Choose the Licensing Mode

Updated: March 10, 2009

Applies To: Windows SBS 2008

To use a terminal server in your organization, you must have a Windows Server 2008 license for every terminal server that you deploy in your organization, as well as Terminal Server Client Access Licenses (CALs) for devices that access the terminal server. For a terminal server that is running Windows Server 2008, there are the following two types of Terminal Server CALs:

• Per Device

• Per User

Which CAL you choose depends on how you plan to use the terminal server. When the Per Device licensing mode is used, and a client computer or device connects to a terminal server for the first time, the client computer or device is issued a temporary license by default. When a client computer or device connects to a terminal server for the second time, if the license server is activated and enough TS Per Device CALs are available, the license server issues the client computer or device a permanent TS Per Device CAL.

A Per User CAL gives one user the right to access a terminal server from an unlimited number of client computers or devices. TS Per User CALs are not enforced by TS Licensing. As a result, client connections can occur regardless of the number of TS Per User CALs that are installed on the license server. This does not release administrators from the requirements of the Microsoft Software License Terms to have a valid TS Per User CAL for each user. Failure to have a TS Per User CAL for each user, if the Per User licensing mode is being used, is a violation of the license terms.

To ensure that you are in compliance with the license terms, make sure that you track the number of TS Per User CALs being used in your organization, and have a sufficient number of TS Per User CALs installed on the license server to provide a TS Per User CAL for each user that needs to connect to the terminal server.

In Windows Server 2008, you can use the TS Licensing Manager tool to track and generate reports about the issuance of TS Per User CALs.

Per Device Licensing Mode

A Per Device CAL gives each client computer the right to access a terminal server that is running Windows Server 2008. The Per Device CAL is stored on the client computer and is presented to the terminal server each time the client computer connects to the terminal server.

Choose the Per Device licensing mode to do the following:

• Host a user’s primary desktop for devices that your users own or control.

• Connect thin clients or computers to a terminal server for a large percentage of the working day.

The Per Device licensing mode is not recommended if you do not control the device that is accessing the server, such as computers in an Internet café or that belong to a business partner who connects to your terminal server from outside of your network.

Per User Licensing Mode

To use Per User licensing, you must have a license for each user. A user can access the terminal server from an unlimited number of devices, and they need only one CAL (rather than a CAL for each device).

Choose the Per User licensing mode to do the following:

• Provide access for roaming users.

• Provide access for users who use more than one computer, such as a portable computer and a desktop computer.

• Provide ease of management for organizations that track access to the network by user rather than by computer.

In general, if your organization has more computers than users, Per User licensing is a cost-effective way to deploy Terminal Services because you pay only for the user to access the terminal server, rather than for every device from which the user accesses the terminal server. See the EULA for the applications that you plan to host to determine if they support Per User licensing.