BizTalk Server 2013 Licensing Datasheet and FAQ

Published: March, 2013

Product Overview
BizTalk Server (BTS) is Microsofts integration and
connectivity server solution. A mature product on
its eighth release, BizTalk Server 2013 helps your
organization more easily connect disparate
systems. With more than 25 adapters and a robust
messaging infrastructure, BizTalk Server provides
connectivity between core systems both inside and
outside your organization.
BizTalk Server 2013 provided numerous
improvements in the following areas:

Connect to the Cloud

Run in the Cloud (IaaS)

Improved Performance

Simplified Development and Management

Support for the latest Microsoft platform

and industry standards

Editions Overview
BizTalk 2013 offers three editions.
Edition

Primary Usage Scenario

Estimated Price
(USD)*

Enterprise For customers with

enterprise-level
requirements for high
volume, reliability, and
availability

$10,835 per
Core License

Standard

For organizations with

moderate volume and
deployment scale
requirements

$2,485 per Core

License

Branch

Specialty version of
BizTalk Server designed
for hub and spoke
deployment scenarios,
including RFID

$620 per Core

License

*Estimated reseller pricing under the Microsoft Volume Licensing Open

NL program is provided for demonstrative purposes only. Actual pricing
may vary based on reseller and/or geographical location.

New Per Core Licensing Model

Effective with the 2013 version release, BizTalk
Server licensing is moving from a processor-based
model to a Per Core model. This model provides a
more precise measurement of computing power
and a more consistent licensing metric, regardless
of whether your BTS solution is deployed across
on-premise, virtual and/or cloud environments.

Under the new Per Core licensing model, each

server running BTS 2013 software or any of its
components must be assigned an appropriate
number of BTS 2013 core licenses. The number
of core licenses needed depends on whether
you are licensing the physical server or
individual virtual operating system
environments (OSEs).
To license a physical server, you must license
all the cores in the server, with a minimum of 4
core licenses required for each physical
processor in the server. BTS 2013 core licenses
are sold in packs of two and are priced at
the cost of a BTS 2010 processor-based license.
The actual number of core licenses required
may vary by processor type, and as such, will
depend on the Core Factor assigned to your
applicable processor(s).

For more information on the new Per Core licensing

model, including key licensing terms and definitions
as well as how to use Core Factors when
determining your BTS 2013 licensing needs, please
download the Introduction to Per Core Licensing
Volume Licensing Brief:
http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/aboutlicensing/briefs/licensing-by-cores.aspx.

How to License Physical Environments with Core

Licenses
1. License all of the physical cores on the hardware
2. Ensure a minimum of four core licenses are
purchased for each physical processor. (Note that
core licenses are sold in packs of two.)

PHYSICAL CORES
IN THE
PROCESSOR

CORE LICENSES
REQUIRED

*This licensing example assumes a Core Factor of 1.

Cloud-Optimized Virtualization
Licensing
BizTalk Server 2013 offers expanded virtualization
rights, options and benefits to provide greater
flexibility when deploying in virtual environments.
When deploying BTS 2013 in a virtual environment,
you have the choice of licensing either individual
virtual machines (VMs) as needed or to license for
maximum virtualization to support highly
virtualized and private cloud environments.

Individual Virtual Machines

As hardware capacity grows, it becomes more
common for each instance of BTS 2013 to use only
a fraction of a servers computing power. When
deploying VMs that use just a portion of a physical
server, you can achieve significant savings by
licensing individual VMs. Similar to licensing
physical OSEs, all virtual cores (v-cores) supporting
virtual OSEs (VMs) running BTS 2013 software must
be licensed accordingly.

To license a VM using the Per Core model,

purchase a core license for each v-core (or
virtual processor, virtual CPU, or virtual thread)
allocated to the VM, with a minimum of four
core licenses required for each VM. Core
Factors do not apply when licensing individual
VMs.

Licensing individual VMs is the only

virtualization licensing option available for the
BTS 2013 Standard and Branch editions.

If you are running BTS 2013 in a highly

virtualized environment and want to move
VMs dynamically across servers to reallocate
resources as needed, Microsoft permits License
Mobility as an exclusive Software Assurance
(SA) benefit available for all editions of BTS
2013.

How to License VMs with Core Licenses

1. License the virtual cores in each virtual
machine.
2. Ensure a minimum of four core licenses are
purchased for each virtual machine.

Maximum virtualization can be achieved by

licensing the entire physical server (or server
farm) with core licenses and covering each of
those licenses with Software Assurance (SA).

Available as an SA benefit for the BizTalk

Server 2013 Enterprise Edition only, this
licensing option allows you to deploy BTS 2013
software in an unlimited number of OSEs
(physical and/or virtual) to handle dynamic
workloads and fully utilize your hardware
computing capacity.

How to License Private Clouds with Core Licenses

1. License all the physical cores on the server with
Enterprise Edition core licenses and cover with SA
2. Deploy an unlimited number of VMs
Example:
What you License
Physical Cores with BTS
Enterprise Edition + SA

VM1

Example:
VM1

VM with 4 Virtual Cores

4 Core licenses
required

VM2

VM with 6 Virtual Cores

6 Core licenses
required

What you Deploy

Unlimited VMs
(example 6)

Single server with two 6core physical processors

(12 cores total)

VM2

VM3

VM4
What to Buy:
12 BTS Enterprise Edition
core licenses with SA

VM5

VM6

High Density Virtualization

Further savings can be achieved when licensing BTS
2013 for maximum virtualization to support private
cloud and other highly virtualized deployments.
This is a great option when you want to take
advantage of the full computing power of your
physical servers and have dynamic provisioning and
de-provisioning of virtual resources.

