CALs and product keys - SOLVED

[1howmanyunamesaretaken?]

I'm shopping for a windows server product.

To whoever has already bought a Windows Server Product,

Do CALs need activation?

Does a CAL come with an associated product key?

If I buy a 25 CAL pack, should it come with 25 keys?

What certificate of authority do I get when I purchase a CAL?

Thanks guys.

Edited July 13, 2006 by 1howmanyunamesaretaken?

[rjdohnert]

In short, NO. CAL's are Client Access Licenses that only log how many users can log onto the server. This does not affect IIS or SQL Server, just the actual server itself and only through a couple of uses such as a Domain Controller etc. Microsoft still sells Per User licenses and its up to the administrator to make sure that they have the appropriate licenses. I am assuming Microsoft will change this in the future

I'm shopping for a windows server product.

To whoever has already bought a Windows Server Product,

Do CALs need activation?

Does a CAL come with an associated product key?

If I buy a 25 CAL pack, should it come with 25 keys?

What certificate of authority do I get when I purchase a CAL?

Thanks guys.

[Veovis]

And what about Terminal Server (win 2k3) ? I believe that this function require a Lencensing Server who really verify how many users are simultanous connected with a terminal Client.

The number of this users is dertermined by CAL ?

[allen2]

There are two kind of CAL for terminal server in 2K3 :

- by device

- by user

Anyway, there are problems with the by users licensing so most of the time microsoft recommends to use by device licensing.

And you need to have a terminal server license manager in your domain.

Here is more explanations from MS

[fizban2]

I'm shopping for a windows server product.

To whoever has already bought a Windows Server Product,

Do CALs need activation?

Does a CAL come with an associated product key?

If I buy a 25 CAL pack, should it come with 25 keys?

What certificate of authority do I get when I purchase a CAL?

Thanks guys.

#1 No CALs do not need activation, CALs are only needed to connect to the server, you will add them into your licensing manager on your server,

#2 CALs do not have license keys, your Windows XP licenses will have product keys and your Windows Server also will have keys, the CAL only are used to connect to the server.

#3 No

#4 with the 25 CALS you will get a certificate for each CAL so you should get 25 certificates or a certifice for 25 CALs (not sure if they ahve changed it lately or not)

to understand better, you will have an XP license for your client computer, a CAL for that computer to Connect to the Server, and a Server License for the Server itself, unless you by a per server licesnse for your Server, which then means you

Here is the licensing scheme for server 2003

The Windows Server Licensing Model—Elements That Have Not Changed

Although there have been changes to the Windows Server 2003 licensing model, the following elements have not changed:

•

Every installed copy of the server software requires the purchase of a Windows server license.

•

A Windows Server 2003 Client Access License (Windows CAL) is required in order to access or use the server software.

•

A Windows CAL is not required if access to the server software is via the Internet and is "unauthenticated"—for example, accessing a Web site for general information where no identifying credentials are exchanged.

•

A Windows CAL (Device or User CAL) can still be designated for use with a single server, authorizing access by any device or user, when the server software's licensing mode is set in "Per Server" mode. In this mode, the number of Windows CALs is equal to a maximum number of concurrent connections. Or, a Windows CAL (Device or User CAL) can be designated for use with any number of servers, authorizing access by a specified device or user, when the server software's licensing mode is set in "Per Device or Per User" mode (formerly called "Per Seat" mode). Other options have been added and are detailed below.

•

A Terminal Server Client Access License (TS CAL) is required to use Terminal Server or otherwise host a remote graphical user interface (GUI) session, except for a console session. In Windows 2000, there was an exception to this licensing requirement and that will change with this release, as outlined below.

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Changes to Windows Server 2003 Licensing

The following reflects changes to the Windows Server 2003 licensing requirements:

•

New user-based CAL. Microsoft is introducing a new type of Windows CAL. In addition to existing device-based CALs (Device CAL), a user-based CAL (User CAL) will be available for purchase. You can choose to purchase a Windows Device CAL for every device accessing your servers, or you can purchase a Windows User CAL for every named user accessing your servers. By having two types of Windows CALs, you are able to use the model that makes sense for your organization. For example, purchasing a Windows User CAL might make more sense if your company has a need for employees to have roaming access using multiple devices. Windows Device CALs may make more sense if your company has multiple-shift workers who share devices. Similarly, Terminal Server (TS) will offer both device-based and user-based CALs: TS Device CAL and TS User CAL.

