For a comparison of all MSDN products, please click here.

PLEASE NOTE:

This product is for purchase by qualified schools or by teachers or staff of qualified schools for school use only. Individual students may not purchase this product. 

Why pay more? Get all of Microsoft's products for one low academic price!

Savings of 1000's of dollars over paying for each item individually. All are full versions and include free updates and free upgrades for TWO YEARS! Please note that the software never expires and is full licensed.

What You Get

Your subscription entitles you to receive continuous priority access to the latest Microsoft development tools, platform, and server technologies, productivity applications, technical resources, and support via secure Internet access to the subscription software download site (MSDN Subscriber Downloads site) and through regular, monthly CD or DVD shipments.

Highlights of your MSDN Premium subscription include:

• Continuous access to new software and technical resources. During the two year term of your subscription, you are entitled to upgrades to your subscription software and to select new releases and product betas, in addition to resources such as software and hardware development kits and service packs.

• Latest Microsoft operating systems includes the latest versions of Windows 7 (all versions, include Ultimate), Windows Server, Windows Vista Ultimate, Windows XP Professional Edition, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, and future Windows releases. Usage rights are limited to development and testing only.

• Broad range of the latest Microsoft Windows Server System products includes the latest versions of SQL Server, Exchange Server, BizTalk Server, Commerce Server, Host Integration Server, Application Center, Internet Security and Acceleration Server, SharePoint Portal Server, and Content Management Server. Usage rights are limited to development and testing only.

• Latest Microsoft productivity applications includes Office Ultimate Edition 2010, Expression Web Ultimate Studio 4.0, Microsoft Visio Pro 2010, Microsoft Project Pro 2010 , Infopath, OneNote 2010, and MapPoint. Usage rights are limited to business use directly related to development and testing only. In addition to development and testing use rights, one copy of Office Ultimate, Expression Web, Project Pro, Sharepoint Designer, Visio Professional, and Office Communicator can be used by a single MSDN licensed user for general business use.

• Technical support includes unlimited usage of MSDN Managed Newsgroups for online support with a guaranteed response time of two business days, phone-based support incidents, and free access to MSDN Online Concierge for non-technical questions regarding navigation of the MSDN site, Knowledge Base article searches, and MSDN Subscriber Downloads.

• Technical Support Incidents

  To help with the challenges of the development process, MSDN subscribers may turn to dedicated Microsoft support engineers for assistance. Every MSDN Subscription includes professional-grade, Developer-specific technical support incidents. With 24/7 Business-Critical service level, Support Incidents may be called upon for break-fix situations.

• Continuously updated technical content is available through the MSDN Library, which offers comprehensive programming information, code samples, sample applications, technical documentation and articles, and the Microsoft Developer Knowledge Base.

How does it work?

• Place your order and submit your proof of academic status as a school, or faculty or staff of a school.
• Wait until you receive from us your MSDN registration letter via e-mail.  Please allow up to one week to process orders.
• Use the information from that letter to register on MSDN's site.
• Once it is confirmed, you can start downloading the latest versions of any of the Microsoft products listed above from Microsoft's secured server. You can also choose to have them sent to you via download or on DVD. Please note that they are shipped directly from Microsoft. There is no charge for ground shipment.

MSDN Subscriptions Level & Feature Overview

MSDN Subscriptions provide priority access to the tools and products you need to build and fully test XML Web services and applications. Through MSDN Subscriber Downloads and automatic CD or DVD shipments, you'll receive continuous, priority access to the latest Microsoft technologies and information as soon as they release. With developer-licensed versions of Microsoft operating systems and Microsoft .NET Enterprise Servers you can fully test the broadest range of applications. There are several subscription levels customized to your development needs:

MSDN Premium. Delivers the most comprehensive set of Microsoft software (including Visual Studio .NET Enterprise Architect) necessary to build and fully test XML Web services and applications.

