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This article provides information on activating a Remote Desktop Services license server and installing the appropriate client access licenses.
Table of Contents:
1. Activating an RDS license server
2. Installing RD CALs
3. RDS license programs
1. Activating a Remote Desktop Services license server
After installing and configuring the Remote Desktop Services (RDS) role in Windows server, a license server needs to activated. Without an activated license server, clients will fail to connect to the Session Host server when the licensing grace period expires. To activate the license server follow the instructions below.
- Launch the RDS license manager. In Windows Server 2012, launch Server Manager and click Tools > Terminal Services > Remote Desktop Licensing Manager.
- Right-click the server name and select Activate Server.
- Click Next on the welcome screen.
- Ensure the connection method is set to Automatic and click Next.
- Fill in the requested company information and click Next.
- Fill in the optional information and click Next.
- The status should indicate that the server was successfully activated.
- To install RD client access licenses (CALs), check the Start Install Licenses Wizard now box.
- See Section 2 for information on installing RD CALs.
2. Installing RD CALs
This section assumes the RDS license server has been activated. If the license server is not already activated, refer to Section 1.
- Launch the RDS license manager if not already running. In Windows 2012, launch Server Manager and click Tools > Terminal Services > Remote Desktop Licensing Manager.
- Right-click the server name and select Install Licenses.
- Choose the applicable license program and click Next. Refer to Section 3 for information on the license programs.
- Enter the licensing information requested and click Next.
- Enter the product version, license type, and quantity and click Next.
- The status should indicate success. Click Finish.
- Repeat these steps to install additional RD CALs.
3. RDS License Programs
There are a number of license programs available from Microsoft. RD CALs purchased from Dell likely fall under one of two programs:
- Retail Purchase
- A 25-digit product key is used for installation.
- These licenses are most commonly purchased on the same order as the server. As a result, there is typically accompanying documentation with the product key, in the form of a card that ships in the box with the server.
- Open License: This is the most common of the licensing programs, as only 5 CALs are required to enroll. All license information can be managed through Microsoft's Volume Licensing Service Center website. An authorization number and a license number are required for installation.
- These licenses are most commonly purchased on a separate order from the server. The required information is sent to the email address that was provided at the time of purchase. Unfortunately, this email can be mistaken for spam.
- If the authorization number and license number cannot be located, the Dell salesperson should be contacted.
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Dell Technologies
Microsoft Windows 2012 Server
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So I activated and installed the licenses 2 days ago and was concerned about that message, so I searched and searched, then I posted to Spiceworks. Earlier today lo and behold it's showing the licenses correctly. Not sure what changed exactly other than me losing a few hours of my life trying to fix it.
The other thing that might have played a part is that the temporary licenses were appearing multiple times for some users whose names were capitalized differently so john.smith, John.smith and John.Smith would have had 3 temporary licenses. I say temporary because there were no available real licenses because the license server had not been activated yet, but the licenses seemed to be listed as a regular 60 day license.
DragonsRule
To answer your question, yes other than that the licenses were appearing in the License manager and the server had activated without any issues. The licenses that had been issues must have been temporary licenses because I hadn't activated or installed the CAL's until a couple days ago. The temporary licenses appeared like a normal license with a 60 day expiration, those temporary licenses all disappeared this morning and have been recreated as users connect.
spicehead-a5oul
I think I had come accross those articles, I had read the one about the labels not having been updated from 2016 to 2019 and was hoping that was the case, but then it still didn't seem to be working so I kept on looking.
Thanks for the help Guys!
In this blog post we will discuss on Installing and Configuring a Remote Desktop License Server (RDS CALs) on Windows server 2019. We can also use same steps if we have windows 2016 or 2012. The steps are almost identical on each windows server editions. There is no noticeable changes in the Steps we follow for any of these Windows Server Editions.
