Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Datacenter Edition (64-Bit, 16-Core, OEM, DVD)
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Datacenter (EP2-25149) - Local Support
Windows Server 2025 Datacenter — 16 cores, supplied on DVD
This SKU licenses 16 cores, supplied on DVD of Windows Server 2025 Datacenter. It is an OEM licence supplied with DVD media.
Microsoft’s published rule is exact: “The number of Licenses required equals the number of Physical Cores on the Licensed Server, subject to a minimum of 8 Licenses per Physical Processor and a minimum of 16 Licenses per Server.” Separately, “the Per Core/CAL licensing model requires you to license all physical cores on the server”. A single-processor server with four cores still needs sixteen core licences.
Count the Cores Before You Order — the Minimum Catches People Out
The commonest costing error on Windows Server is assuming you buy licences for the cores you intend to use. You do not: you license every physical core in the server, and never fewer than eight per processor or sixteen per server. A two-processor machine with ten cores each needs twenty core licences, not sixteen.
Microsoft publishes only two pack sizes: a 2-core pack and a 16-core pack. Its wording is “Windows Server core licenses are sold in packs (2 core pack and 16 core pack)”. Where this store lists a 4-core or 8-core pack, that is a distributor or programme SKU rather than a pack size Microsoft describes in its licensing guidance. The underlying entitlement is the same: a core licence is a core licence.
Virtualisation Rights: Unlimited
Microsoft’s product terms: “Datacenter edition permits use of the server software in any number of OSEs on the Licensed Server.” Its licensing guidance expands this to “unlimited operating system environments (physical or virtual OSEs) or Windows Server Containers with Hyper-V isolation as well as any number of Windows Server containers without Hyper-V isolation”. Once every physical core is licensed, there is no virtualisation ceiling and no stacking to calculate.
One nuance that is very widely misreported: both editions get unlimited Windows Server containers without Hyper-V isolation. The two-versus-unlimited difference applies to operating system environments and to Hyper-V-isolated containers only. Do not read “Standard = 2” as a limit on ordinary containers.
Client Access Licences Are a Separate Purchase
Client Access Licences are required in addition to the server licence, not instead of it. Microsoft: “A CAL is not a software product; rather, it is a license that gives a user the right to access the services of the server”, and “Windows Server Standard and Datacenter editions continue to require Windows Server CALs for every user or device accessing a server”. Budget for the server licence and the CALs together.
We list Windows Server 2025 User and Device CALs separately, along with Remote Desktop Services CALs for anyone who needs a graphical session on the server. Tell us the user and device counts and we will quote the whole position rather than just the server. Supplied by SourceIT in Singapore with a GST invoice and local support. For a written quotation, current stock position or delivery lead time, contact our team.
Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Datacenter Datasheet — Licensing and Specifications
Licence
| Product Name | Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Datacenter |
| Part Number (SourceIT) | EP2-25149 |
| Licence Covers | 16 cores, supplied on DVD |
| Licence Type | OEM perpetual licence, supplied with DVD media |
| Edition | Datacenter |
| Licensing Model | Per Core, plus Client Access Licences |
| Minimum per Processor | 8 core licences |
| Minimum per Server | 16 core licences |
| All Physical Cores | Must be licensed |
| Virtualisation Rights | Any number of operating system environments once every physical core is licensed |
| CALs Required | Yes — in addition to this licence, for every user or device accessing the server |
| Transferable | No — OEM core licences cannot be reassigned to different hardware |
| Local Support (Singapore) | Supplied by SourceIT with local support and a GST invoice |
Edition Capabilities as Microsoft Publishes Them
| Storage Spaces Direct | Included |
| Host Guardian Hyper-V Support | Included |
| Network Controller | Included |
| Storage Replica | Full |
| GPU partitioning | Included |
| Hotpatching | Available on both editions as an Azure Arc-enabled service |
| SMB over QUIC | Available on both editions |
| Windows Server containers without Hyper-V isolation | Unlimited on both editions |
What Microsoft Does Not Publish for This Product
The following are commonly asked about but are not stated on any current official Microsoft source for this product, so SourceIT does not quote them: RAM, disk and network minimums in a verifiable form, a 4-core or 8-core pack size in Microsoft licensing guidance and a Singapore price. We would rather leave a field blank than print a figure we cannot substantiate.
Lifecycle, End of Support and Entitlement
Windows Server 2025 is a Long-Term Servicing Channel release under the Fixed Lifecycle Policy. Microsoft publishes mainstream support ending in November 2029 and extended support ending in November 2034, with its lifecycle database and its release-health page rendering each date one day apart. Both renderings appear in the table below.
This is a perpetual licence: a one-time purchase with no renewal. Note that “perpetual” describes the licence, not the support — Microsoft publishes a dated end of support for Windows Server 2025 (see the lifecycle section), and we do not use the word “lifetime” anywhere on this page.
This is an OEM licence and it cannot be moved to different hardware. Microsoft’s OEM use terms state “You may not reassign core licenses for software obtained from a manufacturer or installer, unless you purchase those additional license rights”, and that you may transfer the software “only with the licensed server”. If you expect to replace the hardware inside the licence’s useful life, a volume or CSP licence is reassignable — Microsoft permits reassignment between server farms “but not on a short-term basis (i.e., not within 90 days of the last assignment)”. Ask us to quote both routes.
