Virtual Desktop Licensing Scenarios

Organizations have several options for licensing access to Windows client-based virtual desktops hosted on a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). On a VDI, the Pro or Enterprise edition of Windows (typically version 7 or 8) runs in virtual machines hosted on servers in a data center so that they can be centrally managed. The adjacent diagram outlines four different VDI usage scenarios along with the most likely subscription license or set of licenses an organization would purchase to comply with licensing rules. Applications running in the virtual desktops and other VDI components (such as specialized management tools and deployment tools) must also be licensed appropriately, but such licensing is not addressed by this illustration.

Joe. Joe (top) is a sales person. The organization has provided Joe with a company-owned Windows laptop computer which he uses to access a virtual desktop while in the office (on-premises) or on sales calls (off-premises) as well as an organization-owned and -managed iPad he occasionally uses to access a virtual desktop when he is making sales calls (off-premises). Joe is the single primary user of his organizational laptop, that is, he is the person who uses this computer more than 50% of the time in a 90-day period. Joe’s organizationally owned laptop runs Windows, and the Windows license is covered by Software Assurance (SA). SA coverage provides the right for Joe (or anyone else) to access a virtual desktop using this computer, regardless of whether the PC is used on- or off-premises. Because Joe’s organizational laptop is covered by SA, the roaming use rights afforded by SA allow Joe to use his home computer to access a virtual desktop when Joe is off-premises. However, because the organization has no practical means to prevent Joe from using an iPad (or other personal device) to access the VDI while on-premises, the organization has also covered Joe’s organizational computer with a Companion Subscription License (CSL), which allows Joe to access the VDI from up to four companion devices, such as tablets or smartphones.