Windows Server licensing

[HodgeHi]

I have never had to deal with licensing issues until today.

 

I purchased 2 server licenses and the woman on the end of the blower asked me about CALs? I assumed that we already had these as we have a server already in place. But curious i went and looked to find out if i was correct. This seems like such a rip off. If i got it right you pay for the Client OS license, then pay for the Server OS license, THEN pay to connect the two together????

 

Surely this is illegal!!!

 

Please let me know if i got the wrong end of the stick.

 

Also i think the whole licensing business could do with a simpler structure for when purchasing these things as there are just too many options.

 

How do the rest of you get through this mess of licensing purchases?

[mrforgetful]

Pirate

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That's a joke to anyone not cottoned on.

[plexer]

You are correct for every device/user that connect to a server you need a client access licence.

 

The 2 ways you can licence are per user and per seat. Per use is just that one cal for each user that accesses a server or per seat which is a cal per device that accesses a server.

 

Ben

[HodgeHi]

ooo arrr matey.

 

This is my first post as Manager as the last place Manager dealt with licensing. I looked into to it briefly but never in-depth, but wish i had.

 

what about being illegal?? Its like buying a car then the engine and then having to pay for someone to put the bits together. Similar to the one i got really ;-)

 

But there are these volume license agreements as well and the open agreement as well (for educational/government purposes, pah).

 

Why so many? If they feel the price is too high and so need this many agreements, just bring them down !?!

[Teth]

It comes down to private, comercial and educational eventually.

 

THey want to make they're money from private individuals and the commercial sector because they know they can afforde it. At the same time they realise that while giving it to schools free is crazy but giving it to schools cheap makes great business sense as the graduates of these schools will all be MS trained when they head into industry and that will keep they're cash cow mooing.

 

Depending how big a school you are select or open agreements are the way to go I think last time I looked into it... its swings and round abouts tho.

[Geoff]

You could always use a Linux box. No license worries then.

[john]

There are some new licencing ways with Vista / LH Server, you get Cal Packs now and they are in the form of Core and somehing else which I forget, these packs have things like Server 2003, Exchange, Sharepoint etc CALs all in one pack etc..

[mrforgetful]

There are some new licencing ways with Vista / LH Server, you get Cal Packs now and they are in the form of Core and somehing else which I forget, these packs have things like Server 2003, Exchange, Sharepoint etc CALs all in one pack etc..

 

Sounds like the license waters just get clearer....

[john]

Yup, hence why I have read the white paper from Insight's Licencing team three times now and I still am forgetting the names etc.

 

I believe that they will be as they are now, IE CAL for Exchange, CAL for Server etc but these packs are there to give you better VFM if you have a few MS products that need CALs, as lets be honest, if you use Moodle for your VLE, something but Exchange for your e-mail, don't use MoM or SMS, then why buy a CAL pack with CALs for all that lot if you only need a Server 2K3 CAL.

[HodgeHi]

But don't the cals for existing servers cover you for the additional servers as per microsofts sites say so.

 

"I want to have additional servers running Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003 on my SBS 2003 R2 domain. Do my users need CALs to access those servers?

A.

No. Your SBS 2003 R2 CALs allow your users to access any additional servers running Windows Server software in the domain. You do not need to buy additional CALs for file and print services, or to access additional servers running Exchange Server 2003 or SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition. However, you will need to purchase Terminal Server CALs if you have a server running Terminal Services in application mode on your network."

 

http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsServer2003/sbs/evaluation/faq/licensing.mspx

 

 

I read that if you have a DC already then when you add a second you do not need to purchase additonal cals since they aren't necessary?

 

Is this not the same thing with exchange or is it because it is additional software that users will be accessing?

 

Out of interest since exchange can be web-based does this mean in theory that cals need to be purchased for all machines accessing the server externally or am i getting the wrong end of the stick now?