Licenses for member server

[mattKnight]

I have a SBS 2003 domain which has a Windows 2000 Server member server which is used as a file server.

Due to the increase in staff, some members experience issues connecting to the member server. We have 10 server CALs on the 2000 Server and 15 on the SBS server.

The 2000 server is running in Per Server License mode teh MS KB suggests a Per Seat Mode

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;327644

However, a guru I spoke to, says that I need to leave this server in Per Server and buy more server CALs

Which way to go? (AFAICR changeing mode from per server to Per seat is an irreversible change)

if I change to per seat/device/user licensing, do I end up with 25 CALS (10 from W2K and 15 from 2k3 SBS)

Want anymore info?




Take Care

Matt
If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

 

[slaing]

Matt -

I reckon all you need is enough SBS User CALs to cover all your users. The SBS CALs then cover your CAL requirements for any other Windows servers in the SBS domain.

SBS CALs are sold separately from Win2003 CALS so I don't think you can count them towards the SBS requirement.

SBS CALs can be bought as User or Device CALs, but from your post, user CALs seem to be the best option (unless your extra staff are working shifts and sharing the PCs with others ! ).

Anyway, don't take my word for it; have a look at the following page :

http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsServer2003/sbs/evaluation/faq/licensing.mspx

About halfway down there's a question on this subject - I've pasted it here :

Q. I want to have additional servers running Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003 on my SBS 2003 R2 domain. Do my users need CALs to access those servers?

A. No. Your SBS 2003 R2 CALs allow your users to access any additional servers running Windows Server software in the domain. You do not need to buy additional CALs for file and print services, or to access additional servers running Exchange Server 2003 or SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition. However, you will need to purchase Terminal Server CALs if you have a server running Terminal Services in application mode on your network.

This topic is a bit of a minefield. Our own supplier at first thought we'd need CALs for all our member servers.
When I pointed out the above Licencing FAQ to our supplier, he checked with the MS SBS Product Manager (in the UK) who confirmed that we didn't need CALs for our member servers.

Steve


PS :
The MS FAQ specifies SBS 2003 R2 - prior to the release or R2 the same page had the same answer for the previous version of SBS 2003.

 

[mattKnight]

OK, I've just looked at this some more and I beleive I have a problem that goes beyond simple licensind modes...

My 2000 server shows a Event ID 213 evey 15 minutes
"Replication of license information failed because the License Logging Service on server \\SBSSERVER could not be contacted."

Evry now and again we get a Event ID 201 (No license was available for user <domain>\<userName> using product SMBServer 5.0."


Any ideas? We have enough SBS CALS for the people we have (just)

Take Care

Matt
If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

 

[TechSoEasyMVP]

Apparently, your Windows 2000 Server is actually a Small Business Server as well!?!?!?

You can't have two SBS's on the same network. Your Win2K SBS must be removed and the domain migrated to the new SBS. There are a few methods to do this, but you certainly can't just plop a new SBS into your existing domain. The Win2K SBS CALs must be upgraded to SBS2003 CALs before you can use those as well.

How many total people do you have? How many workstations?

Jeff
TechSoEasy

 

[mattKnight]

Apparently, your Windows 2000 Server is actually a Small Business Server as well!?!?!?

I have asked the question (I have only recently assumed responsibilty for our network) This machine was once a domain controller, but winver reports it as Windows 2000 Server (not as 2000 SBS)

Total people 11, total workstations 14



Take Care

Matt
If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you.

 

[TechSoEasyMVP]

winver won't tell you if it's SBS. It'll just say Windows 2000 Server. (because that's what is part of SBS). On SBS2003, a systeminfo command will give you the right info, but I'm not sure it will do the same on a win2k sbs.

But your message stating SMBServer 5.0 is absolutely indicating a Win2K SBS. See

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/305138

for info on this error. More importantly though, your entire network will probably need to be rebuilt properly anyhow.

With 11 people and 14 workstations, you need to have 15 SBS CALs. The server comes with 5, so an additional 10 are required. If your Win2K is indeed SBS, then you can buy upgrade CALs instead. (You actually could have gotten an upgrade license for the new server which would have given you SBS Premium for the same price as a non-upgrade SBS Standard).

Jeff
TechSoEasy