
USER CAL's - Organisations purchase USER CAL's for each person who accesses the server to use its services irregardless of the number of devices they use for that access. There are three different types of CAL's: USER CAL's, DEVICE CAL's and Remote Desktop Services (RDS) CAL's.
You must purchase a CAL for EVERY user or device that connects or accesses the Windows Server Operating System. So therefor every user (or device) needs a license to connect to the server. Once you have your Windows Server License installed you have equipped your Windows Server with a Windows Server License you then need Client Access Licenses ( CALS for short) to allow users or devices to be able to connect to that server. For example, if you use your desktop computer to access a SharePoint / Exchange / SQL Server on a Windows Server machine, you have to have a client license for each products.
You often need multiple licenses per client - A client (such as a user or machine) often needs multiple licenses when accessing one physical server. Several administrative client licenses are already included- Microsoft server products always include some client licenses for administrative use. Only purchase User CALs or Device CALs, not both - legally you can use a mix of the two different types of licenses however you wont need to utilise most in many situations.
Do your reading - Make sure you understand all the details about licensing a particular application. Some Key points About Client Access Licensing In some cases, though, you may need additional licenses in order to run your server software.ĭepending on your licensing scenario, "clients" can either be on of the following: the end users themselves (employees, contractors, clients, and anyone who uses the software in question) or their electronic computing device (laptops, desktop computers, smartphones, tablets). So you can install and run most applications "out of the box," as long as you have the correct number of client licenses and meet the server licensing requirements. The license required to install and run most server applications usually comes bundled with the Microsoft Windows Server software itself. Once you have your Windows Server license in place - you then need to decide which client access license it is you need. You can see all options and available versions of the windows server series here The Microsoft Server Operating System is a valuable update for customers who aren’t yet accustomed for the cloud or those who wish to keep their databases up to date and secure. Microsoft Windows Server Client Access and Management Licenses