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MS Office Volume Licensing on Remote Desktop Services
I am going to build out an RDS server on Windows Server 2012. 10 users from a remote location will RDP through VPN to the server and work remotely. They require MS Office. I know I have to have a volume license for MS Office. I want to be able to go from MS Office Standard to MS Office Pro in the future if needed. Will someone please explain what I will need in terms of RDS CALs, Windows CALs, and MS Office licensing for this scenario. I see that MS' "Open Value" licensing will allow me to do the "Step-up" (included with software assurance) to go from Standard to Pro, correct? If so, is an "Open Value" license ok to use with RDS?
Thanks!
Thanks!
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Stoner79, thanks for your input; however, that is information I was able to obtain already, and I was looking for, "you need this, this, and this" as leew provided. Thanks, leew, for your input. That's what I was looking for. From what I understand though, with the open value plan, the step-up does allow you to move from standard to pro through SA, but this is not the case with the normal open license.
Microsoft Volume Licensing Brief:
http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/briefs/remote-desktop-services.aspx
FAQs:
http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/product-licensing-faq.aspx#tab=3
An extract from the FAQ which looks to fit your question quite well.
I have installed Microsoft Office on a network server for access using Windows Remote Desktop Services. I have acquired Remote Desktop Services User Client Access Licenses (CALs) for each of my employees. I want my employees to be able to access Microsoft Office from any desktop/thin client. What licenses are needed to properly license Microsoft Office within this environment?
Since Microsoft Office is licensed through a device-based licensing model only, each desktop desktop/thin client that is used to access Microsoft Office using Remote Desktop Services must have a separate Microsoft Office license dedicated to it. Licenses for Microsoft Office cannot be shared across desktops to support concurrent use. Furthermore, with the 2007 release, generally only licenses obtained through Volume Licensing can be deployed to a network server for remote access. The same rules apply to VDI scenarios. Each desktop/thin client that is used to access Microsoft Office running on virtual desktops on the server must have a separate Microsoft Office license dedicated to it. For more information, download the Volume Licensing Brief for Licensing of Microsoft Desktop Application Software for Use with Windows Server Terminal Services.