Adding terminal server users. Installing a Remote Desktop Server

04.07.2019 Windows 8

14.11.2010

Has your organization been using Windows-based servers for a long time and finally decided to legalize the software? Have you decided to purchase a server and don't know how to properly license it? In that case, this article is for you.

Let's get straight to the terminology. According to Russian law, it is not a computer program that is sold, but a license (ie permission) for its use.

What software is needed for a Windows server?

First of all, the server needs a server operating system. In our case, this is Microsoft Windows Server, the current (latest) version of which is Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2.

Which versions of Microsoft Windows Server can be licensed?

Always sold licenses for the latest versions of the software. If you need earlier versions of Microsoft Windows Server, we recommend purchasing volume licenses that provide the right to use previous versions - the so-called "downgrade". Thus, you should first select the version and edition of the software product, and then - the option of licensing it.

What are the editions of Microsoft Windows Server?

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 comes in the following editions:

Windows Server 2008 Standard
Windows Server 2008 Enterprise
Windows Server 2008 Data Center
Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems
Windows Web Server 2008

Selecting the type of license

There are 3 main types of licensing available for Microsoft Windows Server:

Purchasing a license bundled with equipment (OEM).
Boxed version (FPP).
Corporate license (Open License, Open Value, etc.).

You can read more about these types of licenses in the article:

What is the difference between boxed, electronic, OEM and volume licenses for Microsoft software?

How many and which licenses do you need exactly?

Microsoft Windows Server is licensed under the "Server (or Processor) License" + "CAL" + "Additional External Connector License" scheme.

Standard and Enterprise editions require a server license.
The Datacenter and Itanium editions require a "per processor" license.

The Windows Web Server 2008 edition does not require client access licenses.

Licensing according to the "server + client license" model

standard and Enterprise.

Need to purchase:

server licenses, the number of which is equal to the number of licensed servers;
Windows Server CALs equal to the number of licensed clients.

A client is a user or device (computer) that directly or indirectly accesses the server software. Accordingly, there are client licenses "for the user" (User CAL) and "per device" (Device CAL). Their price is the same, you will need to choose the type of license that is most suitable (for example, more economical). More often choose licenses "on the device".

Important note: increasing the number of servers does not increase the number of client licenses. The number of client licenses depends only on the number of licensed objects: users or devices.

Editorial webserver does not require client access licenses.

There are two types of Windows Server 2008 Remote Desktop Services CAL: Device CAL and User CAL. The Windows Server 2008 Remote Desktop Services External Connector license (for example, WinRmtDsktpSrvcsExtConn 2008 SNGL OLP NL Qlfd) allows you to provide an unlimited number of external users (partners and customers) with access to Terminal Services based on Windows Server 2008.

Important note: Windows Remote Desktop Services CALs are purchased in addition to Windows Server CALs.

Processor + CAL Licensing

This type of licensing applies to editions data center and Itanium.

In this case, you also need to purchase client licenses. Calculate the number of physical processors in the licensed servers - this is the number of processor licenses you will need to buy.

The Windows Server 2008 Datacenter edition is only available for servers with two or more processors.

What is the validity period of a volume license?

All Microsoft volume licenses purchased by an enterprise have an indefinite term. But there are licensing programs that provide the ability to rent licenses - for example, Open Value Subscription. In this case, the term of the license depends on the paid rental period, after which the license "burns out".

You can read more about the types of Microsoft volume licenses in a separate article. All examples are given under the Open License program, which today continues to be the most accessible for small and medium-sized businesses.

Availability of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and earlier

You can use Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and earlier by purchasing Microsoft Windows Server 2016 volume licenses. These licenses allow the use of previous versions of the product of the corresponding editions (Downgrade rule), but taking into account that the licensing principles of the current version are applied.

Terminal Services are an additional component of the systems of the family Microsoft Windows 2003 (Windows 2000 server). Terminal Services allows you to use the Windows GUI on remote devices that are connected to a local area network, WAN, or the Internet.

Terminal Services can run in two modes:

1) Remote Desktop for Administration(formerly known as Terminal Services in Remote Administration mode)
This mode is intended to provide operators and administrators with remote access to servers and domain controllers. A server configured for remote administration does not require additional licensing; in this mode, only two simultaneous connections are possible.

2) terminal server mode
This mode has no restrictions on the number of connections, but requires additional licensing. problem solving activation of required licenses and this article is about. In an inactivated state, the server will run for 120 days (in Windows 2000 - 90 days).

First of all, you need enable Terminal Server mode, this is done through the control panel applet (Control Panel)"Add or Remove Programs". We also need installed serviceTerminal Server Licensing.

Then you can directly proceed to activate the necessary licenses. This task has two parts. The first is license activation for the Terminal Server‘a, and the second is the installation client access licenses(CALs)— licenses that determine the number of simultaneously connected users.

