I have just spent the last 90 minutes being put through the ringer by MS tech suppport...
We are currently in the process of upgrading a bunch of NT4/MetaframeXP servers to Windows2000/MetaframeXP. Metaframe licensing is all nicely taken care of, but the Terminal Services licensing will cause us some issues.
Some of the clients on the network run Win2kpro, and some run xp, which will be fine because of the built-in TSCAL functionality. However, we also have a lot of dedicated thin client machines that do not run Windows at all. The obvious solution is to buy TSCALs, but the MS TS Licensing FAQ says that you don't need a TSCAL if you own a legit copy of 2kpro or xppro (which we do, lots of them!).
The tech support person I spoke to at Microsoft checked with a licensing rep who said that just having the 2k/xp license isn't enough, you have to also be running it as your desktop OS. This seems crazy to me. Of course, he was also pretty sure that it was illegal to connect to terminal services using Linux (are they mad??).
Surely this is a common scenario... the move away from fat clients with a full desktop OS to a thin client. I think it's rotten that they should suggest you then have to go and buy a TSCAL even though you still own the previously valid OS/TSCAL license.
Has anybody done this and managed to get a TSCAL license key out of them?
We are currently in the process of upgrading a bunch of NT4/MetaframeXP servers to Windows2000/MetaframeXP. Metaframe licensing is all nicely taken care of, but the Terminal Services licensing will cause us some issues.
Some of the clients on the network run Win2kpro, and some run xp, which will be fine because of the built-in TSCAL functionality. However, we also have a lot of dedicated thin client machines that do not run Windows at all. The obvious solution is to buy TSCALs, but the MS TS Licensing FAQ says that you don't need a TSCAL if you own a legit copy of 2kpro or xppro (which we do, lots of them!).
The tech support person I spoke to at Microsoft checked with a licensing rep who said that just having the 2k/xp license isn't enough, you have to also be running it as your desktop OS. This seems crazy to me. Of course, he was also pretty sure that it was illegal to connect to terminal services using Linux (are they mad??).
Surely this is a common scenario... the move away from fat clients with a full desktop OS to a thin client. I think it's rotten that they should suggest you then have to go and buy a TSCAL even though you still own the previously valid OS/TSCAL license.
Has anybody done this and managed to get a TSCAL license key out of them?
