Terminal Server User CAL Licensing in 2003

[mtb1996]

After reading multiple articles on the M$ KB and other threads in this forum, it's still not clear to me.

If I have 5 2003 TS User CALs, do those CALs only apply to users that are concurrently connected to the server, regardless of how many users I have in my organization?

Or do they apply to 5 specific users in my organization and those are the only 5 that are legally (I say "legally" b/c the User CAL is not managed by the 2003 license service) allowed to connect? And if I have 30 users that I want to be able to connect to TS, even if it's not at the same time, do I need to buy CALs for each of them.

M$ isn't very clear on whether the CAL applies only to "connected" users or not.

Thanks

 

[Javamahn]

This has all you need to know about TS2k3 Licensing

http://www.brianmadden.com/content/content.asp?id=154

 

[mtb1996]

Thank you so much Javamahn,

In that document I found this... exactly the sentence that I was looking for that was not clear on anything else I've read:

"Per user TS CALs are associated with user accounts, so two users cannot share a license even if they never log on at the same time."

Why does M$ make it so hard to find a clear concise explanation of their licensing strategy???

 

[Javamahn]

it all comes down to the $ is M$.

 

[mtb1996]

Yup... I agree. I actually took the time to read those 22 pages dedicated specifically to TS licensing... yeah, what fun!

Anyway, do you have a link to a similar document for TS licensing in 2000?

I'm trying to work out a solution for a client that's new to TS. They were sold on the idea by a 3rd party software company that they could have 5 users connect from any machine, anywhere, anytime... it didn't matter what users or what machines. They came to us to implement the software and we're now having to come back to them saying, "Sorry, it doesn't work that way" I'm doing my homework to make sure I can offer them the best solution and don't misspeak along the way.

 

[NickFerrar]

2000 is pretty much the same, the big change with Windows 2003 TS is it allows per device licensing as well so does allow shared licences of sorts but only if the users connect from the set pool of licenced machines. What's the client machine O/S?

 

[link9]

Something to keep in mind, also. It may or may not apply:

Does your copy of Windows XP come with a free Windows Server 2003 TS CAL? If you bought it before April 24, 2003, then it does.

http://www.brianmadden.com/content/content.asp?id=154

The answer to getting answered -- faq855-2992

 

[mtb1996]

The client machines are going to be either 2000 or XP for the most part, but I can't guaranty that. Basically the terminal server in this case is going to be set up to run some industrial control software that will allow their administration and support personnel to view the process remotely. Unfortunately, the vendor for this software told them that they could purchase 5 licenses and use them concurrently... I believe they specifically told the end user, "You could log on from any internet connection anywhere in the world and view your process, like in an internet cafe or from home." Gotta love them sales people...

 

[link9]

Well, that isn't necessarily a false statement. Given the proper licensing, it's completely true. ;-)

The answer to getting answered -- faq855-2992

 

[mtb1996]

I forgot one detail... the vendor also said it could be done where all their users could share the same 5 TS CALs. This is only true if they use per device licensing and had 5 dedicated stations for TS connections. This would negate them being able to log in from "any internet cafe" which would require per user licensing and therefore not allow them users to share CALs. So far the only work around I see to maintain legality is buy 1 TS CAL for every user, or create a generic logon like Shift1User, Shift2User, etc. and have users share the logon information. (Bye bye security...)

 

[mtb1996]

Another question: Do the TS per device CALs in Win2000 expire after a period of non use? One other claim this vendor made was that the CALs would automatically restore themselve to availability after a very short period, which I understand to also be not true.

 

[mlichstein]

Wow there is a lot of incorrect information in this thread.

[q]Per user TS CALs are associated with user accounts, so two users cannot share a license even if they never log on at the same time.[/q]

This has not been implemented yet. Per-user licenses aren't managed by the OS, so you will not see them being decremented in the license server console like you will with per-device licenses.

This means you could theoretically buy one per-user license and have an unlimited number of users/devices connect. This is a blatant violation of the EULA however.

[q]2000 is pretty much the same, the big change with Windows 2003 TS is it allows per device licensing as well so does allow shared licences of sorts but only if the users connect from the set pool of licenced machines.[/q]

This is incorrect. Per-device licensing existed in Windows 2000 terminal services--in fact, it was the only type of licensing available. The big change in 2003 was per-user licensing, which as I described above, has not been fully implemented yet.

