Activate a Terminal Server license server automatically

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

To activate a Terminal Server license server automatically

Open Terminal Server Licensing.
In the console tree, right-click the Terminal Server license server you want to activate, and then click Activate Server to start the Terminal Server license server Activation Wizard.
In the Activation method list, select Automatic connection (recommended), and then click Next.
Follow the instructions in the wizard.

If necessary, at a later time you can change any license server properties, such as activation method and company information, that you set during the activation process.

Important

If the Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration setting is in effect on your Terminal Server license server, you must add the Microsoft Clearinghouse Web site (https://activate.microsoft.com/) to the Trusted sites zone in Internet Explorer before you can activate your Terminal Server license server. If you try to connect to the Microsoft Clearinghouse Web site and it is not yet a trusted site, you are prompted to specify whether to add it to the Trusted sites zone.

For more information, see Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration.

Important

To allow ample time for you to deploy a license server, Terminal Server provides a licensing grace period, during which no license server is required. During this grace period, a terminal server can accept connections from unlicensed clients without contacting a license server. The grace period begins the first time the terminal server accepts a client connection. It ends after you deploy a license server and that license server issues its first permanent client access license (CAL), or after 120 days, whichever comes first. For more information about the licensing grace period, see Terminal Server Licensing grace period.

Notes

To perform this procedure, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the local computer, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. If the computer is joined to a domain, members of the Domain Admins group might be able to perform this procedure. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure.
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Information that you provide over the Internet or World Wide Web to the Microsoft Clearinghouse is encrypted for your security and is securely stored by the Microsoft Clearinghouse in a dedicated database. This information is kept separate from information you might have provided to Microsoft in other contexts, and is not disclosed to third parties. For more information about Terminal Server license management and your privacy, see Related Topics.
For more information about Terminal Server and Terminal Server Licensing, see Guidelines for Deploying Terminal Server (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=34627) and Windows Server 2003 Terminal Server Licensing (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=26220).

Your server might function differently based on the version and edition of the operating system that is installed, your account permissions, and your menu settings. For more information, see Viewing Help on the Web.