Lesson 3: Terminal Services Licensing Components | MCSE Training Kit(c) Microsoft Windows 2000 Accelerated 2000

Terminal Services has its own method for licensing clients that log on to Terminal servers. This method is separate from the licensing method for Windows 2000 Server clients. Terminal Services licensing includes four components: the Microsoft Clearinghouse, a license server, a Terminal server, and client licenses.

After this lesson, you will be able to

Explain the use of the following components of terminal services licensing
- Microsoft Clearinghouse
- License Server
- Terminal Server
- Client License
Administer a license server

Estimated lesson time: 45 minutes

Microsoft Clearinghouse

The Microsoft Clearinghouse is the database that Microsoft maintains to activate license servers and to issue client license key packs to the license servers that request them. The Clearinghouse stores information about all activated license servers and client license key packs that have been issued. You can access the Clearinghouse through the Licensing wizard in the Terminal Services Licensing snap-in.

License Server

A license server stores all Terminal Services client licenses that have been installed for a Terminal server and tracks the licenses that have been issued to client computers or terminals. A Terminal server must be able to connect to an activated license server before clients can be issued licenses. One activated license server can serve multiple Terminal servers.

Terminal Server

A Terminal server is the computer on which Terminal Services is enabled and running. It provides clients access to Windows-based applications running entirely on the server and supports multiple client sessions on the server. When clients log on to a Terminal server, the server validates the client license. If a client does not have a license, the Terminal server requests one for the client from the license server.

Client Licenses

Each client computer or terminal that connects to a Terminal server must have a valid client license. The client license is stored locally and presented to the Terminal server each time the client connects to the server. The server validates the license and then allows the client to connect.

Administering the License Server

Deploying Terminal Services license server includes setting up the license server, enabling the server, activating the server, and installing the licenses.

Setting Up a License Server

A license server is required by Terminal Services when running in Application Server mode. The Terminal Services Licensing 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 Licensing service on your computer when you run Windows 2000 Server Setup. In a production environment it is recommended that you enable Terminal Services on a member server or standalone server, and that you install the license server on a different computer. Terminal Services is resource intensive.

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:

Domain license server. This is an appropriate choice 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 access domain license servers only if they are in the same domain as the license server. By default, a license server is installed as a domain license server.
Enterprise license server. This license server can serve Terminal servers in any domain within a site, but the domain must be a Windows 2000 domain. It can serve only 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 by using Add/Remove Programs. They cannot be installed 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, the Terminal server begins polling the domain and Active Directory service looking for a license server. (In a workgroup environment, the Terminal server broadcasts to all the servers in the workgroup on the same subnet.)

NOTE
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 Windows 2000 Terminal Services. If you have not enabled the license service 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 can activate a license server by using the Licensing wizard.

There are four ways to get the required information to Microsoft to activate your license server:

Internet
Web-based
Fax
Telephone

If the computer running the Terminal Services Licensing snap-in is connected to the Internet, the Internet activation method is the quickest and easiest method. The Licensing wizard directs you to the secure Microsoft 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 using 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 by 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 telephone.

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 OK. 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 licenses 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.

After you have installed your licenses, your license server can begin deploying the licenses. Clients with 90-day temporary licenses will have their licenses 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).

Practice: Installing Terminal Services Licensing

In this practice, you install Terminal Services Licensing on Server01 to serve the license requirements of Application Server mode.

Exercise 1: Installing Terminal Services Licensing

Make sure that the Windows 2000 Server installation CD-ROM is inserted in the CD-ROM drive on Server01.

NOTE
In a production environment, it is advisable to install licensing services on a computer that is not also running Terminal services in Application Server mode.

Log on to Server01 as Administrator with a password of password.
Click the Start menu, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.
The Add/Remove Programs dialog box appears.
In the left frame, click Add/Remove Windows Components.
After a few moments, the Windows Components wizard appears.
Scroll down and select the Terminal Services Licensing check box, and then click Next.
The Terminal Services Setup screen appears.
Select the Application Server Mode radio button, and then click Next.
The Terminal Services Setup screen appears and informs you that Windows 2000 Administrative Tools may not work properly after the installation of Terminal services in Application Server mode.
Click Next.
The Terminal Services Licensing Setup screen appears.
Click the Your Entire Enterprise radio button.
Notice that the license server database is stored in C:\WINNT\System32\LServer.
Click Next.
The Configuring Components screen appears as Windows 2000 configures and installs components. After a few minutes, the Completing the Windows Components Wizard screen appears.
Click Finish.
The Add/Remove Programs dialog box appears.
Click Close, and then close Control Panel.
A System Setting Change message box appears, informing you that you must restart the computer before the settings can take effect.
Click Yes to restart the computer.
Log on to Server01 as Administrator with a password of password.
Click the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Terminal Services Licensing.
The Terminal Services Licensing snap-in appears and the Terminal Services Licensing Manager status box appears as Terminal services are located. Once Server01 is found, it appears in the details pane with a status of Not Activated.
In the details pane, click SERVER01.
Click the Action menu, and then click Activate Server.
The Licensing wizard appears.
Click Next.
The Connection Method screen appears.
In the Connection Method drop-down list box, select Telephone and then click Next.
The Country/Region Selection screen appears.
Select a country, and then click Next.
Without entering a license server ID, click Next.
A Licensing Wizard message box appears explaining that the license server ID entered is not valid or was not entered.
Click OK.
On the License Server Activation screen, click Cancel.
Close the Terminal Services Licensing snap-in.
The Terminal Services Licensing component is installed and you will be able to use Terminal Services in Application Server mode for 90 days. Before 90 days have passed, you must activate the server using the Terminal Services Licensing snap-in and information provided to you by Microsoft.

Lesson Summary

Terminal Services licensing includes four components: the Microsoft Clearinghouse, a license server, a Terminal server, and client licenses. Deploying Terminal Services license server includes setting up the license server, enabling the server, activating the license server, and installing the licenses.