Transitioning to the New Licensing

Model
In order to facilitate a smooth transition to the Per
Core licensing model for current BTS 2010 users,
Microsoft is offering several migration options
designed to help customers who have invested in

Software Assurance to protect their current

software purchases.

Moving Processor Licenses to Core

Licenses
BTS 2010 is the last version of BizTalk Server
software to be licensed under the Per Processor
licensing model. If you have active SA coverage on
your current BTS 2010 processor licenses as of April
1, 2013, you are eligible to upgrade and run the
new BTS 2013 version software through the
remainder of your current agreement term under
processor-based use rights. You will be able to
renew into core licenses upon your first subsequent
SA expiration.

BizTalk Server 2010 processor licenses with

active SA are valued at the actual number of
cores in use, with a minimum of four core
licenses per processor.

At the end of your current agreement term,

you must perform a self-inventory of systems
currently licensed for BTS 2010 with SA
coverage and document the number of cores
in each processor. This inventory will enable
you to receive the appropriate BTS 2013 use
rights moving forward and will determine the
number of core licenses granted at renewal.

You are encouraged to use the Microsoft

Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit, or
other equivalent software, to document a
record of your configuration. If you do not
perform this self-inventory, you will receive the
minimum core values as noted above.

PHYSICAL CORES
IN THE
PROCESSOR

10

RENEW INTO
CORES

10

Customers with Enterprise Agreements

If you have an existing Enterprise Agreement (EA),
including Enterprise Subscriptions (EAS) or
Application Platform Enrollments (EAP), effective on
April 1, 2013 (at the time of BTS 2013 general
availability), you can continue to purchase
processor-based licenses through the end of your
current agreement term.

When purchasing additional processor-based

licenses, you will need to continue calculating
the number of BTS licenses required base on
the BTS 2010 processor use rights.

As an EA or EAP customer, you also have the

option to add core licenses to your agreements
mid-term for future purchases. Please contact
your authorized reseller or Microsoft account
team for more information on this migration
option.

Frequently Asked Licensing Questions (FAQs)

Q: What are the key licensing changes with BizTalk Server 2013?
A: Effective with this latest software release, BizTalk Server is moving from a Per Processor licensing model to a Per Core
licensing model. Additionally, some use rights such as License Mobility and Unlimited Virtualization will now be offered as
Software Assurance benefits only.

Q: When will these changes take effect?

A: Licensing changes will come into effect at the general availability of BizTalk 2013 on April 1, 2013.

Q: Are there any virtualization or cloud-related licensing benefits with BizTalk 2013?
A: BizTalk Server 2013 includes a variety of virtualization and cloud capabilities that will help your organization save money
on database licensing and retain flexibility in your database deployments. You can:
License individual virtual machines (VMs) and when licensing per core, buy core licenses only for the virtual cores
(threads or physical cores) assigned to the VM.
License for high VM density by buying Enterprise Edition core licenses with Software Assurance (SA) for all the
physical cores on the server (or server farm) and deploying any number of VMs on the licensed hardware. Without
SA, VM density is limited to one VM per core with Enterprise Edition.
License for VM mobility across private and public clouds. License Mobility is an SA benefit. Without SA, licenses can
be moved from one server to another only once every 90 days.

Q: Can you explain why Microsoft is making these licensing changes?

A: The changes to BizTalk Server licensing reflect the evolution of the industry, along with new hardware deployment
practices. Internal research with hundreds of customers has shown us that organizations are comfortable with Per Core
licensing and consider this licensing model to be simple and predictable. Customers have also shown great enthusiasm for
Microsofts virtualization and cloud-friendly licensing as a way to help save money as their deployment practices evolve.
With these changes, Microsoft will continue to offer industry-leading TCO to our customers.

Q: Will these licensing changes be accompanied by an increase in pricing?

A: Under the new Per Core licensing model, the net price impact to individual customers will vary based on how they
deploy BizTalk Server 2013, their current capacity, and their future needs. For customers who are running BizTalk Server
software on processors with four cores or less, the license cost for BizTalk Server 2013 remains consistent with BizTalk
Server 2010, as core licenses are priced at one quarter the cost of a processor license. For customers running servers with
higher capacity processors, licensing cost will grow with the increased power of their hardware.

Q: I have Software Assurance, will I have to pay more to upgrade to BizTalk 2013?
A: No. All BizTalk Server 2010 licenses covered by active Software Assurance will be able to upgrade to BizTalk Server 2013
at no additional cost.

Q: How do I migrate from processor licenses to core licenses? What is the migration path?
A: Licenses purchased with Software Assurance will upgrade to BizTalk Server 2013 at no additional cost. EA/EAP
customers can continue buying processor licenses until the first renewal after April 1, 2013. At renewal, the number of core
licenses granted will be equal to the number of cores in use by the processor-licensed software, or a minimum of 4 cores
per processor.

Q: How will BizTalk processor licenses with Software Assurance be exchanged for BizTalk 2013 core
licenses? How will I (and Microsoft) determine the number of cores that I am owed?
A: You should perform a self-inventory of your environment at the end of your Software Assurance term. This inventory
will provide the basis for your long-term BizTalk Server 2013 use rights and eligibility for renewal into core licenses. We
will provide access to the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit as one way to help track and document
deployments. This tool can help you plan the transition from processor licenses to core licenses by counting both
processors and cores across your deployments. If you are not able to document your SQL Server deployments, then your
processors will be worth the standard conversion ratio by edition. We encourage you to work with your Microsoft or
Partner representative to determine an optimal transition plan.