•

New name for Per Seat licensing mode and expanded usage right. The two CAL licensing modes that exist in Windows 2000 Server still exist, but one of the modes has a new name: The Per Seat mode has been changed to the "Per Device or Per User" mode, and Windows User CALs can be applied. The name of the Per Server mode has not changed, and the rights associated with each of the modes have essentially not changed. Per Device or Per User mode is concerned with the total number of devices or users (or a combination of devices and users) accessing the server software across any number of servers, at any time. In this mode, you need a Windows CAL for every device or user that will be accessing Windows Server. In Per Device or Per User mode, only one Windows CAL is needed for any given device or user to access Windows Server, regardless of which servers it is accessing. Per Server mode is concerned with the number of concurrent connections to the server software. You need to purchase Windows CALs for the maximum number of simultaneous connections to that server. Any device or user can access the server, but the number of simultaneous access connections hitting the server at any given time must not exceed the number of Windows CALs designated to that server.

•

New External Connector License option. The new External Connector license (EC) can be purchased to enable access to your servers instead of buying individual Windows CALs for external users (or their devices). The EC license is purchased for every copy of the Windows server software that is accessible to the external user. An example of an external user is a person who is not an employee or similar personnel of the company or its affiliates.

Terminal Server will also introduce an EC license—the Terminal Server External Connector (TS-EC)—to address a similar need: to enable external users to access a company's terminal servers, without the need to purchase individual TS CALs for them or their devices.

Note: Companies can purchase Windows CALs and TS CALs for entities not owned by them—for example, business partners—in order to give those entities access to their networks and terminal servers. This may be the best solution when a small number of business partners or customers need access to a server or group of servers.

•

Replacing Internet Connector and TS Internet Connector licenses. The Internet Connector and TS Internet Connector licenses are being replaced by the respective External Connector licenses.

•

Removing Operating System Equivalency in TS. With Windows 2000 TS licensing, if a client device is running the most recent version of the Windows desktop operating system (OS), a TS CAL is not required to satisfy the licensing requirement. However, with Windows Server 2003, a TS CAL will be required for each Device or User using TS functionality, irrespective of which desktop operating system is running on the Device.

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Terminal Server Licensing Transition Plan

Microsoft realizes that the removal of operating system equivalency will affect customers and is committed to accommodating existing Microsoft customers who would like to take advantage of Windows Server 2003 features. Every Windows XP Professional desktop license that you own on the date of the public launch of Windows Server 2003 (April 24, 2003) is eligible for a Windows Server 2003 TS CAL. For more information, visit the Microsoft Terminal Server Licensing Changes and Transition Plan page.`1

So you have 2 option

per server - which works by montoring how many concurrent connections are made to the server (down fall you have to do this for each server, if you have 23 computers connecting to 3 servers you need 69 per server licenses, 23 for each server)

per user or per device - one license for each user or computer your have, you have 23 computer you have 23 licenses or if you only have 15 peole and 24 computers you could get 15 user licenses and save some money, per user of device works when you start having more then one server

[1howmanyunamesaretaken?]

to understand better, you will have an XP license for your client computer, a CAL for that computer to Connect to the Server, and a Server License for the Server itself

This is a very clear summary. thx

Please clarify this:

When you say that I have a CAL to connect a comp to the server, will I be adding this to the licensing manager by means of a CAL code or will the manager not even ask me to authenticate the CAL?

The only reason why I'm asking this is to know what artifacts to look for when buying the Server OS. B)

Entry added July 13 2006, 11:13AM

Here is an answer to my above question, courtesy of Fizban2:

about CAL activation, technically all you have to do is buy the CALS, the license manager in windows does nothing more then give you a refernce point for you to know how many cals of what you have. no activation needed

Edited July 13, 2006 by 1howmanyunamesaretaken?