TS Licensing Configuration Guidelines
Applies To: Windows Server 2008
TS Licensing manages the Terminal Services client access licenses (TS CALs) that are required for each device or user to connect to a terminal server. You use TS Licensing to install, issue, and track the availability of TS CALs on a Terminal Services license server.
You must configure TS Licensing correctly for your terminal server to accept connections from users or devices. The following is a list of things to consider when configuring TS Licensing:
- How will the terminal servers in the environment discover (contact) the license server? For more information, see Terminal Services License Server Discovery and Specify the License Server Discovery Mode on a Terminal Server.
Note
The recommended discovery scope for a license server is Forest. If you configure forest discovery scope, terminal servers, without any additional configuration, can automatically discover a license server in the same forest, because the license server is published in Active Directory Domain Services. Also, the license server does not need to be installed on a domain controller.
What type of TS CALs need to be installed on the license server? For more information, see Terminal Services Client Access Licenses (TS CALs) and Specify the Terminal Services Licensing Mode on a Terminal Server.
Do you need to be able to track and create reports about which users have been issued TS Per User CALs by the license server? For more information, see Track the Issuance of Terminal Services Per User Client Access Licenses.
Do you need to control which terminal servers are issued TS CALs by the license server? For more information, see Control the Issuance of Terminal Services Client Access Licenses (TS CALs).
Do you need to control which version of TS CALs are issued to terminal servers by the license server? For more information, see Control the Issuance of Terminal Services Client Access Licenses (TS CALs).
You can use Review Configuration in the TS Licensing Manager tool to review the configuration of a license server. You can use Review Configuration to help identify possible TS Licensing configuration problems on a license server that would prevent the license server from doing the following:
Being discovered by terminal servers.
Issuing TS CALs to users or devices connecting to a terminal server.
Tracking and reporting the issuance of TS Per User CALs.
For more information about Review Configuration, see Review the Configuration of a Terminal Services License Server.
Review Configuration is used to identify possible TS Licensing configuration problems on a license server, not configuration problems on a terminal server. To be alerted to possible licensing discovery and configuration issues on a terminal server, use Licensing Diagnosis in the Terminal Services Configuration tool. Licensing Diagnosis can also be used to determine which license servers a terminal server can discover (contact). For information about Licensing Diagnosis, see the topic "Identify Possible Licensing Problems for the Terminal Server" in the Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services Configuration Help.
For more information about TS Licensing, see the Terminal Services page on the Windows Server 2008 TechCenter (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=73931).