MSDN Professional. Delivers the development tools (including Visual Studio .NET Professional) and platform technologies needed to build and test XML Web services and applications.

MSDN Library. Delivers the latest technical content from Microsoft including over 1.8GB of code samples, product documentation, and programming information.

When you start your new subscription, you can select to receive disc shipments on CD or DVD. Older versions of operating systems are also available upon request from your local MSDN Subscriptions Services Center. For information on available languages please call the MSDN hotline.

See what's new in 2010:

New MSDN | New Benefits for Even Better Value

MSDN Subscriptions are the most convenient way to cost effectively get access to all the tools, server, and clients you need for development and test. They’re the perfect addition to your Visual Studio license to help you and your teams be productive and develop high quality applications. Now MSDN Subscriptions also come with more value than ever before:

§         Free compute hours on the Windows® Azure™ Platform (upon commercial available of Windows Azure) ²

§         Up to 2 free Microsoft E-Learning collections ³

§         Special Microsoft Partner offers such as discounts on training, software, and hardware ⁴

❷ Visual Studio 2010 | New Product Lineup 

Visual Studio 2010 delivers a state-of-the art custom development environment for you to build high quality applications, and it’ll be available to all active MSDN subscribers in early 2010.

§         Visual Studio 2010 introduces a new product lineup which is easier to understand

¹ Volume License (VL) customers obtain MSDN Subscriptions by purchasing Software Assurance (SA) with their Visual Studio purchases.

² Windows Azure offer specification details are available online at http://msdn.microsoft.com/subscriptions.

³ MSDN Premium subscribers receive two (2) collections per year; MSDN Professional subscribers receive one (1).

⁴ Offers vary over time. To see current offers, log in to your MSDN Subscription and navigate to the Special Offers section.

Compare MSDN Subscriptions

Subscription Levels	Visual Studio Professional with MSDN	Visual Studio Test Professional with MSDN	Visual Studio Premium with MSDN	Visual Studio Ultimate with MSDN
Software and Services for Production Use
Primary Development/Testing Tool	Visual Studio Professional	Visual Studio Test Professional	Visual Studio Premium	Visual Studio Ultimate
Visual Studio Team Foundation Server 2010
Visual Studio Team Explorer Everywhere 2010
Visual Studio Feature Packs
Microsoft Expression Studio Ultimate
Microsoft Expression Studio Premium
Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010, Project Professional 2010, Visio Premium 2010
Windows Azure platform1
Software for Development and Testing
Windows, Windows Server
Microsoft SQL Server
Toolkits, Software Development Kits, Driver Development Kits
Microsoft Office
Microsoft Dynamics
All other Servers (SharePoint, Exchange, etc.)
Windows Embedded
Additional Benefits 2
Technical support incidents	2	2	4	4
Priority support in MSDN Forums
Microsoft E-Learning course collections (typically 20 hours each; per calendar year)	1	1	2	2
MSDN Magazine
MSDN Flash newsletter
MSDN Online Concierge
Special Offers from Microsoft and partners

Additional Information

• How am I allowed to use the software under MSDN?  See our Software Use Rights.
• Download the MSDN subscription comparison chart - Word | PDF
• Need more specifics on which products are included?  Download the full list of products available by subscription level
• Compare MSDN (for development/testing) and TechNet (for evaluation) subscriptions
• Subscription renewal options
• MSDN subscription transition to Visual Studio 2010

¹ Availability varies by country.  See additional details.

² Benefits not available in all languages; availability may vary by geography.  MSDN subscriptions provided by the Microsoft Partner Network (MPN) do not include technical support incidents, priority support in MSDN Forums, or MSDN Online Concierge as similar services are provided through MPN.  Not for Resale (NFR) subscriptions do not include technical support incidents, the printed MSDN Magazine, or production use of Microsoft Office products.  BizSpark subscribers get 2 technical support incidents per company, provisioned to the administrator.

The information is representative and not comprehensive. Products, versions, and availability are subject to change