OEM Windows Server licensing and SLIC - issue with hardware replacements.

For those of you who also work in corporate environments with servers and purchase licences OEM where the manufacturer has SLIC information for automatic activation, I wonder if you could share any experience you have.

I've been dealing with one of the main hardware vendors (Dell, IBM, HP,... take your pick) where we purchased over 100 servers for installation at a customer's site. A load of them were purchased with OEM WS2008 licences and were automatically activated with the SLIC ACPI tables present, vendor's certificate and SLP product keys.

Fast forward a year on, and one server has had a motherboard failure. The server is under a support agreement with the vendor and so we've had the motherboard replaced.

The issue now is that the replacement motherboard doesn't have the SLIC tables present so the OS is no longer activated. It would be possible to activate with the PID key of the COA, but I'd like to avoid that as it means manual processes which will have to be repeated if ever the OS is re-installed (it happens quite frequently).

My debate with the vendor is why the replacement doesn't contain the correct information in the BIOS as they can track by serial number and confirm the server was purchased with OEM licence, etc. They claim that as they are super vigilant, extra consciencious, then only the factory has the ability to inject the relevant information and so from a support perspective, they do not have the tools or authority to do it.

So we're at a stalemate and it looks like they won't be able to do anything.

I wonder if other manufacturers deal with this in any better way. I do find it bothersome that out of over 100 servers, one will be "different" and require additional phoning to MS to activate, etc, when all the other servers run normally. Should another server have a motherboard failure, then we'll have the same issues.

Anyone else in a corporate environment managing / maintaining servers have any experience they can share?

edit: just for the avoidance of doubt, I'm not looking at using any non-conventional methods. This is a corporate environment where I must stick to the official methods, so please keep this on track. I assume the mods are OK with this. :)

Windows servers, how quaint!

Seriously, get back in contact with the manufacturer and shout at them. Which one is it?

I've been shouting for some time. It's amazing how "incompetent" they are. I've had to explain how SLIC + certiciate + SLP works!
I don't want to name and shame them. I've escalated the issue with our account manager as my dealings with the OEM licensing engineering and support teams haven't been very positive to say the least!

However, should anyone have a positive experience and confirm that replacement hardware carries the same / correct SLIC information as the original, then I'd love to know and if the vendor matches, then I have a stronger case to make...

Your OEM license agreement essentially makes the OEM liable for support. They need to fix this - assuming you went through their support to replace the failed bits (and are covered under their support agreement) then it's their job to fix this for you.

(from http://download.microsoft.com/downlo...strictions.pdf)

Quote:

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Hardware Replacement*
The motherboard is the component that determines whether or not a new Microsoft Windows Desktop Operating System
license is required. Motherboard upgrades or replacements require a new operating system license with an identical series
motherboard (unless a replacement is for a defect).

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Sounds like you meet that situation (ie replacement for a defect). OEM needs to resolve. If they're not prepared to do so then I'd suggest that they're in breach of their support contract with yourself (though I'd check this...) and if they don't resolve you'll see them in court.

Thanks Splash, although in our case it's a server OS, not a desktop one that the MS document details.

They have suggested an alternative which would allow activation (using the COA's PID key). But I'm not prepared to accept that as it would be different and a pain phoning MS each time to activate (server is on a private network).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tfboy

Thanks Splash, although in our case it's a server OS, not a desktop one that the MS document details.

They have suggested an alternative which would allow activation (using the COA's PID key). But I'm not prepared to accept that as it would be different and a pain phoning MS each time to activate (server is on a private network).

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The document references both desktop and server OS - check page 2 (I've highlighted the key sections in bold)

Quote:

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Microsoft Windows Server:
OEM versions of Microsoft Windows Servers licenses DO grant downgrade rights.
OEM versions released with, or after Windows Server2003 R2 allow the end user to downgrade to an earlier version.
To downgrade the customer must supply media to the OEM System Builder. The media must come from a legally licensed version of that
product purchased via Microsoft retail, OEM/System Builder, or Volume License channels.
Microsoft Software Assurance can be purchased within 90 days of the OEM Software purchase. Software Assurance on Server Products
offers business benefits such as new version rights, e-Learning, access to step ups, cold 24 x 7 problem resolution support and more.
Hardware Replacement
Generally an end user can upgrade or replace all of the hardware components on a computer, except the motherboard, and still retain
the license for the original Microsoft OEM Windows Desktop Operating System software.
If the motherboard is upgraded or replaced for reasons other than a defect, then a new computer has been created. Microsoft OEM
Windows Desktop Operating system software cannot be transferred to the new computer, and new operating system software is
required.
If the motherboard is replaced because it is defective, you do not need to acquire a new operating system license for the PC as long as the
replacement motherboard is the same make/model or the same manufacturer’s replacement/equivalent, as defined by the
manufacturer’s warranty.
The reason for this licensing rule primarily relates to the End User Software License Terms and the support of the software covered by
that End User Software License Terms. The End User Software License Terms is a set of usage rights granted to the end user by the PC
manufacturer and relates only to rights for that software as installed on that particular PC.
The System Builder is required to support the software on the original PC. Understanding
that end users, over time, upgrade their PCs with different components, Microsoft needed to have one base component “left standing”
that would still define the original PC. Since the motherboard contains the CPU and is the “heart and soul” of the PC, when the
motherboard is replaced (for reasons other than defect) a new PC is essentially created. The original System Builder did not manufacture
this new PC, and therefore cannot be expected to support it.

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Throw that at them, and see what they say :)

Thanks, but it won't really help my situation: I don't need a new licence, and they have never suggested I need a new licence. I can use the existing one. It's just the activation method that changes, which they'll argue, isn't an infringement on the MS OEM licensing agreement.

What I'm trying to assess is how others have dealt with this problem. I cannot be the only one in the world who's had a server's motherboard failed and the server had an OEM licence of a MS OS requiring activation. Have others also had to resort to a manual activation? My argument for buying the OSes from the vendor directly as OEM rather than having a seperate licensing agreement directly with MS was to benefit from OEM automatic activation rather than rely on a KMS-type solution.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tfboy

Thanks, but it won't really help my situation: I don't need a new licence, and they have never suggested I need a new licence. I can use the existing one. It's just the activation method that changes, which they'll argue, isn't an infringement on the MS OEM licensing agreement.

What I'm trying to assess is how others have dealt with this problem. I cannot be the only one in the world who's had a server's motherboard failed and the server had an OEM licence of a MS OS requiring activation. Have others also had to resort to a manual activation? My argument for buying the OSes from the vendor directly as OEM rather than having a seperate licensing agreement directly with MS was to benefit from OEM automatic activation rather than rely on a KMS-type solution.

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Yeah, I can't really help you on that I'm afraid. My highlights were intended more to push the point that you *don't* need a new license, and that the system builder (ie the OEM) is responsible for getting things running again.

I work for a company with relationships with a number of OEMs, and while I understand that you don't want to publicly name and shame if you want to DM me the details and it's one of the OEMs I deal with I'll be happy to clarify their support position for you (though it sounds like you're just stuck in that awkward position where support staff are in an unnecessarily awkward position from either a politics or training perspective where it's tricky to help, rather than the policy just sucking)

The SLIC info is burned into the bios, so I suppose if you could swap the bios chips over, although the serial number in the SLIC wouldn't match the board, and probably breaks some Remus of supply

The other option us updating the licence, which I think is what splash was alluding to.

But as he says, it is the system builder's problem. If the terms of supply was for activation by referring to the SLIC data, and the replacement doesn't allow that, then they haven't replaced it with a like for like. The obvious solution would be for them to supply an exchange licence.