Comparing Licensing Alternatives

Customers have several licensing options for using Windows Server 2008 R2’s Remote Desktop Services (RDS) and System Center (SC) products to manage a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). Besides having the option of Standard and Premium Editions of the VDI Suites, customers may also license RDS and System Center products separately. Each option includes a different set of functions and usage rights—not all directly related to VDI—with the combined purchase of separate RDS and System Center licenses offering the broadest set. However, some editions of the VDI Suites also include rights to the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP), which includes App-V, useful for deploying applications in a VDI infrastructure. Without these suites, customers would have to purchase the MDOP separately.

To license use of Microsoft’s management technologies using VDI Suites, organizations must purchase a VDI Suite license for each client device. RDS can be licensed on its own by purchasing a RDS Client Access License (CAL) for each client device or user. System Center products can be licensed on their own by purchasing server licenses to cover installation of management infrastructure software on servers and management licenses (MLs) for each VDI host server. The most economical way to acquire MLs for both the VDI host server’s physical OS and all the VMs running on the host is through a bundle called the System Center Server Management Suite Datacenter (SMSD).