Setting Up a License Server

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A license server is required by Terminal Services when running in application server mode. The Terminal Services License Service is a low-impact service that stores the client licenses that have been issued for a Terminal server and tracks the licenses that have been issued to client computers or terminals.

The license server must be activated through the Microsoft Clearinghouse and loaded with Client Access Licenses for distribution from the Clearinghouse. The license server is accessed by the Terminal servers only to issue a new license, and need only be administered to obtain licenses from the Clearinghouse.

Enabling a License Server

You can enable the Terminal Services License Service on your computer when you run Windows 2000 Server Setup. It is recommended that you enable Terminal Services on a member server or stand-alone server, and that you install the license server on a different computer.

There are two types of license servers, a domain license server and an enterprise license server. Before installing the license server, consider which of the following two types of license servers you require:

  • A domain license server is appropriate if you want to maintain a separate license server for each domain. If you have workgroups or Windows NT 4.0 domains, a domain license server is the only type that you can install. Terminal servers can only access domain license servers if they are in the same domain as the license server. By default, a license server is installed as a domain license server.

  • An enterprise license server can serve Terminal servers in any domain within a site but the domain must be a Windows 2000 domain. It can only serve Terminal servers in the same site. This type of license server is appropriate if you have many domains. Enterprise license servers can only be installed using Add/Remove Programs, not during Windows 2000 Setup

When deciding where on your physical network to deploy your License Server, consider how a Terminal server discovers and communicates with a License Server. Upon enabling Terminal Services for Windows 2000, the Terminal server will begin polling the domain and Windows 2000 Active Directory™ looking for a License Server (in a workgroup environment, the Terminal server will broadcast to all the servers in the workgroup on the same subnet).

The Terminal server polls every 15 minutes looking for a domain license server, and checks the directory service every hour looking for an Enterprise License Server. If a domain license server is found, the Terminal server checks for it every two hours. If the Terminal server cannot find the domain license server, then it begins checking every 15 minutes. If an Enterprise License Server is found, the Terminal server checks with the directory service every hour. These checks result in negligible network traffic.

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In Windows 2000 domains, the domain license server must be installed on a domain controller. In workgroups or Windows NT 4.0 domains, the domain license server can be installed on any server. If you are planning to eventually migrate from a workgroup or Windows NT 4.0 domain to a Windows 2000 domain, you might want to install the license server on a computer that can be promoted to a Windows 2000 domain controller.

To activate the license server quickly, and to access the Microsoft Clearinghouse through the Internet, install the server on a computer that has Internet access.

You must enable a Windows 2000 license server within 90 days of enabling a Windows 2000 Terminal server. If you have not enabled the license service on a Windows 2000 server when this period ends, your Windows 2000 Terminal Services will fail to operate.

Activating a License Server

A license server must be activated in order to identify the server and allow it to issue client licenses to your Terminal servers. You activate a license server using the Licensing wizard.

There are four methods to activate your license server:

  • Internet

  • Web-based

  • Fax

  • Telephone

If the computer running the Terminal Services Licensing tool is connected to the Internet, the Internet activation method is the quickest and easiest method. The Licensing wizard directs you to the secure Microsoft Internet site where license servers are activated. When you activate the license server, Microsoft provides the server with a digital certificate that validates server ownership and identity. Using this certificate, a license server can make subsequent transactions with Microsoft and receive client access licenses for your Terminal servers.

If your license server does not have Internet connectivity but you do have the ability to access the World Wide Web from a browser on another computer, you can activate your license server by means of the Web-based activation method. The Licensing wizard directs you to the secure Microsoft Web site to obtain a certificate for the license server.

Alternate methods for activating a license server include faxing your information to or calling the Customer Support Center (CSC) nearest you. The Licensing wizard also guides you through these steps. You can locate the appropriate telephone or fax number to call using the Licensing wizard. If you use the fax activation method, your confirmed request is returned by fax from Microsoft. If you use the telephone activation method, your request is completed with a Customer Service Representative over the phone.

You are required to activate a license server only once. While waiting to complete the activation process, your license server can issue temporary licenses for clients that allow them to use Terminal servers for up to 90 days.

The digital certificate that uniquely identifies your license server is stored in the form of a License Server ID. Place a copy of this number in a safe location. To view this number after your license server has been activated, highlight the license server and select Properties from the View menu. Set your communication method to World Wide Web and click Okay . Then select Install Licenses from the Action menu and click Next . The License Server ID is listed in the center of the Licensing wizard screen.

Installing Licenses

Terminal Services licenses must be installed on your license server in order for the Internet Connector setting to be enabled, or for non-Windows 2000 clients to permanently access a Windows 2000 Terminal server. To obtain Windows 2000 Terminal Services Client Access or Internet Connector licenses, purchase them through your standard software procurement method. After you purchase them you can then install the licenses using the Licensing wizard.

Just as there are four methods for activating your license server, there are four methods to install Terminal Services licenses. When you install licenses, you are asked for information regarding your purchase of the licenses. This information is as follows:

  • If you purchased or will purchase your licenses through a Microsoft Select or Enterprise Agreement, you are asked for your Enrollment Agreement Number.

  • If you purchased your licenses through a Microsoft Open License, you are asked for the Open License and Authorization numbers on your Open License Confirmation.

  • If you purchased your licenses through a Microsoft LicensePak, you are asked for a 25-character License Code, which is in your Microsoft LicensePak packaging.

After you have installed your licenses, your license server can begin deploying the licenses. Clients with 90-day temporary licenses will be upgraded to a Terminal Services Client Access License the next time they log on (unless the number of client access licenses installed has exceeded by the number of outstanding temporary licenses).

Using the Terminal Services Licensing Administrative Tool

Terminal Services Licensing is an administrative tool designed to help you activate license servers, install client access licenses, and track client usage of your Terminal servers. In this way, Terminal Services Licensing helps the system administrator accurately account for and deploy the Terminal services Client Access and Internet connector licenses.

Using Terminal Services Licensing, you can perform the following tasks after connecting to a license server:

  • Activate a license server.

  • Install client licenses.

  • Reactivate a license server.

  • Deactivate a license server.

  • Repeat the installation of client licenses.

All of these tasks are accomplished using the Licensing wizard.

In addition to performing these tasks, you can use Terminal Services Licensing to connect to any license server on your network, and then view information about the licenses on that server. You can view the following useful licensing information:

  • The list of installed client license key packs.

  • The total number of licenses in each client license key pack, and the number of available and issued licenses in each key pack.

  • The name of the computer and the date each license was issued.

  • The name of the computer and the expiration dates of each temporary license issued.

When the number of clients requesting licenses from a license server exceeds the number of licenses you have activated, you are reminded to install new licenses. The reminder appears as an event in the system log of the Event Viewer. The number of outstanding temporary licenses can be used to identify the number of client access licenses you will eventually need.

Backing Up Your License Server

It is important for you to back up your license server to ensure that you can recover your licensing information easily in the case of a system failure. Backup needs to be done on a regular basis and must include at least the System State, plus the Lserver directory. By default, this is %windir%\system32\Lserver.

The Licensing Service must be running while you restore a computer. Restoring the database and system state to the original License server (one with the same ID) restores all historical and active license information. If you restore a backed-up Licensing database to a different license server, the license server restores only the historical information about licenses issued. Licenses that have not been issued are not restored. However, information about the licenses not issued are posted to a system log that can be viewed in the Event Viewer. The information in the system log will include the number and type of licenses not issued that were not restored. To restore the licenses not issued, install those licenses using the telephone installation method. The Customer Service Representative can reissue the licenses you have lost.