Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services Licensing

Posted by Benny Tritsch on January 2, 2006

[Overview] [License Server] [Per Device TS CAL] [Per User TS CAL] [Transition Plan]

Overview

In terminal server environments, licensing is obviously one of the more complicated topics. The reason for this is that compliance to terminal server licensing is technically enforced by the system and leads to misinterpretations and many issues. This article describes Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services licensing in order to answer many of the questions frequently asked in news groups.

Windows Server 2003 Server License

When you buy the server operating system, the Windows Server 2003 Server license is included. Technically, this license is represented by a unique license key. It allows you to install and operate Windows Server 2003. You will be asked for this license key when installing the operating system.

Windows Server 2003 Client Access License

Every computer or Windows terminal that establishes a connection to Windows Server 2003 requires the Windows Server 2003 Client Access License. Client access licenses permit clients to use the file, print, or other network services provided by Windows Server 2003.

In the past, these licenses were offered as either "Per Client" or "Per Server" licenses. Under Windows Server 2003, the Per Client licenses were renamed and can now be purchased "Per Device" or "Per User".

• A Per User Client Access License does not include concurrent users but only named users. This means, for instance, that a company does not have to pay license fees for each client device that employees use for network access or file services.
• A company in which several employees share a device can save money by using Per Device Client Access Licenses.
• A Per Server Client Access License requires the number of licenses to equal the maximum number of simultaneous connections to the server. Each device or user can access the server, but the number of simultaneous client connections cannot exceed the number of installed Per Server licenses.

Windows Server 2003 Terminal Server Client Access License

Only client computers or Windows terminals with a valid Windows Server 2003 Terminal Server Client Access License (TS CAL) are allowed to access a Windows Server 2003 Terminal Server in application server mode. A TS CAL is needed to initiate a terminal session and execute Windows applications on the server.

If Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services is in administration mode (sometimes also referred to as remote desktop mode), two simultaneous logon connections are permitted, and no TS CALs are required. This behaviour is hard-coded into the operating system core, you cannot change it. TS CALs only work for terminal servers in application mode. The easiest way to verify the activated Terminal Services mode is via My Computer | Properties | Remote

Similar to the Client Access License, the Terminal Server Client Access License is available "Per Device" or "Per User".

• A Per Device license is associated with a device which is defined as a unique peace of hardware used to connect to a server. If this licensing mode is selected, each computer device connecting to a terminal server must have such a license. When Per Device licensing is selected, different devices always need separate licenses even if they are never used at the same time.
• A Per User license grants a user associated with a user account an access license for any client device. The user can then access the company’s terminal servers from his or her office workstation or hand-held device, from a notebook on the road, or from a personal computer from home. Two different users cannot share such a license even if they use the same physical computer and never log in at the same time.

It is possible to mix licensing modes so that both types of licensing are provided on a Terminal Services license server. A terminal server, in contrary, can only be either in Per Device or in Per User licensing mode, which means that licensing modes cannot be mixed on one terminal server. However, if multiple terminal servers are being used in one network, some of the terminal servers can be in Per Device licensing mode while others are in Per User licensing mode.

The Terminal Services licensing method differs from the licensing method for "normal" Windows Servers 2003 clients using Client Access Licenses. A terminal server can grant non-licensed clients a connection for 120 days. After this time, the terminal server will not allow these clients to connect unless a license server is found to provide a client license. A license server that is not yet activated can issue temporary Per Device licenses valid for 90 days. After this evaluation period of up to 120 plus 90 days, clients can connect to a terminal server in application server mode only after they receive a valid permanent license from an activated Terminal Services license server. This means that before a Terminal Services license server is able to distribute permanent TS CALs it must be activated.

 

Next