In the realm of software licensing, Microsoft tends to stand out above the crowd. Perhaps it is because the company has a large variety of software types, or it could be that they want to have a license type for every occasion. In either case, there are times when deciphering Microsoft’s licensing scheme is confusing.
The home Windows computer user probably does not face the licensing fiasco that businesses have to overcome. If you have a single user computer in a home type setting, the licensing is pretty straightforward. One copy of a Windows operating system, one copy of Microsoft Office, and maybe a copy of One Care for computer security, might round out the licenses on one computer.
Do take into account that purchasing a single copy of One Care covers the licensing for three computers. If you buy a retail box copy of this particular software there is text on the retail box copy stating the three computer count.
So far, the licensing sounds easy. It is a one for one license to computer ratio, with the exception of the One Care product. Now let’s move over into the business arena. In this instance, we are focusing on purchasing Microsoft Exchange licensing.
For purposes of illustration, we are tasked with purchasing new Exchange 2007 server software and licensing for 200 users: 170 office based employees and 30 traveling sales type employees. We will be going off the assumption that we already have three 64-bit Windows 2003 servers in production status.
First, we have to determine what core pieces of Exchange we require. Do we need Exchange Server 2007 Standard or Enterprise? For the most part, Server Standard can easily cover 200 users, mailbox wise. This covers five databases for each server Mailbox role.
So if we have one Mailbox role in production, we can have five different databases. We will also purchase an additional copy of Exchange Standard to put on a separate server for the Client Access service, in particular for the remote employees (Outlook Web Access and Windows Mobile enabled devices). It appears that this is a practical solution at this point.
However, Exchange 2007 Server Enterprise has a 50 database availability per Mailbox role, and adds clustering. While our small server does not have a current need for clustering, nor a 50 database ceiling, unified messaging has been a desire of this company.
However, the client licensing determines the accessibility of the extra features, not the server license. The main question here is whether or not company growth will require the greater amount of databases. It would appear at this point, and the near future, that this is not the case.
Since we are leaning towards unified messaging, but do not foresee many databases, we can plan on purchasing two copies of Exchange 2007 Server Standard. Considering each database hold up to sixteen terabytes of data, five databases should cover 200 users.
We will be placing the Mailbox role and Unified Messaging service on one server, and be using the other for the Client Access role (to include the remote users). With the core portion of Exchange Server licensing covered, what about the client licenses?
The client licensing is the more detailed part of the licensing purchasing plan. Standard Client Access Licensing has to be purchased for each person accessing Exchange.
Also, since we desired the Unified Messaging piece, Enterprise Client licensing has to be purchased for each employee who will be using this messaging service. Since the 170 employees, who are tied to the office, will be using the Unified Messaging, 170 Enterprise Client Access Licenses are needed for them.
For the remote workforce, who desire Outlook Web Access, and email on their handheld devices, 30 Standard Client Access Licenses will cover their needs. It looks like everything is wrapped up at this point.
Unfortunately, we are not quite finished. Each employee who requires an Enterprise Client license, must also have a Standard license purchased to accompany it. The Enterprise Client is actually an add-on piece to the Standard license, and not a separate product.
Now let’s look at a cost breakdown of what we would be paying out in licensing fees (approximate current retail pricing). Two copies of Exchange Server Standard ($700 per copy), 170 Enterprise Client Access Licenses ($65 for each Standard license, plus $35 for the Enterprise portion), and 30 Standard Client Access Licenses ($65 each); all for a grand total of $20,350.
Hopefully, this will give a better understanding of what Exchange licensing can mean for individual organizations, both in accessibility and cost.
Great explanation! You give a clear understanding of what is involved in Exchange Server licensing.