RDP Device license

Question

I have two questions that are related so thanks ahead of time:

I have paid for and am using an RDP Device license on a Windows 2019 server and everything is working fine. My question is, Will this license work for the life of the server or will it unexpectedly turn off after a fixed amout of time, which indirectly will affect my customers?

Secondly, if I clone the server via a VM image, how is the license effected both on the original server and the cloned VM?

Thanks

John

Answer 1

Hi John Phillips8,

Thank you for sharing your purchase info. This license is permanent.

If you have found my answer helpful, I would appreciate it if you would press the helpful button and mark the answer.

Best regards,

Yu

Answer 2

I have two questions that are related so thanks ahead of time:

I have paid for and am using an RDP Device license on a Windows 2019 server and everything is working fine. My question is, Will this license work for the life of the server or will it unexpectedly turn off after a fixed amout of time, which indirectly will affect my customers?

Secondly, if I clone the server via a VM image, how is the license effected both on the original server and the cloned VM?

Thanks

John

Answer 3

Hi John Phillips7,

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Support Community.

I'm here to help with your problems.

• First question

Does "RDP Device license" mean a device license for CAL? If it is a CAL, I think the license expires after one to three years, depending on the terms of the contract. Can you check the contract?

• Second question

If you duplicate the Windows server, it will be regarded as a separate machine. So you need to purchase another license.

If you have other questions, feel free to ask me.

Best regards,

Yu

Answer 4

I dont see any contract but I need to know how long the license will work otherwise a sudden shut off will indirectly affect my customers negatively:

This is what I purchased:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/d/windows-remote-desktop-server-cal-2022/dg7gmgf0d7hx

Answer 5

Hello,

RDS per device CAL is designed to be permanent and not to expire once it is activated on the server. It is tied to the device and allows the device to connect to the RDS server for the life of the server.

The "per Device" RDS CAL information is written in the client-side registry.

• Clients store their license under the key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\MSLicensing
• Under this keys there are 2 subkeys:
  • Hardware ID: contains computers unique identifier
  • Store: contains CAL certificate information

More about Per Device CALs: License your RDS deployment with client access licenses (CALs) | Microsoft Learn

Regarding the second question, here's a similar thread for your reference: Can a Physical Server and a Clone VM Server coexist with the same license? - Microsoft Q&A

Regards,

Karlie