License Compliance Software/tools
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I'd recommend Spiceworks as well, but I seem to remember it having issues pulling Office 2013 keys properly. Maybe that has been fixed at this point.
I actually like Product Key Explorer for pulling MS keys as well. -
I think that it always pulled the keys correctly. Lots of people are confused about what they have installed and think that Spiceworks gets it wrong when, in fact, Spiceworks actually gets more information than people even know is there.
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Thanks everyone! I found Office Standard 2010 on one of the servers. It says its not activated. I am sure it can't be activated because you can't run Office Standard 2010 on a server. It seems that it is fully functional and has been in use by RDP users.
So my question is, if I want to provide x amount of users that RDP into the server access to Office, is this possible?
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Office is available for RDP but not via the normal license method. Volume Licensing is needed.
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That much I knew, however if there are 60 users and 20 want to use the product, is there a way only to let the 20 have access and of course be licensed to their RDP desktop?
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@technobabble said:
That much I knew, however if there are 60 users and 20 want to use the product, is there a way only to let the 20 have access and of course be licensed to their RDP desktop?
Not sure. I believe that you have to run two RDP servers, one with and one without. Never looked into split licensing on RDP.
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Well I need to address quickly. I have no idea how long they have been using it this way. And if the was a MS audit, any oops still cost you I bet!
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Yes, in a real audit they can call you on anything that they find.
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@scottalanmiller who would be best to ask about split licensing on RDP?
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@technobabble said:
@scottalanmiller who would be best to ask about split licensing on RDP?
I've pinged some people. Hopefully someone will pop in.
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Thanks!
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OK, MS Office licensing for RDP, in a nutshell:
Any device accessing an RDP server with Office installed must have a license for the same edition and version of Office on it. If you have Office Standard on the server, Home and Business on the workstations won't count. If you Have ProPlus on the server, you'd need the same on the client computers. Even if you don't install Office on the client computers, they must be covered by a license.Generally speaking, this needs to happen through volume licensing. The one exception is with Office 365 and ProPlus on the server. If the end-user is covered by a ProPlus subscription, they're eligible to access an RDP server with ProPlus installed.
This goes for Remote Desktop Services (RDS), Terminal services, and similar third-party setups, such as Citrix XenApp.
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@alexntg I am not the OP, but I am happy to hear this as this is how I understood it and how I set it up at one client that uses RDS/RWW Published apps.
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So, if we provide outside contractors with Office on our RDP server, we have to provide them with software that is on their PC or a license delegated to their PC? I presume the same goes for virtual PC's or Thin Clients?
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Using ProPlus as an example, if you have 30 computers with ProPlus installed, 30 without, and 30 thin clients, you'd need 60 licenses in addition to the existing 30 installed on the first group of machines. Even though the device doesn't have Office installed on it, it needs to be covered by a license.
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@technobabble said:
So, if we provide outside contractors with Office on our RDP server, we have to provide them with software that is on their PC or a license delegated to their PC? I presume the same goes for virtual PC's or Thin Clients?
Correct
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With virtual PCs, make sure that you're also covering yourself for Windows with those virtual OSEs.
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So they don't have to have the software installed, I just have to license the product to their device. Does that mean I have to change my RDS to devices instead of users? Also how do I prevent other users from accessing the software?
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The licenses are not tied to RDS licenses. No need to change anything there.
And yes, it is just a license, not an install for the device doing the accessing.
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@technobabble said:
Also how do I prevent other users from accessing the software?
You can set permissions on the folders so only certain users can open them, but that doesn't change the licensing.. if the aforementioned thin clients, etc access the server, even if the user does not have rights to launch the program, they still require a license.
