the physical cores in each server, above the 16-core minimum;
Windows Server licensing, upgrades and end-of-support planning
Windows Server licensing and end-of-support planning keep servers correctly licensed and upgraded before Microsoft stops their security updates. Arke Technologies does both for organisations across South Africa from Johannesburg: we audit every Windows Server licence and CAL, upgrade 2012, 2016 and 2019 servers, SQL Server and Exchange, and rehearse each cutover under change control.
How Microsoft licenses Windows Server
Licensing is where upgrade budgets usually go wrong, so we settle it before any hardware is ordered. Since Windows Server 2016, Microsoft has licensed the operating system by physical core, with client access licences (CALs) bought separately.
Cores. You must license every physical core, with a minimum of 8 core licences per processor and 16 per server, sold in packs of two and 16. A Windows Server 2022 Standard 16-core licence is therefore the floor for even a small server; the same rules govern a Windows Server 2016 or 2019 Standard licence and Windows Server 2025.- Standard or Datacenter. Standard covers two virtual machines (VMs) on a fully licensed host, and each extra full set of core licences adds two more; Datacenter covers unlimited VMs. Windows Server 2022 VM licensing follows the host's cores whatever the hypervisor, VMware and Proxmox included.
- CALs. Each user or device needs a Windows Server CAL at the server's version or newer, so a Windows Server 2022 CAL does not cover a 2025 server. Remote Desktop users also need an RDS CAL at the same version or newer; a new session host runs for a 120-day grace period, after which sign-ins need RDS CALs from a licence server.
- Exchange and SQL Server. Each Exchange 2019 user or device needs an Exchange 2019 CAL (Standard, with an Enterprise add-on for advanced features); its successor, Exchange Server SE, is licensed by subscription or with Software Assurance. A SQL Server 2019 Standard licence is bought per core, with at least four cores per processor or VM, or as a server licence plus CALs. SQL Server 2022 licensing adds pay-as-you-go billing through Azure Arc, and licensing individual VMs requires Software Assurance or a subscription (Microsoft, September 2026).
- Older versions. A Windows Server 2008, 2012 or 2012 R2 licence, or a SQL Server 2016 licence, is no longer sold new. Current licences generally carry downgrade rights, but an older version run that way is still out of support.
Server Hub's Windows Server and virtualisation licensing basics (opens serverhub.co.za) has the detail.
What a Windows Server licence costs, and what drives it
16 cores
the minimum Windows Server licence per server (Microsoft)
R550–R750 ex VAT
published hourly rates for IT project work (matnet.co.za, September 2026)
We publish no licence prices here, because they move with Microsoft's price list and the rand; Server Hub, our hardware and software division, keeps current rand prices, VAT included, in its guide to the Windows Server 2025 price in South Africa (opens serverhub.co.za). The price of a Windows Server 2019, 2022 or 2025 licence depends on:
Standard or Datacenter, which follows the number of VMs;
how many users or devices need Windows Server, RDS and Exchange CALs;
the channel: an OEM or Reseller Option Kit (ROK) licence costs less but cannot move to a replacement server;
ESUs, if needed, charged per core for each year of cover.
The cheapest compliant answer comes from sizing, not shopping: fewer cores in a right-sized server, Datacenter only where VM density pays for it, and user CALs where staff work on several devices. The upgrade work itself is quoted per project after an assessment; afterwards, servers are looked after under our managed IT services, priced per user per month, as managed IT pricing explains. Last reviewed: September 2026.
Exchange, SQL Server and Active Directory
Exchange. Exchange 2013 support ended in April 2023, and Exchange 2016 and 2019 left extended support on 14 October 2025, which ended their regular security updates. An Exchange Server 2019 server on cumulative update (CU) 14 or 15 can upgrade in place to Exchange Server Subscription Edition (SE), which needs subscription licences or active Software Assurance; Exchange 2016 needs a side-by-side migration. Before any change we check the domain and forest functional levels that Exchange 2019 and SE require, and many organisations move their mailboxes to Exchange Online instead.
SQL Server. SQL Server 2012, 2014 and 2016 have all left extended support, so their databases should move to a supported SQL Server release, to Azure SQL or, in an AWS SQL Server migration, to Amazon EC2 or Amazon RDS for SQL Server. A Sybase to SQL Server migration, for systems still on what is now SAP ASE, uses Microsoft's SQL Server Migration Assistant and runs as a data migration project.
Active Directory. New domain controllers go in on the new version, the operations-master (FSMO) roles move across, the old controllers are demoted, and the functional level rises only when every controller is ready.
Governance, compliance and procurement
- Change control and service levels. Every upgrade is a recorded change with an owner, a rollback plan and sign-off. Incidents are prioritised from P1, a critical outage, to P4, a low-impact request, with response and resolution targets agreed in your SLA and reported at the monthly service review.
- Licence register. Every Windows Server, CAL, SQL Server and Exchange licence recorded, ready for a Microsoft software audit or your external auditors.
- Compliance. POPIA security safeguards, King IV Principle 12, audit-ready documentation under the PFMA and MFMA, and controls aligned with ISO/IEC 27001 and CIS Controls.
- Procurement fit. Level 1 B-BBEE contributor (sworn affidavit available on request), which gives buyers 135% procurement recognition; company documents, our CSD supplier number and SARS tax compliance status on request; SBD forms completed when a bid requires them. You buy on a written proposal and your purchase order, or through a formal tender response. See company facts. Servers, licences and CALs can come through Server Hub, quoted in rand with VAT included.
Continuity: your servers, your keys
Everything the project produces is yours: the licence register, product keys, administrator credentials, build documents and runbooks, handed over as each server moves. If the estate grows, or you bring the work in-house or change provider, the next team carries on without starting again. To run upgrades alongside your own IT team, see co-managed IT.
