Chapter 4. Installing and Managing MetaFrame Access Suite Licensing

4. Installing and Managing MetaFrame Access Suite Licensing

Terms you'll need to understand:

• MetaFrame Access Suite Licensing (MASL)

• MyCitrix.com

Concepts you'll need to master:

• Planning for the deployment of MetaFrame Access Suite Licensing

When Citrix released MetaFrame Presentation Server (MPS) 3.0 and MetaFrame Conferencing Manager (MCM) 3.0, the company also released a new licensing infrastructure for these products called MetaFrame Access Suite Licensing (MASL). Citrix's plan is to integrate future releases of the MetaFrame Access Suite product family in with the MASL technology.

Central to the new licensing infrastructure is the need to have a designated licensing server that is responsible for storing and issuing licenses when requested . Unlike earlier versions of MetaFrame that required the entry of license and activation codes directly within the Management Console, after a license has been activated within the Citrix Activation System (CAS) in the MyCitrix web portal (http://www.mycitrix.com), an associated license file is downloaded and stored directly on the license server. The information contained within this file is used by the license server to determine characteristics such as the types of licenses and the quantity available for use.

Alert

The new MetaFrame Access Suite Licensing system is not backward compatible with earlier versions of MetaFrame. A MetaFrame XP server cannot query an MASL server for license information. It must continue to retrieve license information from the Data Store. After a MetaFrame XP server is upgraded to MPS 3.0, it requires the MASL server to function properly.

This chapter covers the key areas involved in planning, installing, and managing the MetaFrame Access Suite License server. Not only is this technology new, but it is also such a critical part of the installation and deployment of MPS that you will want to have a very thorough understanding of this topic in preparation for the exam.

The following key topics are reviewed in this chapter:

• MetaFrame Access Suite Licensing Architecture MASL is made up of several different components that must all be configured and deployed properly to ensure the licensing server is functioning and able to service MetaFrame server requests .

• Installing MetaFrame Access Suite Licensing After you have a conceptual understanding of how MASL works, it is time to perform the actual software installation.

• Managing MetaFrame Access Suite Licensing After MASL is installed, a number of configuration tasks can be performed within the Management Console.

A MetaFrame Presentation Server 3.0 environment cannot function without the existence of a license server. In fact, before you install MetaFrame Presentation Server, it is recommended that you have the MASL server installed and accessible.