New Software Assurance entitlement for old servers?

IT services - Asked by gippslandfm on Friday, 11 November, 2016 - 15:24

I have Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials installed. Unfortunately its developed a non-critical fault which I would like to get Microsoft support for, but my Software Assurance has now lapsed (by only 2 months!) so it's my understanding I would have to pay per incident now. Could I use ConnectingUp to purchase Windows Server 2016 Essentials with Software Assurance, and use that to get free support for my existing Windows Server 2012 R2 installation? In effect, the purchased license would be like having a downgraded version installation. But I'm not sure if I'd be denied support because the assurance would only apply to 2016 version (or later)? This is obviously much cheaper that per incident and gives me unlimited web support support for 2 years rather than just 1 incident. Thoughts?

Reply by Chris from Far Edge Pty Ltd on Friday, 11 November, 2016 - 16:44

Hi, SA doesn't give you any support entitlement. It gives you portability rights for VMs (for example to migrate your on-premises to the cloud) and also gives you upgrades. There are other benefits, but these are the two most common that we see people using for Windows Server. SA gives slightly different rights for each product - for example SQL Server SA grants different SQL specific rights compared with Windows Server. Short version.. you're probably up for a paid call to MS unless you can find a KB that already references your specific issue. Regards, Chris / Far Edge

Reply by gippslandfm on Saturday, 12 November, 2016 - 21:03

Hi Chris Thanks for your feedback. I'm not sure I understand what you mean when you say there is no support entitlement. Information on SA (24/7 business hours) support is scattered around a number of places in the Microsoft site, one of which is the Volume Licensing FAQ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/licensing/licensing-programs/FAQ-Software-Assurance.aspx which says: "When you have at least one Server License covered with a Software Assurance (SA), you get a complimentary phone support incident, plus unlimited web support for all the Servers that are covered with Software Assurance." I think I'll only need the web support call but ordering 2016 Server though ConnectingUp and activating SA might take a while and would be a waste if I can't end up using it for my 2012R2 current install.

Reply by Chris from Far Edge Pty Ltd on Monday, 14 November, 2016 - 12:16

Hmm in that case give it a try. The 2016 licence via Connecting Up is very cheap (certainly much cheaper than a paid MS support call), so it's probably worth giving it a shot and let us all know how it goes. If they don't / won't help... then at least you still get the other SA benefits. Cheers, Chris

Reply by gippslandfm on Wednesday, 23 November, 2016 - 15:39

For those interested... I wrote to Microsoft's VL sales and expected a very ordinary answer. However I was surprised that they addressed my question quite concisely: "...kindly be informed that Software Assurance benefit (24/7 Problem Resolution Support) obtained through a Volume License agreement may only be used for the licenses under the same agreement. It may not be used for a product licensed under a different agreement." So even though you have downgrade rights and the SA would apply to that downgraded install, if you did not do any installs with that agreement it does not mean you can swap the SA for another install done earlier. It's what I expected really and its all down to semantics (ie I'm not sure exactly how they would know you were getting SA support on a server that used the same VL product key) and it's Microsoft's way of making you pay more :) I won't be taking this further. I accept the answer is no. Fortunately I solved my tech problem and won't need to make a per-incident call this time!

Reply by Colin Thompson from TechBrain on Thursday, 24 November, 2016 - 10:09

Great news gippslandfm, An alternative I would recommend keeping in mind is to call an specialist. While Microsoft support is getting better a specialist that is Microsoft Accredited can normally resolve the issue in a fraction of the time, with some great insight on other benefits or considerations.