Temporary Licensing Issue

[kellan4459]

I have several computers who are stuck with Temporary Licenses. I have other computers who have licenses that may have connected to the Terminal Server once but they have taken up slots that I need. I am new to the Terminal Services and CAL side of the server and I am not sure what type licensing the server has. It says unlimited but if that is the case I would think the temporaries would have been issued a license by now. How can I get these licenses cleared so that other computers who need them can use them? It is a w2k server and clients are XP machines.

 

[kellan4459]

Also is there a way to determine what type of licensing server or licensing agreement I have?

 

[xfuse]

Welcome to the incredibly easy but tedious and complex world of Microsoft Licensing. There are four parts to using Terminal Services: The Terminal Services Client Access License (TS CAL), the Client Access License (CAL), the Client License, and the Server License.

The Server license is an obvious requirement as is the client license as these are both needed just to operate the individual stations.

The CAL is required to connect to the server and by connect this is ANY connection - we're talking ping here.

The TS CAL can be overrided with a client who is running Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Professional. That is if you're running either on the client you do not need to purchase additional TS CALs. If you are running Windows 98 or Windows XP Home Edition though you will need a TS CAL for each separate connection.

Every time a connection is made by any device you will 'lose' a CAL. This is permanent as far as you're concerned. If you delete the user or trash the computer associated with the connection the license is still used. You have to call Microsoft and have them reissue the license. That's why it's unlimited... unlimited in that you are required to honorably purchase new CALs as you need them.

You can determine what type of licensing mode you're in by checking the "Terminal Services Licensing" under Administrative Tools on the TS Licensing server.

 

[kellan4459]

that is what I thought I was understanding, and afraid I was going to hear. I am trying to get the information for Microsoft to reset them but having trouble locating the reseller. HMMMMMM

 

[odd0n3]

Hi.. sorry to snoop around.. but could i ask..

im not well experienced with CALs.. just did one before.. anyways which is safe to configure.. a Per Server or Per Device or User.. i know answer for this question depends on your network structure.. but what if the situation is like this..

For Now, you have only one Server and some number of PCs ...let's say 20 running win9x, winXP, etc under one workgroup.. you just want to do file and printer sharing

later on maybe a year.. you'll set up another server on a remote location and do vpn.. just to do a file and printer sharing.. let's say we have expanded to a head office and a small branch structure..

which license is safe to configure.. if that's the scenario.. i have my win2003 server kit and it says 5 CALs..

thanks in advance =)

 

[xfuse]

odd0n3,

I think it's important to understand what Per Seat versus Per Server means according to Microsoft to answer your question.

Per Server is an easy one to understand and works best in a single server environment. If you have a file server you need at least as many CALs as maximum connections that will be made to the server at any one time. In otherwords, 15 clients in a Per Server Licensing mode requires at least 15 CALs if they will ever connect at the same time. The more servers you have the less likely this option will work for you as you'll need 30, 45, 60, etc licenses as the number of servers increases (assuming 15 clients).

Per Seat is more economical and reasonable in my opinion. If you have 5 servers and 20 clients you will only need 20 CALs to access all 5 of the servers. Add 5 more servers and you still only need 20 CALs to access the previous and the new servers.

Keep in mind that this is only in referrence to CALs not TS CALs or special Internet Connector CALs, or even the individual server and client licenses.

The only drawback to using Per Seat is that you will lose the license as mentioned in my previous post. Per Seat keeps the license with the server (it can accept as many concurrent connections as licenses). Per Seat distributes the licenses to the client (hence when you've had x number of clients connect over time equal the number of licenses you have there can be no more connections). This then relates to the previous post about losing licenses.

 

[xfuse]

Typo Correction...

Per Seat keeps the license with the server (it can accept as many concurrent connections as licenses)

Should be:

Per Server keeps the license with the server (it can accept as many concurrent connections as licenses)

 

[kellan4459]

It turns out that XPHome was the issue, and the person had not installed the 5 licenses that came with the Server package. Spoke with Microsoft once I finally got the S/N from the reseller, got the 5-pack installed and XPHome is now working. Unfortunately this particular site is a client of the main company so you can't force them to use 2000 or XP Pro. But anyway thank you all for the help.