Moloy Tandon's Blog - Ask Me : Licensing

SBS 2003 Licensing

moloyt — Fri, 19 Oct 2007 15:57:50 GMT

Despite numerous documentation available on the web, licensing still seems be a gray area for many of us. In this post, my efforts would be to cover as much information as possible (in the most simplified form) about different types of licensing involved in SBS 2003.

There are two types of CALs you can purchase for SBS 2003 - Device CALs and User CALs.

Device CALs

With Device CALs, you acquire a CAL for every device that accesses the SBS server. With this option, any user can access the server on the licensed device. In other words, device CALs allow multiple users to access the server from a single device. Example: A call-center terminal is used by three different people throughout a day.

User CALs

With user CALs, you acquire a CAL for every named user accessing your server. The licensed users can access the server from any device. In other words, user CALs allows a named user to access the server from multiple devices. Example: A sales person who accesses their e-mail through a laptop, phone and web browser.

Important:
The Windows Small Business Server 2003 CALs (whether per user or per device) are not by concurrent connections. They are per user or per device regardless if the user or device is currently connected or not. Moreover, SBS 2003 CALs are only available in denominations of 5 and 20.

There are three types of licensing program available for SBS 2003 - OEM, Retail and Volume Licensing.

OEM Licenses

Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) licenses are acquired when you buy a computer with software legally preinstalled. If you have purchased a computer with Windows installed, you have acquired a license for OEM software. In other words, OEM licenses are purchased through an OEM like Dell, HP, etc. and they come pre-installed on hardware. SBS 2003 device and user CALs purchased from an OEM are sold as Volume Licenses.

Retail Licenses

Retail licenses, also called Full Packaged Product (FPP) is boxed, shrink-wrapped software. Licenses for this type of software are acquired through a retailer/reseller. FPP is for consumers who are looking for a small quantity of software licenses. There is no minimum license requirement.

Volume Licensing

Volume licenses are purchased through a volume license reseller. There is a purchase requirement of 5 license minimum. There is also a cost savings over retail licenses. It also provides online tracking capabilities. Volume Licensing is also referred to as Open Licensing.

Now lets take a more in-depth look into Retail Licensing

When you purchase a retail SBS 2003 CALs, you will receive an envelope which contains two sheets of paper.

The first sheet contains the Microsoft Client Access License Agreement - This paper shows the type and number of CALs purchased.
The second sheet contains the Microsoft License Code - The license code is a 25 digit number that must be entered in SBS 2003 Add License Wizard in order to add the licenses.

Note: All the pictures in this post are for illustration purposes only and does not contain a valid license code.

This is the picture of the front side of the envelope containing the SBS 2003 retail CALs

This is the picture of the back side of the envelope containing the SBS 2003 retail CALs

This is the picture of the first sheet of paper containing the Microsoft Client Access License Agreement. This paper shows the type and number of CALs as well as the Operating System the CALs apply to.

The last picture is of the second sheet of paper containing the actual 25 digit license code that would enter in the SBS 2003 Add License Wizard in order to add the licenses.

Now lets see how volume licensing works.

When you purchase SBS 2003 CALs through volume licensing or from an OEM, you will receive an Microsoft Open License Order Confirmation. Unlike retail license, this order confirmation does not contain the 25 digit license code. Instead, the confirmation order contains an authorization number and a license agreement number that you need enter in the eOpen website in order to obtain the 25 digit license code.

What follows now is a detailed steps involved in obtaining the 25 digit license code from eOpen website.

1.) Browse to https://eopen.microsoft.com

2.) Sign in to the eOpen website using your .NET password account

3.) If prompted, create your user profile. After which it will take you to the home page where you can add/view licenses

4.) Click Add Agreement on the left hand side of the page and you would get the following screen. Type in the authorization and license code and then click 'Add to view'.

5.) What you see next it the Agreement Summary page. You can view the license details by clicking on the license number link.