Applies To
- Windows server 2019
- Windows Server 2016
- Windows Server 2012
By default only two concurrent active rdp sessions are allowed on a windows server editions like 2012,2016 or 2019. If we need more than two users simultaneously log into the server we need to have Remote Desktop Licensing (RD Licensing), formerly Terminal Services Licensing (TS Licensing), which manages the Remote Desktop Services client access licenses (RDS CALs) for users to connect to a Remote Desktop Session Host (RD Session Host) server.
If we enable RDS CALs, each user and device that connects to a Remote Desktop Session host needs a client access license (CAL). The RDS CALs is installed as a server Manager Role. There is a default licensing applied on installation and activation with a grace period of 180 Days during which no purchased RDS CAL license needed. After that we need to choose either of below Licencing model and need to Purchase it from the Microsoft store or from a vendor.
RDS Per Device CALs : RDS CALs are physically assigned to each device.
RDS Per User CALs : RDS CALs are assigned to a user with or without Active Directory.
RDS CAL Version Compatibility
We can’t use RDS CALs of a Windows server 2012 to access later versions of Windows Server 2016 or 2019, but we can use later versions of RDS CALs to access earlier versions of Windows Server editions.
Before proceeding with the install first we have RDS CAL Licence in hand. There are two methods available for RDS CAL Licence implementation.
- Purchase the Microsoft Windows client access Licence ( Remote Desktop service- User/Device CAL) from Microsoft store. After purchase we will get a product licence key and this Key is used during installation of services in the server.
- Use The Microsoft Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA) SALs. With the SPLA, service providers and ISVs can license eligible Microsoft products on a monthly basis. This Licence structure is mainly used on a VPS/Dedicated environment Provided by a Hosting Provider. For that we have to pay a monthly fee to the Hosting Provider.
Windows Server 2019 Users Only
If we are Implementing “RDS User CAL” in a Windows Server 2019 servers, Setup either of below things before Proceed with the Install of Remote Desktop Service.
- Add the new RDS CAL server to the Terminal Server License Servers domain group of existing Active Directory Domain
- Install Active Directory Services ( ADDS) in the RDS CAL server.
Other wise we will get error like below screenshot while users logging in and stays for 60 Min.
There is a problem with your Remote Desktop license, and your session will be disconnected in 60 minutes. Contact your system administrator to fix this problem.
The Requirement Also Described in Microsoft Page, Below is the particular section screenshot where it mention.
We only need to Activate Active Directory Services (ADDS) if we settings up a RDS User CAL on Windows Server 2019. Not necessary for RDS Device CAL implementation on a Windows server 2019. So lets get started.
Installing the Server Roles
We can install Remote Desktop Licensing Role using Server Manager
Open “Server Manager” >> Click “Add Roles and Features”
Click “Next” in the Before You Begin Section.
Select “Role based or Feature based Installation” and Click Next.
Choose option “Select a server from the server pool”. Choose Our server from the Server pool and Click Next.
Scroll down and select “Remote Desktop Services” then click Next
Click Next by Leaving Default Selection in Features Section.
Click Next on Remote Desktop Services Section.
Select the “Remote Desktop Licensing” and “Remote Desktop Session Host”
A Pop Up Window Will Appear. Click Add Features for Each of them
Click Next and Select the “Restart the destination server automatically if required” then click Install
The server will reboot automatically during install process and finally we will get below screen when the installation succeeded. Once finished click Close.
This concluded Installation of Remote Desktop Licensing Role Using Server Manager.
Install the Server Roles Using Powershell Command
We can also install the the RDS Licensing service and “Remote Desktop Licensing” and “Remote Desktop Session Host” using PowerShell Commands instead of Using above graphical Server Manager method. Below is that three commands we need to use.
Install-WindowsFeature -Name Remote-Desktop-Services -IncludeManagementTools Install-WindowsFeature -Name RDS-Licensing -IncludeManagementTools Install-WindowsFeature -Name RDS-RD-Server -IncludeManagementTools
If needed (and possible), restart the server using Below PowerShell command after the server role install.
