Windows Server 2016 RDS 50 User CAL

What you get with the Windows Server 2016 RDS 50 User CAL

This pack holds 50 Remote Desktop Services user CALs for Windows Server 2016. Every CAL is assigned to one named employee, who may then open RemoteApp programs or full desktop sessions on a 2016 RD Session Host from any device they use. The code arrives by e-mail and goes into Remote Desktop Licensing Manager on your license server. One payment, no renewal.

How 50 user CALs are counted

The count is about people, not connections. Fifty different employees can each hold a CAL, whether they sign in once a month or every day, and whether they connect from one device or four. Shared terminals used by many staff are the case for per-device CALs, which Microsoft ties to the computer instead of the person.

Microsoft does not enforce per-user CALs on the license server: it keeps handing them out even past the number you own. Run the per-user CAL report in Remote Desktop Licensing Manager from time to time so the list stays at 50 or below. Per-user mode also requires that the servers are members of an Active Directory domain.

Remote Desktop access is an add-on right. Microsoft requires a Windows Server CAL for every user as well, and those are bought separately from this pack.

Windows Server 2016 hosts only

Under Microsoft’s version rule, 2016 RDS CALs license sessions on Windows Server 2016 session hosts and nothing newer. The license server may run 2016, 2019, 2022 or 2025. If part of your farm runs 2019, the Windows Server 2019 RDS 50 User CAL covers both 2019 and 2016 hosts. A smaller branch office may only need the Windows Server 2016 RDS 5 User CAL.

How to activate the Windows Server 2016 RDS 50 User CAL

1. Make sure the Remote Desktop Licensing role service is installed (Server Manager, Manage, Add Roles and Features, Remote Desktop Services).
2. Open Remote Desktop Licensing Manager and register the server with Microsoft once: select it, open the Action menu and pick Activate Server, then fill in your company details.
3. Open the Install Licenses wizard from the server’s right-click menu, select the program your licenses come from and enter the code we sent.
4. Choose product version Windows Server 2016, license type per user and the number 50, then let the wizard contact the Microsoft Clearinghouse and finish.
5. On a session host without a Connection Broker, open Group Policy at Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Remote Desktop Services, Remote Desktop Session Host, Licensing. Enable “Use the specified Remote Desktop license servers” with your server name and “Set the Remote Desktop licensing mode” with Per User.

With a Connection Broker, the same choice sits in the deployment properties under RD Licensing. For installing Windows Server 2016 itself, use our Windows Server setup guide.

System requirements

Questions about the Windows Server 2016 RDS 50 User CAL

Does 50 users mean 50 sessions at the same time?

No. The pack licenses 50 named people. How many of them are signed in at once does not change the count.

Does the license server itself need internet access?

No. Microsoft only needs an internet connection on the computer running Remote Desktop Licensing Manager while you activate the server and install the CALs.

Will these CALs still work after we move the hosts to Windows Server 2019?

No. A 2019 session host only accepts 2019 or newer RDS CALs, so an upgrade of the hosts needs a new pack.

Where do I find the code later?

It is in the order e-mail and, if you ordered with an account, under My account.