So, the most important thing:

1) We launch Terminal Server Licensing(Start -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools-> Terminal Server Licensing)

2) Select the terminal server that we want to activate, then right click and Properties. On the tab Installation Method choose installation method web browser(in Windows 2000 - World Wide Web).

3) Go to tab Required Information, fill in the fields with various crap and click OK

4) To the terminal server that we are activating, right click and Activate Server, will start . We get acquainted with the description and click Next

5) Choose an activation method web browser(in Windows 2000 - World Wide Web), press Next.

6) At this step, we need to go to the site for getting license server ID.

7) On website Terminal Server Licensing choose an option Activate a license server and click Next

8) (*) . Product ID take from Terminal Server License Server Activation Wizard(see step 6), fill in the rest of the fields with the same crap as in step 3. After that, click Next, then check the entered info and click again Next.

9) If everything is correct, then we will get the necessary license server ID, site https://activate.microsoft.com/ close no need, it will be useful to us in the future to obtain .

Enter the received license server ID v Terminal Server License Server Activation Wizard(see step 6), and it is also desirable to print the page or save it somewhere license server ID, it may be required later. Click Next.

On this, the first part - the activation of the terminal server itself, is completed.

10) For installation client access licenses (CALs), the second part, you need to check that the checkmark Start Terminal Server Client Licensing Wizard installed and click Next. We will see the Welcome to the CAL Installation Wizard. We get acquainted with the information and click Next.

11) At this step, we will again need to refer to the site https://activate.microsoft.com/, or rather, to the page that was mentioned in step 9 (it must be open). Question "Do you wish to install license tokens at this time?" we answer Yes(see step 9).

12) In this step, we need to fill in the fields marked (*) . License Server ID take from Terminal Server CAL Installation Wizard(see step 11), select Enterprise agreement as License Program (sure, otherwise it won't work!), fill in the rest of the fields with the same crap as in step 3. After that, click Next.

13) The most important step! Here you need to choose:
Product Type - Windows Server 2003 Terminal Server Per Device Client Access License
(in Windows 2000 - Windows 2000 Server Terminal Services Client Access License (per-device))
Quantity- the number of licenses you need
Agreement Number — 6565792, 5296992, 3325596 or any other found on the internet
Next click Next, check the entered info and click again Next.

Windows Server 2008 r2, work, terminal service, remote desktop service

Terminal Server Activation
Installing licenses
Related questions
Installing a Remote Desktop Server

Open "Server Manager" -> Roles -> Add Role:

In the list of available server roles, select "Remote Desktop Services":

In the "Role Services" list, check "Remote Desktop Session Host" and "Remote Desktop Licensing". These services are enough to support basic functionality.

It is recommended that you install Terminal Server before installing custom applications.

Authentication method. "Require Network Level Authentication" - this option provides increased security, but in this mode, users with legacy clients (rdp 5.x and below), as well as users connecting via Explorer (remote desktop web connection) will not be able to connect to the server. To ensure that clients of all versions are supported, select the "Do not require network level authentication" option.

Licensing mode. It is advisable to decide in advance on the licensing mode: “per user” or “per device”. User licenses are effective if the organization has a large number of mobile users who need access to the server both from the corporate network and from a remote location (home, another office). Per-device licenses are effective when users are locked into their seats.

Group of users. Here you can immediately specify groups or individual users who will be allowed access to the terminal server. You can do this later by simply adding the desired users to the Remote Desktop Users group.

Setting up a Windows Server 2008 r2 license server. If the server is not included in the domain, then there are not many options:

Overview of selected options before installation.

Terminal Server Activation

Open Start -> Administrative Tools -> Remote Desktop Services -> Remote Desktop Licensing Manager. Select the license server from the list. We make a right click, and select the item "Activate server" in the menu:

Windows Server 2008 r2 Activation Wizard starts

In the next step, choose the connection method. You can safely select "Autoconnect":

Information about the organization. Enter your first name, last name, and organization name.

Additional information. Can be completed or ignored

After a few seconds, your server will be successfully activated

Now you can proceed to install licenses. It should be noted that after activating the license server, there is no need to immediately purchase and install licenses. In the absence of full licenses, the server works in demo mode. Users are issued temporary licenses for 120 days.

Installing licenses

We start the license installation wizard. This can be done immediately after activating the license server by selecting the appropriate option

Next, select the type of agreement. In my case, this is the "Enterprise Agreement". The agreement number can be found in a search engine for "Enrollment Number". For example, they work: 4965437 (3325596; 6565792; 4526017; 5296992)

Select the product version, license type (should match the previously selected license server license type), number of licenses

Click Next. If the data is correct, the licenses will be installed successfully

Terminal Server 2008 r2 Licensing

As I said earlier, you will need to license your role, we will deliver them either to the user or to devices, they are also called CAL (Client Access License). Ideally, you need to buy CAL data from Microsoft, considering the option that is more profitable for you, either a bunch of users are sitting, or a bunch of devices. For prices, I want to note that they are very biting, but in principle, the terminal pays for itself, especially if you use the remote app of the application, the savings will be in the face, if finances allow you, be sure to do a licensed activation.

