[windows software] Office 2010 and Citrix

[keogk]

Hi all

I have about 3000 Citrix but at any single point in time usually will have 3-400 users active.

They use a app that exports a spreadsheet and opens excel. The app they use is hard coded to excel.exe it will not work with OO.org or Excel Viewer.

Do I need to get a Lic for just the Windows servers that has excel on it plus all my users.

OR Can I just buy lets say 25 Excel licensees. I figure about 1 % of my active users will use the export feature so excel will not be opening that often. MS is giving us different stories one of them being we need a per user lic for every user we have in AD

We are a School and get School pricing but still 17 a user * 6500 Users in my AD is pricey.

[DMcCoy]

You need an office license for every machine that an end user runs an office application on, even if it's via a remote session. How you get those licenses is up to you. Schools agreement with WAH/HUP is good for staff, and the student licensing option for students. The problem with office is it's per machine, and not tied to a server or user.

 

There do seem to be some changes to the licensing terms in July though: Microsoft Office licensing now a bit easier for Citrix users! | NetworkWorld.com Community so with software assurance, end users would appear to only need one office license.

[BBrian]

I think you should be able to write a short script in AutoIt to catch the arguments and pass them to whatever application you like. Probably only a few lines long. I'd have a lash but I'm on a bus right now.

[BIST]

Right Here are the licensing implications of TS server.

 

The orientation of the TS CAL determines how the virtualised application is licenced. if you have a TS server with Project Std on it for example and you licensed you TS CAL per device then the office is licensed per device. If you licensed your TS CALS on a user bases this would mean that Office is licensed per user and is great for roaming users and offsite workers. Also you can mix and match CALS:)

 

Also if you have 2 seperate TS Servers,, TS1 and TS2, TS1 has Project on it and TS2 doesnt then you only need project licences for those machines/users who access the TS1 with Project and not for those who access TS2.

 

Lastly if you purchase software assurance on a product i.e project this can give roaming use rights which is an alternative for Users who roam/off site alot.

 

I hope this answers your question

 

Shaun Dibble

VMware VSP & Microsoft MCP for Licensing

[Ric_]

@BIST: When you configure RDS licesning you have to specify your CAL type so mixing and matching surely isn't an option. Could you also point us to some Microsoft documentation stating that you can license Office products as per user because everything I can find states the contracry.

[BIST]

Ric

 

you are correct. On a per server basis you have to have to choose user or device. But on a large scale like 3000 citirx clients i am guessing you have multple TS servers of which you can mix and match to best suite your needs. Sorry in my answer I was aiming it at the scenario above and wasnt being specific cheers for pointing that out rick.

 

Q. I have a mixture of users—some have only a single computer, others share a computer, and a few have multiple computers, but I really only need a single RD Session Host server. Can I use a mixture of RDS Per Device CALs and RDS Per User CALs on a single server?

 

A. No, you need to either split the loads off to separate servers, or you’ll need to calculate the best value between RDS Per User and RDS Per Device CALs, since each RD Session Host server can only run in Per Device or Per User mode.

 

Shaun

[KeithMPhoenix]

Just to elabortate on the reference to roaming rights (if you have Project with SA for example) - its worth noting that roaming rights are (currently) only allowed for people outside the network/firewall.

 

In relation to your scenario - of course there are products that can restrict/limit usage however as with all things these days they cost so its a case of working the cost of the licences compared to the cost of purchasing a third party solution.

Edited October 13, 2010 by KeithMPhoenix