6.) On the license details page, you will find the 25 digit license code that would enter in the SBS 2003 Add License Wizard in order to add the licenses. This page would also displays some other details like Order Date, Name of the reseller, etc. If you don't see the 25 digit license code or if the product description doesn't say Small Business Server, then probably you have bought the wrong product. In that case, you need to contact the point of purchase for a refund or exchange.

Please note that Microsoft cannot refund or exchange any CALs that were purchased from a reseller or a vendor.

What is Software Assurance?

Software Assurance gives you the automatic access to new technology and provides productivity benefits, support, tools, and training to help deploy and use software efficiently.

To know more, please go thru the following links:

Software Assurance - Extending the Value of Your IT Investment - http://support.microsoft.com/gp/softassurance

Microsoft Software Assurance FAQ - http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/sa/faq.mspx

Microsoft Partner Program - https://partner.microsoft.com/40012220

Additional Resources:

The Microsoft Licensing Guide - http://www.networkclue.com/os/Windows/licensing/index.aspx

Licensing FAQs - http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsServer2003/sbs/evaluation/faq/licensing.mspx

How to buy Small Business Software from Microsoft -http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusiness/buy/software/overview.aspx#WaysToBuy

Licensing for Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/sbs/howtobuy/licensing.mspx

Pricing for Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/sbs/howtobuy/pricing.mspx

How to Buy Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 - http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/sbs/howtobuy/default.mspx

Support WebCast: Deploying and licensing Microsoft Windows Small - http://support.microsoft.com/?id=883786

How to configure licensing on an additional Windows server in an SBS network - http://support.microsoft.com/?id=327644

Troubleshooting Client Computer Licensing - http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/6/1/561c9fd7-0e27-4525-94ec-4d2d38f61aa3/tsht_sbs.htm#BKMK_clientlicensing

Microsoft Partner Program - https://partner.microsoft.com/global/licensing/licensingprograms

Regards,

Moloy Tandon

SBS 2003 Transition Pack

moloyt — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:19:00 GMT

Today, I'll be talking about Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 2003 Transition Pack which allows you to smoothly migrate to full blown version of windows server products.

As your business grows, you may feel the need for change and at the same time want to protect and preserve what you already possess. By installing the SBS 2003 transition pack; you can upgrade your SBS 2003 to a full blown Windows Server 2003 Std. edition, with std. version of server applications like Exchange, ISA and SQL.

Things you can achieve after installing the transition pack

You can achieve the following task after installing the SBS 2003 transition pack, which otherwise is not possible in SBS 2003 because of product design limitation.

- Transfer the Flexible Single Master Operations (FSMO) roles to another domain controller

- Establish two-way trust relationship with another Domain

- Add child domains to the existing AD forest

- Move server applications to another server (for e.g. You can move Exchange Server 2003 to another server for better performance)

- Enable Terminal Server in Application Sharing mode

- Remove the 75 users/device limit

- Increase the max number of processors supported from two to four

Note:

After you have migrated your server by installing the SBS 2003 Transition Pack, you will still be able to use the Windows Small Business Server (SBS) 2003 tools; however, they will no longer be supported and you will not be able to reinstall or remove the tools. Additionally, you will no longer be able to run Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 Setup to modify (add, remove, re-install) the server applications.

After you migrate to Windows Server 2003 R2, Standard Edition, you must reinstall your existing Windows Server 2003 service packs. In addition, you should record the current built-in Administrator account password for reference because the Directory Services Restore Mode password will no longer be synchronized with the built-in Administrator account password.

Checklist before installing the Transition Pack

Make sure you have ordered for the fulfillment media for the standard versions of applications (This media is required if you want to move applications to a new server and will also help for system recovery) before you install the SBS 2003 transition pack.

Additional information could be found on this link

http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServerSolutions/SBS/en/library/63b005d3-1a45-4a76-b592-9b7a71878a501033.mspx?mfr=true

What happens after you apply the transition pack

The following snapshots would help you understand the difference between SBS 2003 and Windows Server 2003 (the way SBS 2003 looks after a successful installation of Transition Pack).

