This page is for licensing issues content that will eventually be used to create formal documentation. Please include information, questions, links and any other lore that may be of use.
Draft statement on licensing:
You are responsible for ensuring that all software (applications and operating systems) you run on your virtual machines are licensed to run on those virtual machines. Be aware that some vendors may have licensing restrictions related to virtual machines.
OS Licensing Overview (not comprehensive, review your own license for additional information):
- Apple does not allow Mac OS X Client to be virtualized. Mac OS X Server's license does allow for virtualization on Apple-labeled hardware, but VMware Fusion does not currently support it. Should VMware Fusion ever support Mac OX Server, you would need an additional Server license for each virtualized server in addition to the license for the host OS.
- Microsoft permits Windows licensing on VMware. Each VM image is considered a separate computer requiring an individual license.
- Red Hat permits Enterprise Linux licensing on VMware. Because Red Hat allows up to 4 virtual guests on a server, your first four installations (host or virtual) on the same computer are included with your first license. Subsequent installations require additional licenses (each allowing up to four more virtual installations on that machine). As MIT's site license cost for Red Hat Enterprise Linux is based on usage, we recommend limiting your license usage to one per host id where possible.
Notes from previous meeting
2 Broad Categories:
- Virtual OS
- Apps that run on the virtual OS
Imaging ISOs
MIT vs Personal Machines
Tech Issues:
- built-in license servers
- may not tech prob. may be legal problems
- moving around with machine
Number of copies of software when licensed for only one copy. What if only using one at a time?
Some vendors do not allow their software to be used in virtual machines. MS, Apple, others?