Converting a release of an operating system to a different release of the same version is called a license conversion.
The following table shows license conversion paths:
| Convert from | Convert to |
| Windows Server 2016 Standard | Windows Server 2016 Datacenter |
| Windows Server 2016 Essentials | Windows Server 2016 Standard |
| Windows Server 2016 Standard (evaluation) | Windows Server 2016 Standard (retail)Windows Server 2016 Datacenter (retail) |