experienced an Audit?? Maybe you wouldn't abuse software rights so much if you had.
-
@coliver said:
Just because it is activated doesn't mean that it meets the licensing terms. Either way I'm not sure one way or the other about the Microsoft licensing in this scenario, it is above and beyond what I have an understanding of.
You can think of it the same as having the scenario in house. That it is hosted isn't really a factor. You need the same info and licensing you would need if this was a private cloud.
-
@scottalanmiller said:
@coliver said:
Just because it is activated doesn't mean that it meets the licensing terms. Either way I'm not sure one way or the other about the Microsoft licensing in this scenario, it is above and beyond what I have an understanding of.
You can think of it the same as having the scenario in house. That it is hosted isn't really a factor. You need the same info and licensing you would need if this was a private cloud.
So you need to know the underlying hardware before you can make any licensing decisions in the public cloud?
-
@coliver said:
So you need to know the underlying hardware before you can make any licensing decisions in the public cloud?
FTFY: So you need to know the underlying hardware before you can make any licensing decisions
That it is public cloud has no bearing. Windows licensing requires you to know the hardware details. Plain and simple. That's how they license. This is no different than any Windows licensing, ever. It's just that when you do it in house, you know these details and don't think about how impossible it would be if they were hidden from you.
-
It's a student copy that I got about 3 years ago. My understanding was the key was for life but only allowed to be used for educational purposes and not business purposes, which this falls under.
-
@thanksajdotcom said:
It's a student copy that I got about 3 years ago. My understanding was the key was for life but only allowed to be used for educational purposes and not business purposes, which this falls under.
Is that a DreamSpark key? If it is then it is only valid for the duration that you are in college... I asked a Microsoft Licensing person that when I graduated from undergrad. Either way, from what @scottalanmiller is saying licensing for the public cloud is generally implausible since you don't know the underlying hardware.
-
@thanksajdotcom said:
It's a student copy that I got about 3 years ago. My understanding was the key was for life but only allowed to be used for educational purposes and not business purposes, which this falls under.
That part seems fine, but irrelevant to the situation. You keep providing information that doesn't line up with the licensing concerns listed.
-
@coliver said:
@thanksajdotcom said:
It's a student copy that I got about 3 years ago. My understanding was the key was for life but only allowed to be used for educational purposes and not business purposes, which this falls under.
Is that a DreamSpark key? If it is then it is only valid for the duration that you are in college... I asked a Microsoft Licensing person that when I graduated from undergrad. Either way, from what @scottalanmiller is saying licensing for the public cloud is generally implausible since you don't know the underlying hardware.
It is Dreamspark but that isn't how it was explained to me at the time.
-
@thanksajdotcom said:
It is Dreamspark but that isn't how it was explained to me at the time.
Again, that's fine but not related to the situation.
-
@scottalanmiller said:
@thanksajdotcom said:
It is Dreamspark but that isn't how it was explained to me at the time.
Again, that's fine but not related to the situation.
Anyways, if Microsoft wants to come yell at me for it, I'll let them. Until then, it's staying as is.
-
You have a DC license, but even with Dreamspark you need to honor the license requirements, which is one license per CPU. How many CPUs are you running on in the cluster? You have no way to know. Dreamspark you get one copy only. Presumably they give you two CPUs with that. So.... let's say you have two. How short are you from having enough for the cluster?
We don't know, we only know it's a lot more than two. So, you don't have a valid license. Plain and simple. That it is Dreamspark, student use, activated or whatever are not in any way relevant here.
-
@scottalanmiller said:
@coliver said:
So you need to know the underlying hardware before you can make any licensing decisions in the public cloud?
FTFY: So you need to know the underlying hardware before you can make any licensing decisions
That it is public cloud has no bearing. Windows licensing requires you to know the hardware details. Plain and simple. That's how they license. This is no different than any Windows licensing, ever. It's just that when you do it in house, you know these details and don't think about how impossible it would be if they were hidden from you.
Heck you are even limited to 2 CPU sockets locally with standard.
-
@thanksajdotcom said:
Anyways, if Microsoft wants to come yell at me for it, I'll let them. Until then, it's staying as is.
Just so you understand, as a licensing issue goes, this is potentially millions of dollars of pirating, not just a copy of Windows. Yeah, they'd have to come after you. But all it requires is for them to audit CloudatCost, not you, and you are swept up in an audit of lots of other people. And you have no means of paying the "true up" fee. Nor do your parents. Nor does everyone you know combined.
-
@scottalanmiller said:
You have a DC license, but even with Dreamspark you need to honor the license requirements, which is one license per CPU. How many CPUs are you running on in the cluster? You have no way to know. Dreamspark you get one copy only. Presumably they give you two CPUs with that. So.... let's say you have two. How short are you from having enough for the cluster?
We don't know, we only know it's a lot more than two. So, you don't have a valid license. Plain and simple. That it is Dreamspark, student use, activated or whatever are not in any way relevant here.
I not in a business environment. Even if MS sued me, they'd get nothing. I don't care if I'm violating a license agreement in this case. If this was a business, it'd be a totally difference scenario and I'd approach and handle it totally differently.
-
@thecreativeone91 said:
Heck you are even limited to 2 CPU sockets locally with standard.
Four.
-
@scottalanmiller said:
@thanksajdotcom said:
Anyways, if Microsoft wants to come yell at me for it, I'll let them. Until then, it's staying as is.
Just so you understand, as a licensing issue goes, this is potentially millions of dollars of pirating, not just a copy of Windows. Yeah, they'd have to come after you. But all it requires is for them to audit CloudatCost, not you, and you are swept up in an audit of lots of other people. And you have no means of paying the "true up" fee. Nor do your parents. Nor does everyone you know combined.
And let's be realistic. The chances they'd pursue it and not just shut down the license is pretty low.
-
And if that happens, oh well.
-
@coliver said:
@thanksajdotcom said:
It's a student copy that I got about 3 years ago. My understanding was the key was for life but only allowed to be used for educational purposes and not business purposes, which this falls under.
Is that a DreamSpark key? If it is then it is only valid for the duration that you are in college... I asked a Microsoft Licensing person that when I graduated from undergrad. Either way, from what @scottalanmiller is saying licensing for the public cloud is generally implausible since you don't know the underlying hardware.
That are permanent as far as I know but you still have to follow proper licensing conditions. You loose access to new software when you are no longer a student but can keep using the old. It just like technet was if you stopped your subscription you could keep using the old stuff.
-
@thecreativeone91 said:
@coliver said:
@thanksajdotcom said:
It's a student copy that I got about 3 years ago. My understanding was the key was for life but only allowed to be used for educational purposes and not business purposes, which this falls under.
Is that a DreamSpark key? If it is then it is only valid for the duration that you are in college... I asked a Microsoft Licensing person that when I graduated from undergrad. Either way, from what @scottalanmiller is saying licensing for the public cloud is generally implausible since you don't know the underlying hardware.
That are permanent as far as I know but you still have to follow proper licensing conditions. You loose access to new software when you are no longer a student but can keep using the old. It just like technet was if you stopped your subscription you could keep using the old stuff.
That was always my understanding.
-
@thanksajdotcom said:
I not in a business environment. Even if MS sued me, they'd get nothing.
True, but you'd lose everything. And yes, this is a business environment because of the multi-user environment. It's a grey area as to if you are business or not since you are on a shared business use platform. Don't expect you claiming to not be business use will matter in court given the scenario.
If you were running this at home, that would be completely different, because you aren't sharing infrastructure with businesses.
