How to license Windows MultiPoint Server 2011

Hey folks, clarifying another common question: How do I license Windows MultiPoint Server?

The big picture is pretty easy to understand with this video:

 [View:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tftu_AqcCgI]

What I didn’t talk about in that video was the nuanced differences between Volume Licensing and OEM licensing.

When purchased via Volume Licensing (whether Open, Academic or Charity), Windows MultiPoint Server follows a licensing model similar to that of Remote Desktop Services. That is to say, a Windows MultiPoint Server license is required for each server, and both a Windows Server 2008 R2 CAL and a Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 CAL are required for each station or user. Here’s a picture of that, lifted from our website.

 

Because we know that some customers will already have rights to Windows Server CALs for their environment, we make the MultiPoint CAL available in VL two ways: Customers can purchase a “combo” CAL that includes both a MultiPoint CAL and a Server CAL; or they can purchase the “standalone” MultiPoint CAL if the Windows Server CAL is already owned. Put another way: if you already have Windows Server CALs for your network, such as through a Campus Agreement or the SBS 2011 CAL Suite, you do not need to repurchase them; only MultiPoint CALs are required in that case.

How can you find these licenses in the real world? You can find the part numbers and published prices online at the Microsoft US Open Estimated Retail Price List. For example, the Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 Premium Server license is part number V7J-00421. The combo MulitPoint device CAL is part number EJF-01704 and the standalone MultiPoint device CAL is part number EJF-01288. 

So that’s Volume Licensing. What about OEM? In OEM MultiPoint has a simpler licensing model, as the licenses are typically attached directly to the devices. The server side is the same: One Windows MultiPoint Server license per server. The client side has a difference: instead of both a Windows MultiPoint Server CAL and Windows Server 2008 R2 CAL being required at each station, only the Windows MultiPoint Server CAL is required at each station. Here’s a picture of that, also lifted from our website.

 

One additional note that Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 is offered under the Direct OEM licensing agreement, in both pre-installed and ROK configurations. At this time, Windows MultiPoint Server 2011 is not offered via System Builder licensing. 

You can find more details of MultiPoint pricing on the ‘how to buy’ tab of our website, and a list of our OEM providers on the ‘partners’ tab of our website.

Cheers,

D

Comments

• Anonymous
  July 13, 2011
  Awesome - thanks Dean! Exactly what I was after. :)