Hotpatching: two Microsoft sources disagree on price, so confirm before you budget. Hotpatching installs operating-system security updates without restarting the machine. It requires Windows Server 2025 Standard or Datacenter connected to Azure Arc, build 26100.1742 or later, with virtualisation-based security, UEFI and Secure Boot enabled. Microsoft’s current documentation states it “is now available at no extra cost”. A Microsoft announcement of April 2025 had instead set a subscription of “$1.50 USD per CPU core per month” from July 2025. We publish both because both are Microsoft statements; ask us to confirm the current position in writing before you plan around it. Hotpatching is available on both editions — it is not a Datacenter exclusive.
Published Lifecycle Dates
| Servicing model | Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC), under the Fixed Lifecycle Policy |
| Release date | 1 November 2024 per the lifecycle database and the release-health page. Microsoft’s update history separately shows the first build, KB5046617 (OS build 26100.2314), shipping 12 November 2024 |
| Mainstream support ends | 14 November 2029 per the lifecycle database; 13 November 2029 per the release-health page |
| Extended support ends | 15 November 2034 per the lifecycle database; 14 November 2034 per the release-health page |
| Why two dates | The same instant rendered in different timezones. Microsoft’s lifecycle page labels its dates Pacific Time yet renders them at 06:59:59, which is midnight PT of the previous day expressed in UTC. Both renderings are published here rather than one being chosen |
Support and Entitlement Position
A software licence carries no hardware warranty. SourceIT supplies this licence with local Singapore support and a GST invoice, and will confirm the licensing position in writing before you order — which on server licensing is worth doing, because the cost of getting it wrong surfaces at audit rather than at purchase. No warranty term is quoted or implied.
Compatibility, Deployment and System Requirements
Microsoft’s Windows Server 2025 edition-comparison table marks three capabilities as Datacenter only: Storage Spaces Direct, Host Guardian Hyper-V Support and Network Controller. Note Microsoft’s labels — it does not publish rows called “Shielded Virtual Machines” or “Software Defined Networking” for 2025, and we use its wording rather than the older marketing names.
SMB over QUIC is no longer restricted to Azure Edition. Microsoft: the feature “which was only available in Windows Server Azure Edition, is now available in both Windows Server Standard and Windows Server Datacenter versions”.
Microsoft’s RAM, disk and network minimums are not stated here because Microsoft does not publish them in a citable form, and this page does not print a specification it cannot cite. Ask us and we will confirm them against Microsoft before you size the hardware.
System Requirements
| Processor (minimum) | 1.4 GHz 64-bit processor, compatible with the x64 instruction set |
| Processor instruction support | NX and DEP; CMPXCHG16b, LAHF/SAHF and PrefetchW; Second Level Address Translation (EPT or NPT); SSE4.2; POPCNT |
| Firmware | UEFI 2.3.1c-based system and firmware with Secure Boot support |
| TPM | TPM 2.0 — required for BitLocker and for Secured-core server |
| Graphics | Super VGA (1024 × 768) or higher |
| Optical drive | A DVD drive, if installing from DVD media |
| Input and network | Keyboard and mouse or compatible pointing device; internet access |
| RAM, disk and network minimums | Microsoft does not publish these minimums in a form this page can cite. Ask our team and we will confirm them against Microsoft before you size the hardware. |
Official Microsoft Sources & Downloads
- Windows Server 2025 licensing guidance — microsoft.com/licensing
- Core-based licensing models — microsoft.com/licensing
- Windows Server Standard, Datacenter and Essentials product terms — microsoft.com/licensing
- Windows Server editions comparison — Microsoft Learn
- Windows Server 2025 lifecycle — Microsoft Learn
- Windows Server release information — Microsoft Learn
- Windows Server 2025 OEM use terms (PDF) — microsoft.com
Every licensing rule quoted on this page comes from the Microsoft sources above. Supplied by SourceIT in Singapore with a GST invoice and local support. For a written quotation, current stock position or delivery lead time, contact our team.
Frequently Asked Questions — Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Datacenter
How many core licences do I actually need?
Count every physical core in the server, then apply the floors: never fewer than 8 per processor and never fewer than 16 per server. A single-processor four-core machine still needs 16. Tell us the processor and core count and we will do the arithmetic with you.
Do I need CALs as well?
Yes. Microsoft requires a Windows Server CAL for every user or device accessing the server, in addition to the server licence itself. CALs are not included in this SKU.
How many virtual machines does it allow?
Any number, once every physical core is licensed.
Can I run unlimited containers?
Both editions allow unlimited Windows Server containers without Hyper-V isolation. The two-versus-unlimited difference applies to operating system environments and Hyper-V-isolated containers. This is very widely misreported.
Is the licence transferable to a new server?
No. This is an OEM licence and Microsoft ties it to the server it was sold with. If you expect a hardware refresh, ask us to quote a volume or CSP licence instead, which is reassignable subject to a 90-day rule.
Does it include hotpatching?
Hotpatching is available on both Standard and Datacenter as an Azure Arc-enabled service, so it is not an edition difference. Be careful on cost: Microsoft’s current documentation says it is available at no extra cost, while a Microsoft announcement of April 2025 set a subscription of USD$1.50 per CPU core per month. Ask us to confirm the current position before you budget.
Does this licence expire?
The licence itself is perpetual and does not expire. Support does have a date: Microsoft publishes mainstream support for Windows Server 2025 ending in November 2029 and extended support ending in November 2034.
