If you understand Microsoft licensing well you'll know it also costs to scale vertically. Depending on your license procurement model (SPLA, Retail, OEM, OVA)

If you understand Microsoft licensing well you'll know it also costs to scale vertically. Depending on your license procurement model (SPLA, Retail, OEM, OVA) you are usually paying for server software on a per-cores basis. Some products (included most mentioned) have a scale tipping point where they become more flexible (DC licensing).