How do I upgrade from the 180-day evaluation of Team Foundation Server?
So you've installed the 180-day evaluation of Team Foundation Server, and decided you like this crazy Team System stuff. Now you'll need to buy a TFS license to obtain a CD key. The current going rate for the TFS server license is around $2500, so that's how much those 25 magical characters will cost you.
Upgrading from the evaluation version to the full version of TFS is surprisingly easy. It's documented on MSDN, even.
But this blog is dedicated to people like myself. Lazy people. And to us lazy people, surprisingly easy just isn't easy enough. Here's how you upgrade the TFS 180-day eval to the full version in two screenshots.
First, open up add/remove programs and highlight the Team Foundation Server entry. Select Change/Remove.
Now you'll be in Maintenance Mode. Select "Upgrade", enter your key, and click Next.
And.. you're done.
I told you it was simple.
Warning: this will stop and start the TFS services! So you may not want to perform this upgrade in the middle of the day when developers are working. Or maybe you do, if that's how it is at your shop.
Update: Brian Harry posted a utility that will tell you how many days are left in your trial, and also extend the expiration date by 30 days-- but only once.