Remote Desktop Services -licencing help.
Hi,
On a Windows Server 2008 R2 server we need to deploy Remote Desktop Services (Formally Terminal services). We are a bit new to it but need to deploy quickly and we are confused by licencing.
1) Is it right that if we buy 5 user licences, we have to specify which users those licences are for? Cannot we just have it that 5 simultaneous users can use it?
2) If the point 1 above is correct, is it easy to change which users can use the licences. So if we buy 5 licences, we can assign them to 5 particular users, but it is very easy to change which users are using them quickly at any time?
3) We want to have Office 2010 on the RDS sessions we buy. Am I right in thinking we cannot just by the boxed editions of Office 2010, we have to buy specific Terminal services one? The issue with this is that the prices I was quoted for a licence for “standard” office 2010 licence seem to be more than what we can buy the boxed retain edition which has a lot more flexibility. For example we were quoted £300 for part 021-09707 which I believe is the open licence edition of Office 2010. But do we have to buy this? If we just buy boxed retail editions instead can we use these with the RDS licences? Actually I researched this question I came across:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg593610.aspx
which seems to suggest I can do a manual installation of a boxed edition?
Any input appreciated to confirm my thinking.
On a Windows Server 2008 R2 server we need to deploy Remote Desktop Services (Formally Terminal services). We are a bit new to it but need to deploy quickly and we are confused by licencing.
1) Is it right that if we buy 5 user licences, we have to specify which users those licences are for? Cannot we just have it that 5 simultaneous users can use it?
2) If the point 1 above is correct, is it easy to change which users can use the licences. So if we buy 5 licences, we can assign them to 5 particular users, but it is very easy to change which users are using them quickly at any time?
3) We want to have Office 2010 on the RDS sessions we buy. Am I right in thinking we cannot just by the boxed editions of Office 2010, we have to buy specific Terminal services one? The issue with this is that the prices I was quoted for a licence for “standard” office 2010 licence seem to be more than what we can buy the boxed retain edition which has a lot more flexibility. For example we were quoted £300 for part 021-09707 which I believe is the open licence edition of Office 2010. But do we have to buy this? If we just buy boxed retail editions instead can we use these with the RDS licences? Actually I researched this question I came across:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg593610.aspx
which seems to suggest I can do a manual installation of a boxed edition?
Any input appreciated to confirm my thinking.
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TS licensing is rediculous. It's cheaper to buy 5 computers with office on them and rdp into them. Stick them on a shelf somewhere.
For 5, yes, costs are CLOSE if you just get 5 PCs over a Terminal Server for 5 users, depending on the existing infrastructure. Start adding more than 5 and the costs quickly skyrocket. It's easy to add more users to an RDS solution - buy another CAL and VL for office. MAYBE add some RAM and/or a CPU. IT's a far more labor intensive task to do that with a PC solution.
Yes space, a little labor, but I'm just illustrating that a $400 dell can give a remote user office. And at some point you will need another server to support more users. Microsoft needs to wake up and bring licensing for TS into reality.
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second, are the users going to use RDP via LAN or Remotely? have you considered VMs instead? that way you don't have to worry about the license since you can use an OEM license for each installation together the Office installation.