It is not intended for commercial production use. After 180 days, the server will begin shutting down automatically every hour unless you convert it to a paid version. 2. Microsoft Azure for Students
For developers, a Visual Studio Subscription provides access to almost all Microsoft software for development and testing purposes. While the subscription itself costs money, many companies provide these to their developers, effectively giving you a "free" license for your dev environment. 4. How to Convert Evaluation to Full Version
| Scenario | Recommended Free Option | Limitations | |----------|------------------------|--------------| | Learning for certification (e.g., MCSA/MCSE) | 180-day evaluation | Must reinstall every 6 months or rearm | | Building a home lab | Evaluation + rearm (up to 720 days) | No production data | | Student project | Visual Studio Dev Essentials / Azure for Education | Account verification required; non-commercial | | Small business production | None — must purchase Standard or Essentials | No legitimate free production license | | Testing Azure hybrid features | Azure free account (Windows Server VM for 12 months) | Cloud-only; limited VM hours |
Key characteristics: