Windows 10 license multi-tenant hosting rights - another clarification...

Question

Hi,

I have a Visual Studio subscription and am using the available monthly credits for Azure. I noted when trying to create a test Win10 VM that you needed to select "eligible Windows 10 licence with multi-tenant hosting rights" to progress - it wasnt clear to me whether I was or was not allowed to progress, so have not at present.

On looking at forums, this seems permissable under Dev/Test offers [1], and the credits under Visual Studio seem to be "DevTest" [2]. The credits option seems to indicate that I get "exclusive access to Windows 10 VM images" [3], however one of the offers pages [4] indicates that "these monthly Azure credits for Visual Studio Subscribers are unrelated to Enterprise Dev/Test subscriptions" [4]

After checking my offer ID under costing management and billing (ms-azr-0063p), the offer details [5] notes "When you set up your monthly Azure credit, you can run Windows 10 images on Azure for dev/test".

As it explicitly notes that I can run Windows 10 images, I am assuming that I do, indeed, have an eligible license with multi-tenant hosting rights, so am therefore ok to check the box when creating a Windows 10 host resource.

Given my 'journey' above, I remain not wholly convinced, however, so I thought I would ask this specific question just in case it helps anybody else... Working through these license details is like working through new questions on tax forms.

Any feedback greatly appreciated!!

Many thanks,

[1] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/99594/winidows-10-license-with-multi-tenant-hosting-righ.html
[2] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/visualstudio/subscriptions/vs-azure
[3] https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/pricing/member-offers/credit-for-visual-studio-subscribers/
[4] https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/offers/ms-azr-0148p/
[5] https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/offers/ms-azr-0063p/

Answer 1

There is an updated answer to this question and you can read the full response here:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/566875/how-to-launch-windows-10-vm-using-visual-studio-az.html

Windows 10 VM licensing can get complicated but hopefully this will make things more clear. There are effectively two sets of options you can look at--one for dev/test (non production) work and one for production:

• Dev/Test (Windows Client Images): Included with certain Visual Studio subscriptions and gives you access to Windows 7, 8.1, and 10 Enterprise images (look for "Windows Client" when searching the Azure Marketplace).
• Production (Multitenant): Included with enterprise subscriptions (and some university accounts) and gives you access to multitenant hosting rights for Windows 10.

Answer 2

Hi @Mease, Darren Thomas ,

Thanks for the question. No, Windows 10 is NOT an Azure service where you use funds on. Azure credit is basically funds to use to purchase Azure services. Your Visual Studio subscription's general rights allows you to use software (e.g. Windows 10) on Azure and Windows 10 multi-tenant hosting rights have nothing to do with Visual Studio.

Answer 3

Hi WinstonHoward,

Apologies - I am confused, so may be missing something.

When I want to stand up a 2016 server in Azure, I can simply stand it up and dont select BYOL option.

I cannot seem to stand up a Win10 host in Azure at present as it forces me to select a checkbox to say I have "eligible Windows 10 licence with multi-tenant hosting rights". Is there a specific process that I need to follow in order to stand up a Win10 host on Azure? If multi-tenant hosting rights are not related to, then I cannot select the checkbox, and as I cannot select the checkbox, it will not allow me to create a Win10 host.

As said, I may be missing something obvious here, but its beating me at present.

Cheers,

Answer 4

Hi @WinstonHoward-MSFT ,

Thanks again for the feedback. I have tested with two different subscriptions, and get the same issue. Regards "select a billing model where you pay for the license with the cost of your VM" - do you know which billing model supports this?

Further details:

With my Visual Studio credits (offer ID MS-AZR-0063P), when trying to create a Win10 virtual host, I am blocked as I am only allowed to progress if I confirm I have an eligible Windows 10 license with multi-tenant hosting. The wording of the offer details page [1] seems to be a little misleading, as it states "Access to Windows 10: When you set up your monthly Azure credit, you can run Windows 10 images on Azure for dev/test." - this is incorrect, this access is only available if you also have the license with multi-tenant hosting.

With my PAYG subscription (offer ID MS-AZR-0003P), I get the same prompt. I am unable to create a Windows 10 VM unless I select the box to confirm I have an eligible Windows 10 license with multi-tenant hosting.

Extremely frustrating - the lab I was going to set up enables me to learn in more detail the nuances and considerations around VM builds in Azure, and I have lost a fair bit of time. Obviously this is not directed at yourself - I sincerely appreciate your responses and assistance here!

Just to confirm, as I currently understand it, if you are not an Enterprise E3 or E5 customer, you simply cannot stand up Windows 10 VMs in Azure?

Thanks for all of your assistance here!

[1] https://azure.microsoft.com/en-gb/offers/ms-azr-0063p/
[2] https://learn.microsoft.com/en-gb/azure/virtual-machines/windows/windows-desktop-multitenant-hosting-deployment