Question : Windows 2008: When they say "CPUs supported", are they talking CPU sockets or CPU cores?

Hello everyone,

I have seen the press release sheets showing what editions of 2008 there are, and how many CPUs they support (ex. 4 CPUs for Web Edition & Standard, 8 CPUs for Enterprise). My question is, do they mean physical CPUs (sockets), or do they mean CPU cores? If a server has 4 quad-core processors, does that mean a Web Edition Server could potentially support 16 cores? With the multi-core CPUs that are now out there, Id like to make sure the distinction is covered.

Thanks!

Answer : Windows 2008: When they say "CPUs supported", are they talking CPU sockets or CPU cores?

The mean SOCKETED CPUs.  Microsoft announced early on that licensing and system support was for SOCKETED CPUs, so if you have a QUAD SOCKET QUAD CORE system, that's 16 cores - Standard Edition will support ALL CORES.

Further evidence, note they say SOCKETS
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/compare-specs.aspx