In the snap-in that opens, right-click your server and select Activate Server from the context menu.

The server activation wizard will open and it will allow you to activate the terminal server 2008 r2, click next

We leave the connection method automatically, this is suitable in 99 percent of cases, this is our option 🙂.

We fill out a small questionnaire like this sample:

Surname
Name of the organization
country

Everything can be filled with left values, you can, as in my picture, no one will scold you, unless of course they catch you by the hand, but in my test environment, I don’t care.

You can leave out the information about the organization and immediately click next, knowing Microsoft's love to collect what you need, they will find you if they want.

The server activation process will begin, you must have Internet access from this server, otherwise you will get an error, it takes a couple of seconds in time.

Next, a window will appear about the successful activation of the terminal server, but it wasn’t there, now microsoft will require you to code for how many licenses you are applying for and what type of license your remote desktop services have.

Select another agreement in the Licenses field.

We indicate in the license field Another agreement, it implies the input of a digital key.

We enter the magic number to activate licenses on your friend, namely 4965437. To license Terminal Server 2008, there are also other codes, they can be easily googled in a couple of minutes, if this one does not work for you, write to me, I will help you and share.

We select the version of the product to which you will receive licenses, in my case it is windows server 2008 R2, select per client or device and write the quantity at the very bottom, it all depends on greed. The maximum you can get is 9999 Remote Desktop Services server licenses.

We click to finish and in fact the activation of the terminal server 2008 r2 is almost finished.

Now let's make sure that everything is activated well on the terminal server. Right-click and select Check Setting.

We see that everything is hooked up perfectly and our Remote Desktop Services Licensing Server is activated. Be sure to check that it is present in the licensing server group, otherwise add it.

As you can see, activating Terminal Server 2008 r2 is a pretty trivial thing and knowing the steps is done in a couple of minutes. I hope that you understand this material on the topic of the terminal server very well and are ready for the third part of the article, where we will analyze how to register a license server for other terminal servers.

Installing Terminal Services

Open "Server Manager" -> Roles -> Add Role:

In the list of available server roles, select "Terminal Services":

In the "Role Services" list, check "Terminal Server" and "Terminal Services Licensing". These services are enough to support basic functionality.

It is recommended that you install Terminal Server before installing custom applications. We are warned about this in the next step:

Setting up the license server. If the server is not included in the domain, then there are not many options:

Overview of selected options before installation. Please note that the system warns us that Internet Explorer's enhanced security option will be disabled after installation. Moreover, enhanced security will be disabled only for ordinary users (it will not be disabled for administrators). After you finish installing Terminal Server, don't forget to turn it back on.

The next step is to activate the terminal server.

Terminal Server Activation

Open Start -> Administrative Tools -> Terminal Services -> Terminal Services Licensing Manager. Select the license server from the list. We make a right click, and select the item "Activate server" in the menu:

The Server Activation Wizard starts:

In the next step, choose the connection method. You can safely select "Autoconnect":

Information about the organization. Enter the first name, last name and organization name:

Additional information. You can fill in, or you can ignore:

After a few seconds, your server will be successfully activated:

Installing licenses

We start the license installation wizard. This can be done immediately after activating the license server by selecting the appropriate option, or by opening Start -> Administrative Tools -> Terminal Services -> "Terminal Services Licensing Manager" -> Select your license server -> Right click -> Install licenses.

Enter the agreement number:

Select the product version, license type (should match the previously selected license server license type), number of licenses:

We check the installation of licenses in the license manager:

The terminal server is ready to go.

What's the difference between "Remote Desktop" and "Terminal Server"?

Remote Desktop on Windows Server is the same RDP, but only for administrators. This tool is available immediately after installing the server and does not require additional installation. A maximum of two administrators can connect to the server remotely at the same time.

Terminal Server - needed to connect ordinary users in an amount limited only by purchased licenses, and of the server speed.

Where can I change the general connection settings?

Open Server Manager -> Roles -> Terminal Services Configuration -> Right click on RDP-TCP -> Properties:

How to allow a new user access to remote desktop?

Open Server Manager -> Configuration -> Local Users -> Users. Open the properties of the user who needs access, the "Group Membership" tab. Add the Remote Desktop Users group:

Are there settings that apply not to all, but to individual users?

Yes, see user properties, tabs: "Remote control", "Terminal services profile", "Sessions".

Is it possible to create several independent connection sessions under one account?

How to use the remote session management feature?

Remote management is only possible for administrators. And most importantly, for this feature to be available, the administrator must be connected to the server via remote desktop. If you are sitting directly at a computer (console session) and want to log into a user session connected to the same computer, then you are in for a disappointment.

What port does RDP use by default and how do I change it?

The default port is TCP 3389. You can change it by editing the registry. Open a branch

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\TerminalServer\WinStations\RDP-tcp

and change the parameter PortNumber.