Restart-Computer -Force
After the server reboot. We can Check if the “Remote Desktop Session Host” , RDS Licensing service and “Remote Desktop Licensing” is available using Below Powershell command.
Get-WindowsFeature | where name -Like “rds*” Get-WindowsFeature | where name -Like “remote*”
The command Output can view from below screenshot. You will also get similar results when issues those commands.
Activating the RDS License Server
Now lets Proceed with Activate Licensing Server. For that we need to launch the Remote Desktop Licensing Manager. We can launch the installed “Remote Desktop Licensing Manager” from below windows server section.
Go to Windows Start >> Control Panel >> System and Security >> Administrative Tools >> Remote Desktop Services >> Double click “Remote Desktop Licensing Manager”
A pop-up window will appear and that is the “RD Licencing Manager”. Expand the Server section by clicking the plus icon.
Click Next on Welcome to the Activate Server Wizard.
Choose the “Connection Method” as “Automatic connection” and click Next
Enter our Company Information and click Next
[Optional] Enter additional information and click Next
Or Leave it as Blank in the Optional Information fields and Click Next
This Completes the Activate RDS License Server steps. Now Lets Proceed with the Install RDS Licence section.
Installing RDS CALs
In the Activate Server Wizard itself, Check the box to “Start Install Licenses Wizard now then click Next”
Accidentally If we didn’t clicked the “start Install Licenses Wizard” in the previous step, we can access the Install RDS CAL Licence wizard by right clicking our “server name” in the “RD Licensing Manager” then click “Install Licenses”
Click Next on Welcome to the Install Licenses Wizard.
Now In this section we need to Pick the type of license Program that we use. There are few Options available, in that we are discussing two Licence Program methods. Those two are the most commonly used Ones. We only Need to Choose either of them as per our Personal choice and Licence Type we are currently holding.
- Choose Licence program as “Licence Pack (Retail Purchase)”, if we purchased RDS Licence directly from Microsoft.
- Choose Licence program as ” Service Provider License Agreement” if you are in a VPS/Dedicated servers provided by a Hosting Provider and they already have a data centor Licence and our VPS Operating System licence comes under it.
If we Choose Licence program as “Licence Pack (Retail Purchase)” and Click Next
Enter the Licence Code and Click Next.
If we Choose Licence program as ” Service Provider License Agreement” and Click Next.
Enter Our Licence Agreement Number and Click Next.
- Now Select “product version” as per your Windows Operating System Edition. In our case It Windows Server 2019
- Select Licence Type as ” RDS Per User CAL” or “RDS Per Device CAL” According to the Licence type given by our Provider. In our case we choose “RDS Per User CAL”
- Choose the Quantity as per our requirement. Say if you need to have 5 users simultaneously log into the server. Type 5 and Click Next
Click Finish to complete the RDS license install.
Review RDS CAL Licence Install
Right click our “server name” in the “RD Licensing Manager” then click “Review Configuration”
In Our case we got two yellow warning. This happened because we enabled RDS User CAL on a ADDS Environment. If you don’t have any Warnings, you are good to Go further. Lets see How to Fix this warning before Proceed further.
- Click the “Add to Group” next to ” The Licence server or the network service account is not a member of the Terminal Server Licence Servers group In Active Directory Domain Services. This Licence server will not be able to issue RDS Per User CALs to Users in the domain, and you will not be able to track or report the usage of RDS per User CALs on this Licence Server.
- Click “Register as SCP” next to This licence server is not registered as a service connection point (SCP) in Active Directory Domain Services. The licence server will not appear in the list of known licence servers in the Remote Desktop Secession Host Server Configuration tool.
Now we can see the message as You must restart the Remote Desktop Licensing service. Until the service is restarted this Licence server will not able able to issues RDS Per user CALs to users in the domain, and you will not able able to track or report the usage of RDS Per User CALs on this licence server.
In order to fix this warning. Go to the windows services section and restart the windows service named ” Remote Desktop Licensing service” and Click Ok.
