VS2010: Licensing & upgrading

What you need to know to make the most of what’s on offer.

HardCopy Issue: 52 | Found In: Visual Studio 2010 | Published: 19/05/2011 | Last Revision: 29/06/2011

Visual Studio 2010 is available in three Editions, each intimately linked with Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN). Visual Studio 2010 Professional gives you the full development platform plus Unit Testing facilities. Bought retail it comes with a cut-down one year trial to MSDN, known as MSDN Essentials. Alternatively, Visual Studio 2010 Professional with MSDN comes with a full MSDN subscription which includes Team Foundation Server 2010. There is also Visual Studio 2010 Test Professional with MSDN which does not include the development platform but instead provides a comprehensive set of test tools. Visual Studio 2010 Premium with MSDN is described as “a complete set of tools for individuals”, adding a more comprehensive suite of test tools together with support for database development, testing and deployment. You also get Expression Studio 4, Office Professional Plus 2010, Project Professional 2010 and Visio Premium 2010, plus test and development licences for all Microsoft server products. Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate with MSDN gives you all you need to manage the whole application lifecycle in a team environment. In addition to the facilities provided by the Premium Edition you get the IntelliTrace historical debugger; all the testing tools included in Test Professional plus tools for Web Performance and Load Testing; and the full range of architectural tools. The MSDN subscription that comes with the retail Editions lasts for one year during which you receive all updates plus a number of other benefits such as free compute time on the Windows Azure platform, free technical support incidents and free e-learning tools. You can continue to use the software after your MSDN subscription expires, however you will no longer receive the benefits and renewal can cost less than half the initial price. There are also a set of Visual Studio 2010 Express Editions that can be downloaded free of charge from the Microsoft Web site.

Open Licensing

Even if you are only buying a single licence you could benefit by opting for one of Microsoft’s Open licensing schemes. An Open Licence lasts for two years and can be combined with Software Assurance which keeps your software updated and includes technical support and training. Open Value offers options for spreading payment across a three year period. Other licensing options are available to larger organisations. Contact Grey Matter to discuss these further.