RDS licensing

Krystian Mikołajewicz 0 Reputation points
2024-04-18T08:02:49.9433333+00:00

Hi.
I have a question about RDS licensing. One of my customers has a Windows Server in Azure, where they want to connect via RDP.
All users have free Entra ID accounts. They have a couple of computers where multiple people work. The best solution for them is to allow users to connect to the computer via their named accounts to let them assign SharePoint and other rules. From each computer, they can connect to RDP via specific computer accounts like PC1, PC2.....

As far as I know, device licensing is not allowed for Azure servers for now (correct me if I’m wrong).

In that case, should I buy an RDS license for a specific personal account or a specific PC account? Can I use that mix from a compliance perspective, or if I want to work like that, should I share the login and password for each person in the company and allow them to login with the account PC1 or PC2 to a specific computer and the same account to the server?

Windows Server Licensing
Windows Server Licensing
Windows Server: A family of Microsoft server operating systems that support enterprise-level management, data storage, applications, and communications.Licensing: Rules, regulations, and restrictions that define how software can be used and distributed.
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  1. Jing Zhou 2,240 Reputation points Microsoft Vendor
    2024-04-18T09:54:21.6666667+00:00

    Hello,

    Thank you for posting in Q&A forum.

    Firstly, Azure currently does not support RDS device licenses, so you cannot purchase RDS device licenses for specific PCs. Therefore, your choice is to purchase RDS User Access Licenses (CALs).

    For the option of user CALs, you should purchase RDS user CALs for each named user who will access the remote desktop session host server. In this way, each user can log in to the server using their Entra ID account. This is a relatively direct method, suitable for situations where the number of users is limited and each user needs frequent access. This ensures compliance with license terms and makes it easier to track and manage the access and permissions of each user.

    Hope this answer can help you well.

    Best regards，

    Jill Zhou

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