The business model for Standard and Datacenter editions transitioned from processor-based to core-based licensing. The Windows Server 2019 licensing model includes both Cores + Client Access Licenses (CALs). Each user and/or device accessing a licensed Windows Server Standard, Datacenter, or Multipoint edition requires a Windows Server CAL or Windows Server and Remote Desktop Services CAL. A Windows Server CAL gives a user or device the right to access any edition of Windows Server of the same or earlier version. Each Window Server CAL allows access to multiple licenses of Windows Server.
Core-based licensing requires all physical cores in the server to be licensed. Servers are licensed based on the number of processor cores in the physical server.
• A minimum of 8 core licenses is required for each physical processor and a minimum of 16 core licenses is required for each server.
• Core licenses are sold in packs of two.
• Standard Edition provides rights for up to 2 Operating System Environments or Hyper-V containers when all physical cores in the server are licensed. For each additional 1 or 2 VMs, all the physical cores in the server must be licensed again.
The price of a set of 16 core licenses (in a 2-processor server) for Windows Server 2019 Datacenter and Standard editions is the approximately the same price as the 2-processor license of the corresponding edition of Windows Server 2012 R2.