Windows Server User/Device CAL

Microsoft Windows Server Client Access Licenses (CALs)
A Windows Server CAL is a license that allows customers to access Windows Server. CALs are used in conjunction with Microsoft Windows Server OS licenses to allow Users and/or Devices to access and utilize the services of that server OS.

If your customers are wanting to run Windows Server on their new HPE Gen10 server, they would acquire a Windows Server OS license in order to run the Windows Server software on the physical server AND they would need to acquire CALs for the Users or Devices who will access the server.

This two-component license models provides a low entry price and a way to pay for capacity used: the more devices or users accessing the server software, the greater the license fees or price. This model therefore offers license affordability to organizations of all sizes.

What are the different types of CALs?
HPE offers several different types of Windows Server CALs.

• User CALs allow a single user access to Windows Server from an unlimited number of devices
• Device CALs allow an unlimited number of users to access Windows Server from a single device

Does the organization have roaming employees who need to access the corporate network from several devices? In this case, User CALs make the most economical and administrative sense.

Does the organization have multiple users for one device, such as shift workers using a kiosk-style workstation? In this case, Device CALs make the most economical and administrative sense.

There is a third type of CAL that we must talk about, Remote Desktop Service (RDS) CALs. RDS CALS are required for users or devices that want to utilize Remote Desktop Service functionality on Windows Server. Regular User or Device CALs are required in addition to the RDS User or RDS Device CALs.