The installed licenses is 20. The maximum usage is 28.
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SBS 2003 License Warning Message
Our SBS 2003 server has been displaying the following warning message: License usage for a product licensed in per server mode is nearing the maximum number of licenses purchased.
Thru the Licensing Administrative Tool, I can see that the maximum usage number is greater than the installed licenses number. I'm assuming this warning message is an indication that we need to buy more licenses. MY QUESTION IS - How do I know which product license the warning message is referring to (if this matters) AND how do I know if we have client or device licenses already installed on the server?
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Answers
Per seat would allow him to run without the hassle, and expense. Not many companies run per server anymore, why would you?
And...since he has said that he has 20 seats installed I assumed that he bought the 20 seat package of SBS and now has reached 28. Granted he should buy more CAL's, but he should also switch to per seat because it is more economical.
Per server CAL will allow you to access one server...does not count towards other servers.
Per seat allows device or user to connect to any server.
Per User/Per Device mode tends to be the most economical designation for Windows CALs in distributed computing environments where multiple servers within an organization provide services across most devices or users.
Why would you, OK, I'll give you an example. One of my clients is a call center. They run 2 shifts, one with 9 employees and another with 7. They are only running one server. If they switched to per Seat, they would need a total of 16 Licenses, but instead they are running per server, which only counts towards concurrent connections "Per Server", so the the 10 user license they have is fine.
Again, you can't just make assumptions about what people need. You have to ask questions, you have to remember that there's a reason why there are different licensing models.
juan...you are assuming that he is running one server...I don't see you asking any questions at all. All you have done at this point is argue. And I am very aware of licensing models and how they work. Did mrgetty say that there is multiple shifts? No...without him writing a book, we would assume that this is a daytime concurrent situation.
mrgettys....A SBS 2003 server appears to follow per seat/per user licensing model (see link below). Correct me if I am wrong but it sounds like you bought the license with 20 CAL's. You should be able to go into the liscense manager and increase the amount of seats you have to get it to stop complaining. You then will need to but some more CAL's to match your usage. Or...switch to per seat mode.
Here are some links for you to understand licensing for SBS 2003..... http://www.microsoft.com/w
Licensing per seat vs. per server....
http://www.microsoft.com/w
I'm not assuming anything.
I was only making an observation that you didn't ask any questions before giving advice. I don't know and you don't know what the best licensing model is for this person, until he clarifies his situation. You also said, "Not many companies run per server anymore, why would you?" so I attempted to answer that question for you. A lot of my clients run multiple shifts and require "Per Server" or "Per Device" licensing.
I fully understand MS licensing policy, as to this regard and there's nothing in those links that refutes anything that I've said. There are definitly some situations where Per Server, would be the best way to go. Would it be so in this case, I have no idea, the Author still hasn't clarified his situation.
Intense Angel and juanfermin,
I'm sorry I haven't replied before now but I really appreciate your discussions. It has really helped this server novice understand the different aspects of the licensing. For the record, we have 5 separate servers with 16 local client users and 4 printers/scanners. We also have 6 - 8 remote users who connect thru their remote desktop sessions at various times during the 1st shift work day (7 AM until 6 PM).
I hope this helps to clear up any confusion I may have caused. Any additional comments would be greatly appreciated.
If you bought the regular five seats with SBS, rather than an additional amount and assuming that all servers are 2003 (this makes a difference here in licensing) you would have 25 CAL's total. If you run per server mode, only 5 users can connect to an individual server at a time, this won't work for your SBS because it is your primary and you have at least 24 users spelled out above that need to authenticate through it.
The reason that I say all 2003 servers is that, when you buy 2003 server you get 5 2003 CAL's. If you buy server 2000 you get 5 2000 CAL's. To legally connect to your 2003 server you need to have 2003 CAL's purchased for each client connection. So keeping that in mind....
Assuming that all are 2003, you have 25 seats based on what you have above you are using only 24, unless your printers and scanners are using an account to log in, then that puts you at 28 which you originally stated that you are seeing in your liscence manager. It sounds like you do need to buy 3 more CAL's and input that into your license manager to keep it from complaining. You can do this anytime, but to be legit you need to purchase them sometime. If you switch your servers to "per seat" it will not complain at all and you just need to keep track of licensing on your own....in the event of an audit you would need to cough this proof of purchase up.
Now...juanfermin sounds like he has more experience than I in the concurrent arena, I am used to working daily at companies with 15,000 to 50,000 employees and really don't deal with SBS much so maybe he can shed some specifics on the "per server" scenario and then you can choose which method you want. I lean towards per seat because the amount of servers you have, and less administration.
Good Luck!
Intense Angel is correct on this where, yes, you do need to have Per Seat (also called Per User) licensing for this. Especially with 5 servers, you could potentially be using 5 licenses per user on a Per Server Model. Once you switch to Per Seat, you should be fine. However, there is one additional problem with SBS. As I'm sure you're probably aware, SBS was designed with the small business in mind and is sold with extremely low pricing on the bundled licenses that includes Exchange & SQL. Because of this, MS requires that you have an SBS SPECIFIC client license for ALL user connecting to your SBS server. Unlike other Server products, you can't simply increase the license amount in there and just get it later, SBS REQUIRES that you purchase the client Licenses, then register it with the Server. You won't need additional licenses for the other servers. You will however need a license for each USER that connects to the SBS, SBS Exchange Server or SBS SQL Server via a DSN, and this includes anyone using OWA, TS, or even a MS Palm or Smart Phone device of some sort.
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by: Intense_AngelPosted on 2006-03-23 at 12:18:31ID: 16273817
you are only allowed 75...how many are you using?