Question on CAL for test machines

Question

Hello!

Would anybody please tell me if we must purchase the CALs for all our Windows 10 workstations which have been activated using the keys from the MSDN Premium subscription and are being used (24x7) solely for testing purposes? These workstations are members of the production domain.

Thank you in advance,

source link: https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/15f87c20-5793-4c1a-b30b-ded935b1c5c0/question-on-cal-for-test-machines?forum=winservergen

Answer 1

Hi,

I consider that it needs CAL. 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.

When are Client Access Licenses needed?

CAL requirements differ among server products. The general rule is that you must acquire

and assign a CAL to each device or user that accesses your server software. Depending on

the server product, there are Base licenses and Additive CAL licenses available and for some

server products External Connector licenses apply for the external users. Base CALs license

access to server functionality, while Additive CALs license access to advanced server

functionality and must be licensed in addition to the corresponding base CAL. External

Connector licenses are assigned to the server and allow access by external users.

Regards,

Answer 2

"must purchase the CALs for all our Windows 10 workstations which have been activated using the keys from the MSDN Premium subscription"

You have asked a legal question in a technical forum. Any response here is just the opinion of the responder and is not acceptable to your lawyers and auditors. Contact MSDN and ask them. Different subscriptions have different rights granted. Contacting the official source is the best way to get the correct answer.