The other big change in 2003 is the removal of the unlimited pool of licenses for 2000 and XP clients who connect to 2003 terminal servers. 2000 and XP clients that connect to 2000 terminal servers pull a license from an unlimited pool, so there is no need to purchase a separate TS license for those clients. With 2003 terminal servers, ALL clients need a license. Note that a 2003 license server can serve both 2000 and 2003 terminal servers, so the unlimited pool still exists for 2000 terminal servers.

[q]Do the TS per device CALs in Win2000 expire after a period of non use?[/q]

Yes they do. This was implemented in SP3, I believe, for 2000. Isssued licenses will expire after a random period of 52-89 days and be returned to the available pool. This is why temporary licenses are good for 90 days. This gives a client time to wait for a permanent license to expire and return to the pool.

[q]Why does M$ make it so hard to find a clear concise explanation of their licensing strategy???[/q]

I'm assuming you're referring to Microsoft. M$ is a hidden drive. This information is pretty clearly spelled out by Microsoft in the terminal server licensing whitepapers...

2003:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/techinfo/overview/termservlic.mspx

2000:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/howitworks/terminal/tslicensing.asp

 

[mtb1996]

All devices receive a Temporary Licence on first connection, regardless if there is a permenent license available or not. The temporary license is what is only good for a random period of 52-89 days. The second connection is when the device receives the permanent CAL. My question was "Does the PERMANENT license expire after a period of non use?"

That is how it is described for 2003 per device licensing. If it hasn't changed from 2000, I'll assume 2000 licensing to work the same.

Furthermore, I'm well aware that the per user CAL is not managed... I stated that in my very first post: "(I say "legally" b/c the User CAL is not managed by the 2003 license service)" I read the M$ whitepapers and 10 or so other KB articles on their website as well as searched the threads in this forum, hell... I even read the EULA. None of them clearly stated what I found in the Brian Madden article: "Per user TS CALs are associated with user accounts, so two users cannot share a license even if they never log on at the same time." If you can point me to a Microsoft article that states the same information clearly and completely, then I shall humbly stand corrected.

 

[mlichstein]

The temporary license is what is only good for a random period of 52-89 days. The second connection is when the device receives the permanent CAL. My question was "Does the PERMANENT license expire after a period of non use?"

This is incorrect. Temporary licenses are good for 90 days, permanent licenses expire after a random period of 52-89 days. So yes, permanent CALs do expire. This is stated in the 2003 whitepaper I linked, page 11:

Temporary tokens allow devices to connect for 90 days, and will then expire. TS Device CALs, while representing perpetual licenses, are set to expire 52-89 days from the date they are issued. The terminal server always attempts to renew these tokens 7 days prior to their expiration. This purpose of this is to recover TS Device CAL tokens that are lost due to events such as hardware failure or operating system reinstallation.

You are correct that the first connection gets the client a temp CAL, and the second successful connection gets the client a perm CAL, if one is available.

Per user TS CALs are associated with user accounts, so two users cannot share a license even if they never log on at the same time.

This may be clearly stated, but it isn't true. Per-user CALs aren't associated with anything at this time. The intention was to associate them in some way with a user account, but this code has not been written yet. A client connecting to a 2003 terminal server in per-user mode will not pull down anything, actually.

Here's a pretty clear (IHO) statement in the 2003 whitepaper I linked, page 11:

While it is possible to install TS Per User CAL tokens on a license server, there is currently no method of assigning a TS Per User CAL token to a particular user account.

 

[mtb1996]

I UNDERSTAND THAT THE USER CAL IS NOT MANAGED IN THE OS. I understand that there is no method to assign a token to a user account. But that only speaks to the current 2003 OS's inability to manage the per user CAL. However, it does not clearly state in the EULA or elsewhere in the Microsoft documentation whether it considers there to be a difference between a connected or non-connected user. The Microsoft language is vague enough to allow for the misinterpretation that a User CAL applies only to a User that is connected to the terminal server and that CAL is potentially freed up when the user disconnects.

Quote:
Per user TS CALs are associated with user accounts, so two users cannot share a license even if they never log on at the same time.

Legally speaking... this is very much true, even if the OS cannot enforce it.

 

[mlichstein]

However, it does not clearly state in the EULA or elsewhere in the Microsoft documentation whether it considers there to be a difference between a connected or non-connected user. The Microsoft language is vague enough to allow for the misinterpretation that a User CAL applies only to a User that is connected to the terminal server and that CAL is potentially freed up when the user disconnects.

Ah ok. That's easy then. You need to have a user CAL for every unique user that will access the server.

https://www.microsoft.com/uk/window...er2003/how-to-buy/whats-new-in-licensing.mspx

 

[mtb1996]

Thank you