28. Microsoft Terminal Services License Server

Windows 2000 Terminal Services uses a license-management feature called Terminal Services Licensing. This feature is used to manage license quantities for Windows 2000 Terminal Services Client Access Licenses (CALs) and Windows 2000 Terminal Services Internet Connector.

Licensing management is for Windows 2000-based servers with Terminal Services installed in Application Server mode. Application Server mode is similar in concept to Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Terminal Server Edition.

As part of this licensing model, there is a Microsoft Certificate Authority and License Clearinghouse server at www.microsoft.com, to which you can gain access over the Internet or World Wide Web. You can also fax or telephone to activate a License server and install license packs that have been purchased through normal sales channels. License server activation is a one-time event, and the license packs are then installed on the License server. Windows 2000-based servers use these licenses to track and allow or disallow client access to Windows 2000-based servers with Terminal Services enabled.

28. 1.    How to Install and Activate a Terminal Services License Server

The process of deploying and tracking licenses within an organization is enhanced in Windows 2000 Terminal Services. Terminal Services Licensing includes a Licensing wizard to download license packs and manage license quantities for Windows 2000 Terminal Services Client Access Licenses (TS CALs) or Windows 2000 Terminal Services Internet Connector licenses (ICs). To deploy TS CALs or ICs you must enable and activate a Terminal Services "License Server" and then install the TS CALs or ICs onto it.

There is a one-time activation of the license server and the license packs are then installed onto the license server. The Terminal Services server uses these licenses to track and allow/disallow client permissions to Windows 2000-based computers that have Terminal Services enabled.

To activate a Terminal Services licensing server, use the following steps:

1.      Click Start Programs Administrative Tools click Terminal Services Licensing .

2.      The Terminal Services Licensing dialog box is displayed and the All servers option is selected by default. Click the plus sign (+) to expand the Windows 2000 Terminal Services servers, and then click the name of the licensing server you want to activate.

3.      On the Action menu, click Activate Server .

6.      The Licensing wizard starts and the following items are displayed:

o         Activated For

o         Connection Method

o         Licensing Program

o         Product ID

The Product ID area is the only area that contains information at this point. The rest of the information is filled in during the wizard process. Click Next.

7.      In the Connection Method area, click the connection method you want to use (Internet, World Wide Web, Fax, or Telephone) or click Internet for the default (you must have an existing Internet connection configured prior to this process to use the Internet option). Click Next .

8.      In the License Program area, click one of the following options:

o         Microsoft Select or Microsoft Enterprise Agreement

o         Microsoft Open License Program

o         Other

9.      Click Next .

10. The Company Information dialog box is displayed. Fill in your corporate information on the two screens, and then click Next .

11. The Microsoft Registration Authority and Clearinghouse server is detected and the Completing the Process dialog box is displayed. The Registration Authority and Clearinghouse server sends the Personal Identification Number (PIN) through electronic mail to the e-mail address you provide; the activation cannot be completed without the PIN. You can choose from one of the following options for receipt of the PIN through e-mail:

o         Complete the server activation process now (I already have my PIN). Choose this option if the e-mail message with the PIN arrives quickly.

o         Postpone completion of the process until the PIN arrives. Choose this option if you want to postpone the activation process for any reason (including delays in receiving the e-mail message containing the PIN).

o         Restart the licensing process. Choose this option if you want to reset the activation process to its initial state. This option is useful if you never receive the e-mail message containing the PIN.

Choose one of the options above and click Next, or wait until you receive the PIN, as described in the following step

12. When you receive the PIN in an e-mail message, click Complete the server activation process now (I already have my PIN) , and then click Next .

The PIN e-mail looks like the following:

Type the PIN exactly as it is sent (or click the alphanumeric PIN, copy the PIN by pressing CTRL-C, and then press CTRL-V to paste the PIN into the wizard), and then click Next .

13. The wizard locates the Microsoft Registration Authority and Clearinghouse server to activate the license server. If all information is typed correctly, the following Completing the Licensing Wizard dialog box is displayed:

Click Next.

14. The following message is displayed:

15. Click Next to install license packs.

16. You can now type the number of licenses that you want to track and enforce on this Terminal Services computer in the Program and Client License Information dialog box. The steps in this article assume that you purchased licenses from a retail store. The license pack for Terminal Services CALs contains a license code, which you now need to type into the wizard. Type the information, and then click Next .

17. If you chose the Microsoft Select or Microsoft Enterprise Agreement option, an Enrollment number box is displayed, and the Enrollment number is listed on the Select or Enterprise Agreement document that you purchased from Microsoft or a channel distributor. You need to locate that document and type the license code in the Enrollment number box. If you chose the Microsoft Open License Agreement option, the Authorization Number and License Number boxes are displayed. Locate the document that you purchased from the channel distributor and type the Terminal Services CAL license code.

18. If you chose either of these options, you must also supply information in the Product Type and Quantity boxes (in the Product Type box, click Terminal Services CAL or Terminal Services Internet Connector ).

19. If you click Next without typing a valid authorization/license number (for the Open License Agreement option) or enrollment number (for the Select or Enterprise Agreements option), the process is unsuccessful and an error message is displayed. If this happens, click Back and type a valid number before you continue.

20. When the licenses packs are downloaded and are ready for use, the following dialog box is displayed:

21. Click Finish .

22. In the Terminal Services Licensing dialog box, click the Terminal Services License server in the left pane, and the CALs or Internet Connector Licenses that you downloaded are displayed in the right pane.

28. 2.    How to Hardcode a Preferred Terminal Services License Server

To select a specific license server for use with a Microsoft Windows 2000 Terminal Service, you can modify the registry to point to a particular license server. You can do this to specify that all Terminal Services servers work with a particular license server for accounting purposes, or if a Terminal Services server and the license server reside in different domains.

The following procedure accomplishes that task:

1.      Run REGEDT32.EXE.

2.      Add the following Registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\TermService\Parameters

3.      With this key highlighted, select Add Value from the Edit menu.

4.      Type DefaultLicenseServer in the Value Name field.

5.      Select REG_SZ from the Data Type pull-down list, then click OK.

6.      In the String field, type ServerName (ServerName being the name of the TS license server)

7.      Click OK.

NOTE: Specifying the DefaultLicenseServer registry key overrides the normal discovery process. If the License Server specified is not available, the Terminal Server will not request licenses from another License Server.