MINIMIZING GUEST OPERATING SYSTEM LICENSING COSTS IN A VOLUME BASED LICENSING MODEL IN A VIRTUAL DATACENTER

摘要

Techniques for minimizing guest OS licensing costs in a volume based licensing model in a virtual datacenter are described. In one example embodiment, a virtual machine (VM) that requires a license key for a type of guest OS installed in the VM is identified. A license key is then assigned to the VM by first attempting to reassign a license key from an inactive VM, and only if a license key is not available for reassignment, obtaining a new license key for the VM.