Microsoft to allow VMs migration with one Windows license?

NetworkWorld is reporting some interesting news, on August 19 Microsoft will reduce the license demand to perform virtual machines migration.

Under current Microsoft rules, software running on a virtual machine is licensed based on the physical server. This can be problematic because of technologies such as VMware's VMotion, which can move virtual machines from one physical server to another without causing downtime. If customer that wants to migrate a Windows guest operating system from one physical host to another (for example through the VMware VMotion technology) has to have two licenses of the operating system, one for each location. The current policy says that a customer needs to wait 90 days before migrating its licensing from one physical server to another.

"As server virtualization becomes more mainstream, Microsoft will be announcing new licensing and support policies to help customers make their data centers and enterprise IT more dynamic on August 19," Microsoft said.

If this is true the ability to migrate not only between machines but also between Microsoft centric clouds that will enable a world of opportunities for companies looking to take advantage of cloud computing.