Selecting a CAL Type
You can buy individual CALs for each accessing user or accessing device, or you may choose to buy CAL Suites (for a user or device). To make an effective decision about which CALs you should buy, you may want to know the usage details for the server products that require CALs. Organizations typically use a mixture of CAL licensing types based on their usage needs and the profiles of their user population.
Choosing Between User and Device CALs
If you choose to license servers via the Server/CAL license model, you may choose from user-based or device-based licenses. The User CAL approach requires you to purchase a CAL for every user that accesses a Microsoft server product (such as Microsoft SharePoint Server), regardless of the number of devices used to access that particular product. This enables users to access the services from multiple client devices, including any computers from outside the organization. The User CAL also covers access via mobile devices, such as users checking their email via smartphones or tablets. One User CAL for a server product enables you to access any number of instances of that server product. For example, if you have purchased a User CAL for Windows Server for a user, that user can access multiple Windows Servers.
Alternatively, the Device CAL approach requires you to purchase a CAL for every device through which the services of a server product are accessed. With an appropriate Device CAL for a device, any number of users can access the server product through that accessing device. This is often a desirable option in environments such as call centers, retail outlets or manufacturing sites in which multiple users share a single PC or kiosk. The ability to mix Device and User CALs in a single environment depends on your license agreement terms, but you must assign individual CALs to either a device or a user.
Choosing Between Individual CALs and CAL Suites
- Microsoft Core CAL Suite
- Microsoft Enterprise CAL Suite.
- You can license these suites on per user or per device basis, and cannot split between users and devices.
- CAL Suites can only be purchased with Software Assurance (maintenance) coverage. If you do not renew the Software Assurance, the CALs are locked into the current version of each CAL available at the expiry date.
- As CAL Suites contain licenses for independently-released products, CAL Suites are
version-less. CAL Suites provide the right to use the most recent version of every
product in the suite.Tip: For detailed information about Microsoft CAL Suites, see the Microsoft website.
Virtualization and CALs
As CAL consumption is based on the access to a server product, it does not matter whether the server product has been installed on a virtual or a physical machine. You are required to buy CALs based on the number or users or devices accessing the server software. A User CAL grants access to any instance of that server product within the enterprise. Similarly, when you buy a Device CAL for a server product, any user can access any instance of the server product through that device.
FlexNet Manager Suite (On-Premises)
2024 R1