Setting up a Windows 2008 R2 environment

[Bilberry]

Hi all,
My friend has his own business with 5 employees. They have now a windows 2003 environment with xp clients. He wants to buy a new server and we will install windows 2008 r2. He has 3 applications which he wants to "host" with remoteApp functionality. His own employees (5) and 10 customers (remote) will use those applications. I have a couple of questions:
- can we install and configure 1 server who needs to be confugred as a active directory and terminal server (remoteapp)?
- is there a need of installing the ts gateway? We will only use one server which should be accessed internally and externally.
- what do i need to buy for licenses? 15 cal licenses, and what else?
- is the archtecture ok, or do i need to have one more server? The applications are easy and not so complex...

Hope to get some advice...

 

[goombawaho]

The single primary user of the licensed computer

That's kind of an oxymoron because a computer can have multiple users set up. How do they define "primary user". Unless it's related to who PURCHASED the license. It doesn't make sense to me from a real world perspective.

So, my inexperienced advice on the licensing aspect of things has led to some improper advice. The OP can poke around and look at multiple options and make any decision he likes. I'm sure, just like everyone else in this world, the OP will follow all pertinent licensing guidelines.

OP can search "linux terminal server" for some other ideas if he could possibly go that way.

 

[strongm]

>How do they define "primary user".

On Windows 7 it basically means it is a single-user system.

 

[strongm]

By which I mean only one user is allowed to use it at a time.

 

[goombawaho]

Personally, I'd reject that nonsense and do as I please, but I'm just a rebel. When you think of all the bootleg copies of XP in China, a little RDPing into a Windows 7 computer seems trivial.

 

[Bilberry]

Guys, what should i do now? Where to buy such External licenses??

Below the server specs from dell:
---
Poweredge T110 II Tower Chassis, up to 4x 3.5 Cabled.
16 GB Memory, DDR3 1600 Mhz (4x4GB Dual Ranked UDIMMs)

Intel Xeon E3 1230v2 processor (3.3 Ghz, 4C/8T, 8M Cache, 69W Turbo)
PERC s300 Internal software Controller for 3.5, cabled HD configuration 3Gb/s
C8 RAID1 with PERC S300 Requires exactly 2 SAS/SATA Drive

2 x 500 GB 3.5 in. 7.2K RPM Hard drive (cabled)
----

Is this a good one? I would like to take the small Business server 2011 standard license on it? Does it meet the requirements? Hope to get some advice..

 

[Bilberry]

Guys, i have installed the small business server standard on vmware for testing purposes. Does this have the "remote desktop services"? I want to test the apps with remoteapp, whether they work or not...

 

[goombawaho]

I'm out of the discussion. Good luck.

 

[strongm]

For each external user you'll need a server CAL and an RDS CAL for each such user intending to use remote desktop services (note, for example, that if you service was hosted through IIS and only needed anonymous authentication then no CAL or RDS CAL would be needed at all). You don't need to switch to the (extremely pricey) External Connector License - that's really designed if you are delivering a remote service to a large (and possibly indeterminate) number of remote, external users. Like the normal CAL, the RDS CAL is available in 5-packs.

 

[jkupski]

Strongm,

Thanks for the voice of sanity here.I saw your quote above about a choice of CALs OR an EC license, bu I seem to recall that CALs were NOT kosher for external parties. Can you confirm this is from the latest set of MC licensing documents? (If so, I'll have to update my thinking, and this definitely makes the solution viable from an economic standpoint).

RE: win7, you're absolutely right, and goomba is sending commercial users down a path that leads nowhere good if "caught.

 

[jkupski]

That should say MS and not MC...

 

[strongm]

>I seem to recall that CALs were NOT kosher for external parties. Can you confirm this is from the latest set of MC licensing documents?

Yes, it's from current documentation on the Microsoft website:

http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/client-access-license.aspx#tab=1

One tiny wrinkle that I didn't expand on - and which you touched on in you earlier post - is that IF you have such numbers of external users that you decide to go with the RDS External Connecter you ALSO have to purchase the Windows Server external connector license. There is a breakeven point, but it is rather dependant on the license costs in your specific location.

 

[gavindcht]

Looks like this spells out some huge expenses. How much do you guys think that this would cost overall?