Win Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services Licensing

[rwsjbs]

I'm trying to calculate the cost if we install:

Windows Server 2008 R2 Server using
Remote Desktop Services (RDS)

I'm stuck trying to figure out if we need to purchase the RDS CAL's and, if so, how many CAL's.

Here is the hardware we will use:

1 - Dedicated Server
10 - Computers that will need to connect to the server using RDS (Win 7 Pro or XP operating systems)
20 - Printers (2 per computer)

Here are my questions:
-If we are using Windows 7 on the 10 computers, do we still need to purchase a CAL?

-Do we need to purchase a CAL for each of the printers that are connected (10 computers + 20 printers = 30 CAL's)?

-Can you purchase a 5 CAL Server license and purchase the 10 CAL's for the remote connections. In other words, can the Server CAL's (5) be less than the RDS CAL's (10) or do you have to have a Server CAL for each RDS CAL?

-Does any version of Server (Small Business) come with any RDS CAL's?

-Where would be the best (cheapest) place to purchase the CAL's?

-Any idea on the cost per RDS CAL?

Thanks so much for looking,
Richard Scott

 

[cajuntank]

Bill still wants his money. You do not license printers and it does not matter if you have Windows 7, Vista, or XP, you still buy CALs for every computer your connect to Active Directory and RDS CALs for each computer you are going to connect to the RDS Server (+ the server or servers, if you have more than one, licensing)

SBS does not come with RDS CAL's and it's a little of a different beast. The CALs for it do include your client license for the OS + Exchange + Sharepoint (+ SQL if you have SBS Premium) bundled together, but no RDS CALs.

In regards of where to buy... CDW, Dell, HP, your local Microsoft reseller, etc...

Depends on if your commercial, government, public sector, non-profit, etc...

If your commercial, then the last time I checked (and it has been some time back), your looking <$100.00/CAL and a little more than that with software assurance.

In the end the best thing to do is get with a Microsoft reseller (like ones stated or someone in your area) to work you up a proper quote.