Licensing Server-Based Desktop Infrastructure

[Sept. 7, 2015 note: A more recent version of this report, updated to reflect licensing changes, can be found at www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/licensing/secured/2015/09/licensing-server-based-desktops-licensing-microsoft-products-server-based.]

Many organizations deploy server-based desktops based on Microsoft’s Windows Server Remote Desktop Services (RDS) or a similar solution from vendors such as Citrix or VMware. Although such server-based desktops can reduce operating costs and improve security, these desktops tend to become a key area for scrutiny during a software license compliance check. Because it takes significant infrastructure to create and manage server-based desktops, even when an organization deploys a non-Microsoft solution, a significant number of Microsoft products need to be licensed to ensure the overall server-based desktop solution will be compliant with all of Microsoft’s licensing rules.

The Infrastructure for Server-Based Desktops

Organizations and vendors use a variety of terms to describe server-based desktops, including “virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)” and “Terminal Services.” Throughout this report, the term “server-based desktop” is used to describe all desktops hosted on centralized servers running in an organization’s data center, regardless of the underlying technology. The term “session desktop” describes any server-based desktop that runs as an isolated process (called a session) in the server’s OS, while the term “virtual desktop” refers specifically to a server-based desktop running in a virtual machine (VM) hosted on a server.