There is no question that Metaframe is a great solution for distributed apps
over the LAN, and WAN. It works great, but ...
We have visited the solution for Metaframe and Terminal Server. Here are the
low downs on the licensing issues. We of course have been surprised at the
licensing of Microsoft products and how they are becoming more and more
restrictive.
Gates wants more money from us all.
Now lets go for a ride.
1. CAL Licenses. Every 2000 server must have the correct number of CAL
licenses for all of the 2000 server users that would be attached to the
server at any one time. This means that each user must have a valid CAL
license to get attached to the server.
2. Terminal Licenses. Every Terminal Server has a user license limit on top
of the CAL licenses. These license limits are controlled by the server. This
server issues licenses to the users to be able to attach to the Server. Each
user must have a license. Licenses are included with W2000 Pro, but are
issued to Operating System clients through Terminal Server for a 90 day
period before it expires. You then have the opportunity to purchase a
Terminal Server license for these machines at approx. $80 + a client.
Metaframe licensing has absolutely nothing to do with this. By the way, I
have heard that if you search the registry for 'License00' and delete that
entry, it will restart the ability to connect for the 90 day period. Not
that I have, or would ever try this.
There is the Internet Connector License for Terminal Server, but I will get
to that later.
3. Metaframe License. This gives you a quantity of user license, 5,10 etc.
the ability to be connected concurrently to Metaframe with anonymous
concurrent users. On another matter, you can get more than 256 colors
through Metaframe.
4. Software Licenses. Microsoft Office Components, among others, limit the
licensing of their products to a per seat license in many of their software
packages. According to their licensing schema, 1 program license per
computer. The only exception you have is that if you have a portable
computer you can install the software on it. You are, however, not allowed
to install it on more than one other computer. So if you have a computer at
work, a portable, and a computer at home, you would have to purchase two
licenses. If a computer uses a software package once, it needs a valid
license.
In Office 2000, and more of the software packages to come, there are license
servers that issue licenses to enable an installation of the software on any
one machine. If you install the software on a machine, you must eventually
register it after a limited number of uses. The server gives you a key code
to register the software as a valid software license. If you decide to move
the software to another machine, you must have Microsoft's approval to do
this. They have it all figured out. In the future, they will have total
control of all of their software.
I believe that this is unfair as a business owner. I have many employees and
only a few of them use certain programs at a limited amount of time. If I
have 25 employees, and I have 5 licenses, and I never have more than 5
people using the software at any one given time, I have felt that this is
all right. Microsoft does not feel this way. They demand each of the 25 has
their own copy of the software. This is going beyond Office products, and
I'm convinced that is why VB is going to be .NET, so that Microsoft will be
able to license every application written. Watch out.
Can you imagine that you pay $40,000 for a Buick. You want to let your
sister drive it because she is in town. Buick notifies you that they did not
sell you the car, they only licensed you to drive it. If your sister wants
to drive it, she will have to get her own license. And God forbid you want
to sell it, you must get their approval.
I now check all software I purchase for its licensing agreements, and so
should you. When Office was nothing, they gave you concurrent licenses. Any
5 of the 5 licenses could be used by anyone. Now they have control, gave it
away for free in the beginning, and now are clamping down. Corel products,
Sun Star Office (which is free), and Borland products are almost always
concurrent licenses.
I am in rebellion to Microsoft and feel that with out my purchases I will
bring them to their knees. When I purchase software I want to have the
freedom to decide who and where my license is being used. Everybody come
join me.
5. Why did you make an issue of this in regards to Win2000, Terminal Server,
and Metaframe? Because they sell you this great concept that if you have
these products you can reduce the number of software licenses you will need,
and administrate them all from one machine. The second part is true. The
first part is true as long as you make sure that you have Concurrent
Licensing. Not with Microsoft Products. You will have to have licenses for
any machine that ever connects and uses any of the Microsoft Products. Let
say you develop a small VBA app in Excel to show a graph that you want to
use in a presentation, etc. You are not allowed to do this without making
sure whoever uses this has Excel licensed on their machine. This takes away
a lot of the benefits of setting this scenario up on a corporate machine. If
you need to set up a license on every machine, there is the overhead and
cost of paying for 2000, Terminal Server, and Metaframe on top of just the
software solution.
6. Now the Web. If you are intending to use Metaframe as a solution for your
corporate needs for your employees, customers, with all of the above
requirements, then it does work. Remember these limits for anyone coming
through the web using the Internet Metaframe ICA CLient. The following
requirements should be kept in mind.
a. This does not enable your employees, or anyone to use software
that is on the company server unless there is a valid license on the clients
machine.
b. That everyone has Windows 2000 pro, or purchases a Terminal
Server license after 90 days.
c. Every client has a valid CAL.
7. Internet Connector License for Terminal Server. Microsoft offers a
license for Terminal Server for unlimited anonymous connections to the
server over the Internet. This license is around $ 10,000. and is limited
by;
a. The number of CAL's on the 2000 Server.
b. The number of Metaframe licenses.
c. That no Employee or Agent uses this connection.
d. That any software that requires a per seat license is required on
the client machine.
If you want to have both employees and this and anonymous web users use your
applications distributed through the web, you must have 2 2000 Servers, 2
Terminal Servers and appropriate licenses, and 2 Metaframe licenses.
I hope that this helps you to see all the costs and limitations that are
involved before purchasing and believing that this is the perfect solution.
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