dekroon
asked on
Are VPN clients disconnected when SBS licenses exceeded?
I have an SBS 2003 server with 10 CALs. We've been exceeding our licenses with VPN users for some time now. The worst that has happened is that an annoying message keeps coming up on the server indicating that licenses are being exceeded.
Lately we've had problems at a particular remote site, where everybody connects to the SBS server via VPN. They're being disconnected from the server every few minutes. I've been having one heck of a time troubleshooting this problem, and have been suspecting that it's a licensing issue. What I'm suspecting is that only going over the 10 licenses by 2 or 3 users only results in error messages on the server, but that going over by 5 (the license service on the server shows maximum license usage at 15), users are getting kicked off, starting with VPN clients.
Could that be the case? Before recommending that we buy a bunch more licenses, I want to make sure.
Thanks in advance.
Joe
Lately we've had problems at a particular remote site, where everybody connects to the SBS server via VPN. They're being disconnected from the server every few minutes. I've been having one heck of a time troubleshooting this problem, and have been suspecting that it's a licensing issue. What I'm suspecting is that only going over the 10 licenses by 2 or 3 users only results in error messages on the server, but that going over by 5 (the license service on the server shows maximum license usage at 15), users are getting kicked off, starting with VPN clients.
Could that be the case? Before recommending that we buy a bunch more licenses, I want to make sure.
Thanks in advance.
Joe
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Things like connecting to the exchange server would be a problem. Once the licence exeeds the limit 1 or 2 clients would get problems accessing the exchange server until someone logs off. But I have never seen VPN being dropped.
In your case, If you have 10 users concurrently connected to the server with outlook connected to the echange server. the 11th would not be able to connect to the exchange server. But that does stop users from dialing VPN.
I hope that helped
In your case, If you have 10 users concurrently connected to the server with outlook connected to the echange server. the 11th would not be able to connect to the exchange server. But that does stop users from dialing VPN.
I hope that helped
Might I ask why you are even posing this question? You need to buy as many CALs as you have Users. Period.
SBS does not use a concurrent licensing model. It requires a CAL for every user that is authenticated on the server. If that user logs off, it does not free up a CAL.
Full SBS licensing details are here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/sbs/howtobuy/default.mspx
Jeff
TechSoEasy
SBS does not use a concurrent licensing model. It requires a CAL for every user that is authenticated on the server. If that user logs off, it does not free up a CAL.
Full SBS licensing details are here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/sbs/howtobuy/default.mspx
Jeff
TechSoEasy
ASKER
Jeff, I didn't know that you worked for Microsoft ;-)
I am posing the question because my primary concern is to troubleshoot this problem. Being compliant with Microsoft is a secondary concern. Buying licenses in this organization involves steps that take several days to a week, and in the meantime I need to know if I should keep spending my limited resources looking for other causes of the disconnects. If I can get a definitive answer as to whether the symptoms I'm experiencing could be caused by the licensing server, then I can push the order through and get the client's money to you -- i mean, Microsoft -- as quickly as possible.
Joe
I am posing the question because my primary concern is to troubleshoot this problem. Being compliant with Microsoft is a secondary concern. Buying licenses in this organization involves steps that take several days to a week, and in the meantime I need to know if I should keep spending my limited resources looking for other causes of the disconnects. If I can get a definitive answer as to whether the symptoms I'm experiencing could be caused by the licensing server, then I can push the order through and get the client's money to you -- i mean, Microsoft -- as quickly as possible.
Joe
Regardless of the outcome of your diagnostic you will need to buy some more licences as mentioned above. I undestand were you coming from when you want to find out if the clients are being dropped because of licencing, But your VPN problem really as nothing to do with cal. If you want to proove me wrong install new licences.
Vico1
Vico1
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Jeff,
I Certainly would not advise anyone to bypass any licensing compliance, in fact my first sugesstion was to add more cals but the fact remains that the VPN problem is not because of cals. I believe that this problem is bandwidth or noise related. And As I am going to repeat it again, "Regardless of the outcome more cals is needed".
Dekroon, if you add more cals to your SBS, that will be one thing not to worry about while you are troubleshooting, and at the end you will have the answer that you are looking for. Like I said above, If Your problem is Cal related, Your problem will stop as soon as you add the cals.
Cheers!
Vico1
I Certainly would not advise anyone to bypass any licensing compliance, in fact my first sugesstion was to add more cals but the fact remains that the VPN problem is not because of cals. I believe that this problem is bandwidth or noise related. And As I am going to repeat it again, "Regardless of the outcome more cals is needed".
Dekroon, if you add more cals to your SBS, that will be one thing not to worry about while you are troubleshooting, and at the end you will have the answer that you are looking for. Like I said above, If Your problem is Cal related, Your problem will stop as soon as you add the cals.
Cheers!
Vico1
ASKER
Jeff,
I understand where you are coming from. Please continue the good work you do on these boards.
Vico,
I revisited the problem with a teammate, and it seems now that perhaps the problem is not that VPN is being disconnected, but that even with a connection no services are available. Because the server didn't respond to a ping over VPN, I was assuming the the connection was down. Perhaps the server is in effect refusing any traffic to and from unlicensed VPN client.
At any rate, I will recommend more licenses and discontinue further troubleshooting until they arrive.
Thanks again, guys.
Joe
I understand where you are coming from. Please continue the good work you do on these boards.
Vico,
I revisited the problem with a teammate, and it seems now that perhaps the problem is not that VPN is being disconnected, but that even with a connection no services are available. Because the server didn't respond to a ping over VPN, I was assuming the the connection was down. Perhaps the server is in effect refusing any traffic to and from unlicensed VPN client.
At any rate, I will recommend more licenses and discontinue further troubleshooting until they arrive.
Thanks again, guys.
Joe
ASKER
I should have added that VPN connections to other servers are fine, and VPN connections to this server at night (when there aren't a lot of clients logged on) seem to be fine, too.
vico1, I wasn't suggesting that you were making any statement supporting bypass.
dekroon, other servers?
Jeff
TechSoEasy
dekroon, other servers?
Jeff
TechSoEasy
ASKER
What I'm trying to accomplish here is to troubleshoot the VPN disconnections.