SBS License Query.

[blakey2]

Hi All,

I rarely use/touch SBS installations but have to move/migrate users from a standard 'Server 2003' environment to a SBS server 2003 installation as two businesses are merging.

I've been reading up on licensing and am unsure of a few things:

[]How many users will a 2003 SBS installation support, using per user CAL licensing 50~75??

[]Do I have to purchase CALs upfront or can i migrate users across and buy CALs 'after the fact' once I have it all running? -- Using Per User Licensing --

[]Assuming I am looking at user CALs (one CAL per user) are there any limitations on the number of devices I can join to the domain ('# of devices' > '# of users' -- not a likely scenario..)?

[]Can I implement a secondary DC, or is this one of the explicit limitations of SBS2003?

Sorry if these questions sound stupid. i thought I knew the answers to them all however the microsoft link for SBS 2003 R2 seems to contradict much of what I understood to be true.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/sbs/evaluation/faq/licensing.mspx

I would assume that I do not have SBS 2003 R2, rather SBS 2003 Standard - The 'R2' indicating a later release (which you would need to purchase?) as opposed to a 'service pack' type of upgrade? If there is a link to the non 'R2' licensing FAQ would be great.

Thanks!

 

[LWComputingMVP]

You CAN have a secondary DC. The limitation is that the SBS system MUST be the FSMO master - but you can have multiple DCs if you like.

Maximum number of users in SBS 2003 is 75. If that number needs to be exceeded, it's best to purchase the transition pack which will remove SBS limitations.

Yes, you would need to purchase R2 unless you had software assurance (SA) on the SBS license.

Your SBS CALs cover connections to any other server on the network.

Other than that, I'm not sure off hand - we'll see if others can help on the other aspects of your question.