TS2003 and 2000/XP Pro "embedded" TS CALs

[Guido Brasletti]

Hi everybody,

we are running a small LAN based on a SBS2k server and 10 clients.
Now 3 or 4 of them are going to work from home, over DSL lines.

To manage this new situation we plan to buy a Win2003 server and use
it as a terminal server box.

I read in the TS2003 licensing white paper that every client
connecting to TS2003 needs a TS2003 CAL, but "customers who own Win XP
Pro licenses on the date of public launch of Win 2003 server will be
eligible for Win 2003 TS CAL".

We have 4 of those XP Pro licenses (upgrades from Win98 or OEM
versions), but we are currently using them "downgraded" to Win 2000
Pro, to simplify management and to standardize things.

The point is: should we load those XP Pro licenses onto clients
working from home or can we continue to work with Win 2k Pro (we will
prefer this solution) and connect with no problems to the TS2003 box?
In other words will MS give us some codes or similar to input to the
TS2003 licensing server for those Xppro clients (solving the potential
problem of not being recognized if using 2000 pro and no TS2003cals)
or do the TS2003 recognize them automatically?

Thanks in advance
Guido

 

[Matthew Harris [MVP]]

The gist of the matter is that a Windows 2003 terminal
server requires you to have a Windows 2003 license server
to those the TSCALs.

Your best bet is to call Microsoft and get those free XP
TSCALs, and then install those TSCALs onto the Windows
2003 license server.

-M