CALs Drive Server Licensing Costs and Compliance

Most Microsoft server products are licensed under the Server + CAL model, which generally requires a server license for servers running the server product and a Client Access License (CAL) for each client user or device accessing these servers. CALs generally comprise a majority of total server licensing costs, and rules associated with CALs determine what types and versions are required, when and how many are needed, and how to buy them. Organizations that understand CAL rules can minimize risk by avoiding common license compliance issues and reduce cost by limiting purchases to the minimum number of CALs necessary.

Currently, 11 Microsoft server products are licensed using the Server + CAL model. (For a list, see the chart “Microsoft Server Products Licensed with CALs“.) This report explains CAL rules for the more recent versions of these server products when deployed on-premises for production use and when purchased through volume licensing programs (such as Enterprise Agreements and Select Plus). Licensing these server products for development and test purposes or licensing software for service provider deployments is outside of the scope of this report.