Windows Server 2019 RDS 50 User CAL

What you get with the Windows Server 2019 RDS 50 User CAL

The Windows Server 2019 RDS 50 User CAL licenses fifty named users for Remote Desktop Services on Windows Server 2019. It is one license code for 50 per-user CALs, which you install on an RD license server so that your session hosts can confirm each user is licensed. Hosts running Windows Server 2016 accept these 2019 CALs as well. The code is e-mailed to you after payment, and the licenses are perpetual.

Who needs one of the 50 CALs

Microsoft requires an RDS CAL for each user who connects to a session host. Staff who never open a remote session do not need one, so count the people who actually use Remote Desktop or RemoteApp, not the whole company.

With per-user CALs, one person is licensed on all of their devices. For a call center where three shifts share the same 40 PCs, per-device CALs would be counted per PC instead. Per-user mode works only when your servers are in an Active Directory domain.

Two more rules from Microsoft matter at this size. The license server issues per-user CALs without enforcing the limit, so you should check the usage report in Remote Desktop Licensing Manager. And a CAL can be reassigned to someone else only after 90 days under most agreements, except in special cases.

Versions and the base Windows Server CAL

RDS CALs of a newer version can license older session hosts, never newer ones. These 2019 CALs therefore cover 2019 and 2016 hosts. The license server must run 2019, 2022 or 2025. Every user also needs a Windows Server CAL, because the RDS CAL is an additional license and does not replace it.

Session hosts planned on Windows Server 2022 call for the Windows Server 2022 RDS 50 User CAL. For a smaller group, the Windows Server 2019 RDS 10 User CAL covers ten people.

How to activate the Windows Server 2019 RDS 50 User CAL

1. Add the Remote Desktop Licensing role service to a Windows Server 2019 (or newer) machine, if it is not there yet.
2. Activate that license server: Remote Desktop Licensing Manager, select the server, Action menu, Activate Server, automatic connection, company details.
3. Run Install Licenses from the right-click menu of the server. Select the license program, enter the code from our e-mail, and choose product version Windows Server 2019, type Per User CAL, quantity 50.
4. Finish the wizard after the Microsoft Clearinghouse returns the licenses; the pack then shows under the server.
5. Tell the session hosts where to get licenses and that the mode is Per User, either in the RDS deployment properties (RD Licensing page) or with the licensing settings for RD Session Host in Group Policy.

The server itself is set up as described in our Windows Server installation guide.

System requirements

Questions about the Windows Server 2019 RDS 50 User CAL

Why does a user CAL in Licensing Manager show an expiry date?

Microsoft displays per-user CALs as expiring 60 days after they are issued and extends the date when the user signs in again. It does not mean the license runs out.

Can we split the 50 CALs between two session hosts?

Yes. Both hosts point to the same license server, and each user takes one CAL from the shared pool no matter which host they open.

How soon after payment do I get the code?

Usually within a few minutes; some orders are checked by hand first, see the digital delivery policy.