Again, Right click our “server name” in the “RD Licensing Manager” then click “Review Configuration”. This time we can see no warnings appears and our RDS CAL Licence Install is successful.
We can also see The New license key we just added from the “Licence manager” itself and a green tick appears next to our Windows server name.
Use the “Remote Desktop License Diagnoser” for checking any issues with the RDS CAL Licence Server.
For that Go to Windows Start >> Control Panel >> System and Security >> Administrative Tools >> Remote Desktop Services >> Double click “Remote Desktop Licensing Diagnoser”
In Our case we go below warnings.
- Licenses are not available for this Remote Desktop Session Host server, and RD Licensing Diagnoser has identified licensing problems for the RD Session Host server.
- The licensing mode for the Remote Desktop Session Host Server is not configured.
- The Remote Desktop Session Host server is within its grace period, but the RD session Host server has not been configured with any licence server.
Normally this error will get on RD Licence server, when we haven’t configured the correct group policy for Licencing Server. So lets see how it can be done.
Enable Group Policy for RDS licensing Server.
For settings up Group Policy in a RDS Licence server, Open Windows RUN, and enter gpedit.msc, click Ok
Go to section Local computer Policy>> Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Remote DesktopServices\Remote Desktop Session Host\Licensing
- Double click on “Use the specified RD license servers” >> click Enable, then Enter Our server name shows up in the Remote Desktop Licence Manager and click on Apply
Now Double click on “Set the Remote Desktop licensing mode” >> click enable, then select “Per User” or “Per Device” as per your Licence and Apply
Now restart Remote Desktop Licensing service from the Windows services section and click the Refresh button available in the right side from the RD Licensing Diagnoser. We can see the diagnoser showed the message as ” RD Licensing Diagnoser did not identify any licensing problems for the Remote Desktop Session Host server. Additional information like, Licence mode and Number of Licenses will also appear in the same window.
This will conclude the Group Policy for RDS licensing Server and RDS CAL Server is ready to Use for Users.
Some times we may come across situation like, we need to add more users to the RDS CAL User type Licence, Need to Change the User type CAL into Device CAL or The Installed Licence has become corrupted. In such cases, we can correct those issues by rebuilding the current RDS Licence.
For that Right click our “server name” in the “RD Licensing Manager” then click “Manage Licenses”
Click Next on the Welcome to the Manage licenses Wizard.
Choose the option “Rebuild the license server database” and select the reason as ” The certificate for the licence server has become corrupted”. Click Next
Confirm the deletion of licenses currently installed on this licence server and click Next
This will delete the current Licence installed in the server and will prompt the Licence install step again. Complete those and finalise the rebuild. This completes the Rebuild and Install of New RDS CAL Licence in the server.
How to Remove RDS CALs from a RD License Server
Some times we want to transfer our RDS CAL license set from one Remote Desktop licensing server to another, in such cases we can remove installed CAL licenses pack from the current licensing server using two methods.
- Using PowerShell commands.
Use the following cmdlet, and list all the installed RDS CAL packages on the server.
Get-WmiObject Win32_TSLicenseKeyPack|select-object KeyPackId,ProductVersion,TypeAndModel,AvailableLicenses,IssuedLicenses |ft
Find the KeyPackID value for the RDS CAL package that you want to remove and run the command. We can get the KeyPackID value from the Remote Desktop Licence Manager Itself.
wmic /namespace:\\root\CIMV2 PATH Win32_TSLicenseKeyPack CALL UninstallLicenseKeyPackWithId KeyPackID
2. By Removing the RDS CAL database file.
To do this, stop the Remote Desktop Licensing service from the Windows Services section
Rename the file C:\Windows\System32\lserver\TLSLic.edb to C:\Windows\System32\lserver\TLSLic.edb_bak and start the “remote desktop service” again. That will delete all the RDS CAL licenses in the server and we need to reactivate them for further usage.
This blog article covered most of the common options in the RDS CAL server. We hope this become informative for those having similar needs. Leave your thoughts at the below comment box.