Before the Transition Pack	After the Transition Pack

This is the first difference you would notice after a successful installation of SBS 2003 Transition Pack.	The SBS 2003 logon screen is replaced by the Windows Server 2003 logon screen.

WINVER clearly shows the difference between SBS 2003 and Windows Server 2003 Std.	Though the build number, service pack details are still the same.

The product ID (PID) for SBS 2003 is changed to a Windows Server 2003 PID. The SBS 2003 PID starts with 74995.	The Windows Server 2003 PID typically starts with 69712.

If you double-click the Licensing icon in control panel, this is how it looks before the transition pack. You use the Server Management console to install licenses on SBS 2003.	After a successful transition, you should be able to add additional licenses for std. line of server products like Windows, Exchange from Control Panel.

Terminal Server in Application Sharing mode is unavailable in SBS 2003. You cannot have more than 2 concurrent connections to the server.	After the transition pack, you have the option of running Terminal Server in Application Sharing mode.

The option to "Manage your server" is not there on SBS 2003.	After a successful transition from SBS 2003 to Windows Server 2003, you get an option to "Manage your server" under Administrative Tools.

Issues you may run into after or during the installation of transition pack

Scenario 1:

If you running Veritas Backup Exec program on the server, the Transition Pack installation may fail silently

Resolution: Look for the registry key Small Business (under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\). If the key exists, delete it after taking a backup of it.

For more info: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/914990

Scenario 2:

Server stuck in an activation look after installing SBS 2003 Transition Pack. This issue typically occurs if you running IE 7.0

Resolution: Boot the server in Safe Mode. Uninstall IE 7.0 by executing the following command from the Run dialog box

%systemdrive%\Windows\IE7\spuninst\spuninst.exe

For more info: http://blogs.technet.com/sbs/archive/2007/01/29/activation-loop-after-completing-the-sbs-transition-pack.aspx

Scenario 3:

Service pack mismatch problem. You may get an error stating that the installed version of the product is newer than the current installation.

Resolution: You want to make sure that the service pack matches before starting up the process. If you running Windows Server 2003 SP2, uninstall it before installing the transition pack. Additionally, make sure that you are using the SBS 2003 with SP1 Transition Pack media.

For more info: http://blogs.technet.com/sbs/archive/2006/01/12/417350.aspx; http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932600

Kinds of Transition Pack

Like SBS 2003, transition pack comes in 2 variants, SBS 2003 Transition Pack and SBS 2003 R2 Transition Pack.

The SBS 2003 Transition Pack includes 1 disc which allows you to convert SBS 2003 to a full blown std. version of Windows Server 2003

The SBS 2003 R2 Transition Pack includes 2 discs. The first disc is the same as above which allows you to convert SBS 2003 to a full blown std. version of Windows Server 2003. The second disc is the Windows Server 2003 R2 disc and has features like DFS-R.

Don't forget to read my second post on Transition Pack.

What to do if SBS 2003 is not fully transitioned?

http://blogs.technet.com/moloyt/archive/2008/10/16/what-to-do-if-sbs-2003-is-not-fully-transitioned.aspx

Additional Resource

http://download.microsoft.com/download/C/C/E/CCE84C91-AB7C-4AB2-B246-48A7E4155E54/SBS2003.R2.MarketingMaterials.Customer.TransitionPack.Lo_Res.pdf

http://synopus.no/downloades/MS%20SBS%202003%20Transition%20Pack.pdf

http://sbspod.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=62455

http://technet2.microsoft.com/WindowsServerSolutions/SBS/en/library/63b005d3-1a45-4a76-b592-9b7a71878a501033.mspx?mfr=true

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=bbcf7319-4947-4fd2-a2ea-145588765e68&displaylang=en

Regards,

Moloy Tandon