When I recently browsed through the Windows Download Center I noticed that there is a download for “Windows Server 2008 R2 Multilingual User Interface Language Packs”. Having worked with Multilanguage Packs for the Windows Client operating system since these were introduced with Windows 2000, I was astonished to see these in the public download center, because for Windows Clients you must have a Software Assurance or other Enterprise Agreement with Microsoft to use Multilanguage Packs. So why are these made available for free for the Server operating system?
Well after a long journey through the Microsoft Volume Licensing portal, I finally found an explanation within the Microsoft Product List document.
I found the following 2 statements:
In the case of most server products (e.g., Windows Server), the MUI is included with the base product. Customers licensing those products may use the MUI subject to the use rights for those products.
Licenses for all editions of Windows Server 2008 include the rights to the Multi-language User Interface (MUI). Customers who downgrade to earlier editions also have the right to use MUI.
Although the above mentioned document contains information for Software that is licensed through Microsoft Volume Licensing programs, I “assume” that this also applies to Server 2008(R2) systems that have an OEM license, otherwise I wouldn’t understand why Microsoft would make available this download for the public.
Related topics:
Windows Multilanguage Packs explained
Windows Server 2008 Multilingual User Interface Language Packs
Hyper-V Language Pack Update for Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition (KB951636)