Choosing a Licensing Mode

   

---

Products in the Windows Server 2003 family support two licensing modes: Per Device or Per User and Per Server. If you choose the Per Device or Per User mode, each computer or user that accesses a server running a product in the Windows Server 2003 family requires a separate CAL. With one CAL, a particular client computer can connect to any number of servers running products in the Windows Server 2003 family. This is the most commonly used licensing method for companies with more than one server running products in the Windows Server 2003 family. Figure 15-1 illustrates this mode.

In contrast, Per Server licensing means that each concurrent connection to this server requires a separate CAL. In other words, this server can support a fixed number of connections at any one time. For example, if you select the Per Server client licensing mode with five licenses, this server can have five concurrent connections. (If each client requires one connection, this is five clients at any one time.) The clients using the connections do not need any additional licenses. The Per Server licensing mode is often preferred by small companies with only one server. It's also useful for Internet or remote access servers, where the client computers might not be licensed as network clients for products in the Windows Server 2003 family. You can specify a maximum number of concurrent server connections and reject any additional logon requests . Figure 15-2 shows Per Server licensing mode.

Figure 15-1. This diagram shows Per Device or Per User licensing mode.

If you are unsure which mode to use, choose Ser Server because you can change once from Per Server mode to Per Device or Per User mode at no cost. After you choose Per Server and complete Setup, you can display topics about licensing modes in Help and Support Center. (Click Start, and then click Help and Support.)

Figure 15-2. This diagram illustrates Per Server licensing mode.

---

Top