Install Term Serv in domain with 3 Servers

[Guest]

I have 3 Server 2003 servers and I have just purchased 5 cals for TS. I want
developers in another office to Remotely work, I have set them up with RAS
etc and that all works.

What I need to understand is how to do go about installing terminal server
on each of them and which one do I put the licences on?

I have 2 developers and they need to get to access to all 3 servers, do I
need to buy CAL's for all the servers? Or can I share the 5 Cals between the
servers? They would only be on one server at a time.

Not sure of the process I need to go through to do this and setup the 3
servers and which/where to install the licences so that all three server
recognise I have 5 CAL's.

Thanks in advance

 

[Vera Noest [MVP]]

First of all: every connection to a Terminal Server needs both a
server CAL and a TS CAL. I'm going to assume that you already have
enough server CALs in your domain to cover these connections (but
please check!), and that the 5 CALs that you bought are TS CALs.

What you have to do is to install Terminal Services on all servers,
and install Terminal Services Licensing Server on one of them. Then
you install your 5 TS CALs on the TS Licensing Server. All 3
Terminal Servers will contact the TS Licensing Server to issue TS
CALs to your users.
Depending on the role of the Licensing Server (Enterprise or
Domain) and if it runs on a DC or not, and within the same site or
not, you might have to hardcode the name of the Licensing Server
into the registry of each Terminal Server. Watch the EventLog, and
if you see a warning that the TS cannot locate a LS, follow the
instructions here:

279561 - How to Override the License Server Discovery Process in
Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=279561

TS CALs are *not* for concurrent usage, they are either Per User or
Per Device. You have to choose between these 2 types of licensing
when you install the TS CALs on the TS Licensing Server. If your
developers connect from different clients, then Per User is your
best choice, since you would only need 2 TS CALs to cover all their
connections (from an unlimited amount of clients, to all of your 3
servers). Note that if you choose Per User TS CALs, you have to
configure all of your Terminal Servers to use "Per User" licensing
as well. The default licensing mode is "Per Device".
You can check this from Administrative Tools - Terminal Services
Configuration - Server Settings - Licensing Mode
If it's set to Per Device mode, it will look for a Device TS CAL
and will not issue your Per User TS CALs.

Check this article, it explains that even after you have
switched licensing mode on the TS, your Per User TS CAL count will
not be decremented:

822134 - The Function of Terminal Server CALs in Windows Server
2003
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=822134

Here's more details about TS licensing in 2003:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/howtobuy/licensing/pricl
icfaq.mspx