by Greg Shields

Once installed, the TS Licensing role service is interacted with using the TS Licensing Manager. Unlike many of the other consoles available directly through Server Manager, this console can only be found in Administrative Tools | Terminal Services | TS Licensing Manager.

Once installed, a two-step process is used to actually add licenses to the console. One must first activate the server by right-clicking the server name in the console and choosing Activate Server. Making this selection brings forward the Activate Server Wizard, which requests a set of demographic information about the license server itself. In the first screen of the Activate Server Wizard, select the Connection Method to be used to activate the server. For servers that have an active connection to the Internet, the easiest solution is to use the Automatic connection method. For those that don’t, Web browser and telephone methods are available, both of which involve more manual work than the automatic method.

If you choose the Automatic connection method, you will be requested to enter name, company, and country or region information into the dialog boxes. Additional optional information associated with your email address, organizational unit, company address, city, state or province, and postal code can be entered as well. Completing the wizard enables the TS Licensing server for use.

Once enabled, the second step is to actually install licenses. This can be done immediately after the activation or by right-clicking the server and choosing Install Licenses. Eight possible categories of licenses can be installed to the server, with your selection based on how you acquired your particular set. The License Pack (Retail Purchase) is the first of these, requiring the entry of the actual license code received with the purchase of the license. Licenses purchased through an Open License agreement require an authorization number as well as a license number. Each of the other agreement types-Select License, Enterprise Agreement, Campus Agreement, School Agreement, Services Provider License Agreement, and Other agreement-require entry of their seven-digit enrollment number.

Be careful with the installation of any licenses to TS License servers you consider “test” or “evaluation.” Once installed to a server, these licenses are tagged to that server by the Microsoft Clearinghouse. This means moving these licenses to an alternative server down the road will first require you to contact Microsoft via telephone to release the licenses within their database.

Once licenses are installed, Terminal Servers should then be connected to the license server by navigating to the Licensing tab under the Terminal Services Configuration node in Server Manager. Under that tab, select the licensing mode for the licenses to be pulled from the TS Licensing server and choose whether you want to automatically discover a license server or manually enter selected license servers. Multiple license servers can be connected to by separating their names with a comma in the interface.

About the Author

Greg Shields is an independent author, speaker, and IT consultant, as well as a Partner and Principal Technologist with Concentrated Technology. With 15 years in information technology, Greg has developed extensive experience in systems administration, engineering, and architecture specializing in Microsoft OS, remote application, systems management, and virtualization technologies. He is a Contributing Editor and columnist for TechNet Magazine and Redmond Magazine, and serves as the Series Editor for Realtime Publishers, the world’s leading provider of high-quality content for the IT market. Greg is a highly sought-after and top-ranked speaker for both live and recorded events, and is seen regularly at conferences like TechMentor Events, Microsoft Tech Ed, VMworld, and more. He is a multiple recipient of Microsoft “Most Valuable Professional” award.