Which License Is Applicable, Please Help.

Question

Greetings of the day!

(1) I want to know that if I am using hyper-v server 2019 free as hypervisor and windows 10 as guest VM with remote desktop enabled and accessed by 3 Linux thin clients using Remmina, so which kind of licenses (OS/RDP/CALs etc.) are required? Which Windows 10 version (Professional / Enterprise) is recommended for this scenario? Please explain in detail so I can buy accordingly.

(2) In other scenario I am using Windows10 Pro with Remote enabled and "NoMachine.exe" to work this PC as terminal server. And setup windows 10 PE image for diskless booting and accessing this windows 10 terminal server from 3 diskless PCs, so explain which MS licenses are applicable for this and how much are required?

(3) If I create 3 VMs of windows10 OS then how much licenses are required to access them using RDP?

Please help me to clear this confusion about Remote Access Licenses.

Your suggestion will always welcome.

Answer 1

Hello,

For the scenario you described, where you need to purchase and configure RDS CAL, we recommend that you use Windows 10 Pro, as it supports remote desktop functionality. While the Enterprise Edition also supports remote desktops, it is typically suitable for more complex enterprise environments and is more costly. In an RDP environment, the default design is to allow up to two or less concurrent users to make RDP connections. Please refer to the following documentation:

References:解决远程桌面断开连接错误 - Windows Server | Microsoft Learn

If you need more than two concurrent users to log in at the same time, you need to configure the session host role, license server, and have a sufficient number of CALs with the required versions, and configure them correctly.

In an RDS environment, RDLS installs and publishes the cals, and SH must point to LS for the cals to be properly issued. For per-device and per-user CALs to work, the Remote Desktop Session Host and Remote Desktop License Server are configured in one of three configurations:

(1) Both are part of the same working group

(2) Both are in the same field

(3) In a trusted Active Directory domain or forest (two-way trust)

References: 跨域林或工作组设置 RD 许可 - Windows Server | Microsoft Learn

If you have not yet purchased a CAL, you may contact the clearing house to resolve the CAL activation issue regarding the purchase and activation of the CAL, or consult and purchase it through the telephone service provided by the Microsoft Activation Center. You can buy CAL by clicking on the link below. (Note: Please note that the CAL version you purchased, according to the license usage rules, the version requirements are: LS≥CAL≥SH.)

References: Remote Desktop Server Licensing (microsoft.com)

The ApsaraDB RDS CAL mode is divided into Per User and Per Device. If multiple people share one client or jump server, you usually need to select Per Device mode. If the user will log in through different clients, the Per User mode is usually selected. Also, Per User Cal can only be used in domain environments, while Per Device Cal can be used in domain environments and workgroup environments. Therefore, you can choose the corresponding RDS CAL according to your actual situation.

References: Remote Desktop Licensing Demystified - TechNet Articles - United States (English) - TechNet Wiki (microsoft.com)

I hope this information helps.

Best regards,

Jingjing Wu

Answer 2

Hi,

Thanks for your time. I think I have to give more specific links for my scenario to understand my licensing requirements. I am not using any server or server roles in my lab systems. I am using Windows10 Pro pc as guest OS (VM) to be connected from different thin clients or from diskless nodes. I am using "NoMachine.exe" to make my windows 10 pc as terminal server like "NComputing".

Please check below links for your kind reference and clearing any doubts.

Microsoft | NComputing

NoMachine - Free Remote Desktop for Everybody

I only need to know that which kind of Microsoft licenses are required if I use my Guest VM OS (Windows10 Pro) from either thin client (Ubuntu, Remmina) or from diskless ipxe clients via Windows PE image.

In both of this scenario which Windows Licenses are required and how much, please explain.