Licensing scheme for Windows Server (2000 - 2003)

[pointertovoid]

Hello everybody!

Could someone provide me with very basic notions on what a license and a client access license (= cal) allow to install with Windows 2000 server or 2003 server? I've never had my own server up to now (but am easy with managing 2000 Pro) and couldn't find clear information at MS - they seem to consider that every Server potential customer already knows that all.

So let's imagine for instance that I have a simple 2003 Server with 5 cals. Does this allow me to have 6 computers with W2k3 running on them, one server machine and 5 client machines? Or am I supposed to have 5 licenses for W2k Pro or Xp (in addition to the cals) and install these Windows on the client machines? By the way, can a client machine run W2k3, or only the server machine?

And in case the client machines can run a W2k3 using one of the cals each: do these client machines need to be connected permanently to the server? I will always have at least one more secured machine that won't be connected to the outside world through the Internet and hence won't be connected to the Server machine. Can I connect it to the server machine just once when installing Windows (I imagine the server machine wants to decrement a number of available cals, doesn't it?) and then take it away eternally?

Thanks a lot!

[cluberti]

If you have one license for Windows and 5 CALs, it means you can install it one time on one machine, and have 5 client machines (hence the term Client Access License) access whatever services the CALs are for (in the case of Windows CALs, these would cover things like file shares or print queues, for instance).

[pointertovoid]

Other contributions please?

[Jakebo]

I am not sure what you are looking for in more contributions. The server and CALs set up seemed to be pretty well explained. Do you have a question about something other then the Windows Server or did part of the reply need further explination?

[pointertovoid]

Well, other people may have different opinions or experiences, and diversity is a richness of forums.

For instance, printer sharing and printing queues existed since Windows 95 without needing any Server Windows nor restricting the number of connections, so I'm surprised that a more expensive Server should limit the depth of a print queue.

But yes, my main interest is whether I have to install something like W2k Pro or Xp on the client machines and buy extra licences for them, of if the Cals allow me to use the Server Cd and install it on the client machines.

[cluberti]

Well, other people may have different opinions or experiences, and diversity is a richness of forums.

Except the licensing terms I quoted above don't change, regardless of your opinion. The license is for the OS install, the CAL is to allow clients to connect to services licensed by the CALs. That's it. End of story .

For instance, printer sharing and printing queues existed since Windows 95 without needing any Server Windows nor restricting the number of connections, so I'm surprised that a more expensive Server should limit the depth of a print queue.

Except client OSes do have limitations - 10 inbound persistent connections. This doesn't exist in server, plus comparing Windows 95 to an NT-based OS (server or client) isn't really a valid comparison. We're lucky enough Win95 had built-in TCPIP, let alone server software .

But yes, my main interest is whether I have to install something like W2k Pro or Xp on the client machines and buy extra licences for them, of if the Cals allow me to use the Server Cd and install it on the client machines./quote]If you wanted to set up a file or print server, you could easily use a Windows 2000 or XP install on a client and serve up to 10 concurrent connections, and if that meets your needs it's perfectly viable. However, if you need something more robust, and you don't want to license it, there's always Linux (Samba, CUPS, Apache, etc).