The operating systems are offered as templates within vCloud Director and need to be activated by Microsoft. This requires each deployed OS to connect to the Internet for initial activation.

The current available Windows Server OS types are listed below:

• Windows Server Standard 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019

The following products are currently available:

• Exchange Server Standard and Enterprise 2013, 2016, 2019
• SQL Server Standard and Enterprise 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019
• Office Professional & Standard 2013, 2016, 2019
• Microsoft Remote Desktop Services Licensing

US Signal licenses Microsoft products currently under active mainstream support up until the Extended Support Date ends.

While license keys cannot be supplied directly to end users, Virtual Machine (VM) templates are provided for each offered operating system. VMs can be quickly deployed from our licensed templates and then applicable applications and data can be migrated to the licensed machine.

There are multiple options for using Microsoft software licenses within the US Signal cloud. Whether you choose to utilize a dedicated or multi-tenant cloud solution.

US Signal is authorized to provide specific Microsoft products per the terms of the Microsoft Service Provider License Agreement. Licensing eligible products through US Signal allows for the flexibility of month-to-month billing without being tied up in complex long-term software contracts.

• Bring Your Own Software License - If you have already purchased Microsoft Software via an eligible Volume Licensing Agreement, you are able to bring select Microsoft licenses to a shared environment with License Mobility through Software Assurance benefit.
• License Mobility and RDS Extended Rights - US Signal is a Microsoft Authorized Mobility Partner, which provides you with the option of bringing your own eligible licenses to the US Signal Cloud. You will need to confirm that the application is on the list of software products. Windows Server Remote Desktop User Licenses (RDS) with active Software Assurance follows the same process as License Mobility eligible products. The key difference is that RDS is covered under what Microsoft calls Extended Rights. Extended Rights only apply to RDS User licenses (device licenses are ineligible), and the cloud deployment process described below is required for RDS licenses in both shared and dedicated environments. A summary of Microsoft’s required steps for deploying licenses through License Mobility or Extended rights is available via the following link by clicking here. Once eligibility is confirmed, Microsoft requires completion of the following steps to be compliant. Within 10 days of deployment, you must complete the License Verification Form and provide it to your Microsoft representative or preferred resell partner.

1. When eligible licenses are deployed with an Authorized Mobility Partner.
   1. Each time additional licenses are deployed; a new form is required.
2. When your Software Assurance is renewed.
3. When you renew your Volume Licensing Agreement.

Yes, as long as the drive is being extended and not compressed. The underlying Operating System has to support such a change. Windows Server 2008 and 2012 both support extending the boot disk.

No. However the Microsoft SPLA states that Microsoft reserves the right to audit any of our customers. US Signal is not directly responsible for ensuring its customers are operating in compliance with Microsoft. 

If bringing your own licenses, it is imperative to review the licensing terms for each vendor’s agreement, as they may have unique requirements surrounding bringing licenses to a shared or dedicated cloud environment.

1. License keys ordered through US Signal - If you are using licenses ordered through US Signal, we recommend that you use US Signal provided keys. There are many different scenarios in which a US Signal key may be required. Whether that be migrating a server from your own premises to US Signal owned equipment, installing software on an existing VM, upgrading to a new version, transitioning from your own licenses to US Signal provided licenses, or some other scenario.
2. Bring your own license keys - Software that you own that you are deploying in the US Signal cloud requires that you use the license keys from your own software license agreement. 

If you are going to be stopping a service with US Signal, you must end usage of the US Signal provided key and dispose of it. There may be additional steps to take if migrating out of the US Signal cloud, such as replacing the US Signal key with the key from your own software license agreement.

1. Software License Key Replacement - Typically, software license keys can be swapped from a menu within the software application. This should be a simple process, but it is helpful to refer to the software manufacturers documentation for assistance. And be sure to have both the US Signal provided key, and the key from your agreement on hand when swapping the key out as some software does require an active key to be applied to avoid disruption in software functionality. *Some US Signal provided software has unique license key characteristics to watch out for, including but not limited to the following:
   1. Microsoft SQL Server – SQL contains an embedded key. To replace it, you will need to extract and apply your own key from your own installation file. 
   2. Microsoft Remote Desktop Services - any RDS license packs activated by US Signal will need to be revoked and replaced with a license pack from your own agreement.