Unable to use Terminal Server CALs purchased

[Tony Rigdon]

On a Windows 2003 server, SP2 installed we have the Terminal Licensing Server
running, setup using "Per User" CALs. Initially we started out with 25 of
these until we purchased an additional 20 to get us to 45 users. Everything
works fine until we reach the original 25 limit. Once 25 are in use, users
are unable to connect.

When going into the "Terminal Server Licensing" screen on the server, it
displays three lines (slightly abreviated below):
Product Type Total
Available Issued
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Existing Win2k... Built-in Unlimited
Unlimited 0
W 2003 - TS Per User CAL Token Open 25 25
N/A
W 2003 - TS Per USer CAL Open 45 45
0

It is as if the License server will only serve out of the 25 original
license. The wording when adding the second set of 20 was confusing, at some
point I put in 45, maybe I was supposed to put in 20 so the combined total of
the two lines would be 45? I'm considering de-activating the licesnse server
tonight and re-activating it, but that's just kind of a shot in the dark for
me. Any advice or other possiblities I should consider would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Tony

 

[Rob Leitman [MSFT]]

Re: Unable to use Terminal Server CALs purchased

"Tony Rigdon" <TonyRigdon@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:4BF5D4E6-89A9-4DBC-A1E6-A900D7D7F88A@microsoft.com...
> On a Windows 2003 server, SP2 installed we have the Terminal Licensing
> Server
> running, setup using "Per User" CALs. Initially we started out with 25 of
> these until we purchased an additional 20 to get us to 45 users.
> Everything
> works fine until we reach the original 25 limit. Once 25 are in use, users
> are unable to connect.
>
> When going into the "Terminal Server Licensing" screen on the server, it
> displays three lines (slightly abreviated below):
> Product Type Total
> Available Issued
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Existing Win2k... Built-in Unlimited
> Unlimited 0
> W 2003 - TS Per User CAL Token Open 25 25
> N/A
> W 2003 - TS Per USer CAL Open 45 45
> 0
>
> It is as if the License server will only serve out of the 25 original
> license. The wording when adding the second set of 20 was confusing, at
> some
> point I put in 45, maybe I was supposed to put in 20 so the combined total
> of
> the two lines would be 45? I'm considering de-activating the licesnse
> server
> tonight and re-activating it, but that's just kind of a shot in the dark
> for
> me. Any advice or other possiblities I should consider would be
> appreciated.
>


Per-user licensing isn't enforced, so something else is causing the
connection to fail. What error message do you see from the client? Are
there any eventlog messages when the user can't connect?

Check the Licensing control panel to see how may Windows Server CALs are
installed. (This is different from Terminal Server CALs.)

Rob

 

[Tony Rigdon]

Re: Unable to use Terminal Server CALs purchased



No eventlog messages are generated. I'm able to cause it to happen by
turning off the "Restrict each user to one session" and then opening up
multiple Remote Desktops. Exactly when there are 25 sessions open, the 26th
connection fails with this message:
"Remote Desktop Disconnected

This computer can't connect to the remote computer.

Try connecting again. If the problem continues, contact the owner of the
remote computer or your network administrator."

I'm not sure how many Windows User CALs are installed. From the
documentation I can find, we have 50 Windows Server User CALs. If I go to the
CP and click on "Licensing", it just brings up a window from which I can
chose my "Licensing Mode". It is currently set with the radio button next to
"Per Device or Per User".

If I go into "Administrative Tools" and click on Licensing, it says the
Licensing Logging Service is not running on <here is lists our primary server>

So maybe it is an issue with the windows server CAL? I find it ironic that
it would be happening at exactly 25 users... Or could it be that while TS
USER CALS might not be enforced in 2003 like it is in 2008, perhaps a recent
update has implemented enforcement to the point that only x number of
concurrent sessions can be open with x being the number of USER CALS
activated?

If you have some suggestions for checking my Windows Server CALs, let me
know. I'm really new to all of this. Everything I'm working on was setup by a
prior Network Administrator and I've never done this before!

Thanks,
Tony

"Rob Leitman [MSFT]" wrote:

> "Tony Rigdon" <TonyRigdon@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:4BF5D4E6-89A9-4DBC-A1E6-A900D7D7F88A@microsoft.com...
> > On a Windows 2003 server, SP2 installed we have the Terminal Licensing
> > Server
> > running, setup using "Per User" CALs. Initially we started out with 25 of
> > these until we purchased an additional 20 to get us to 45 users.
> > Everything
> > works fine until we reach the original 25 limit. Once 25 are in use, users
> > are unable to connect.
> >
> > When going into the "Terminal Server Licensing" screen on the server, it
> > displays three lines (slightly abreviated below):
> > Product Type Total
> > Available Issued
> > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> > Existing Win2k... Built-in Unlimited
> > Unlimited 0
> > W 2003 - TS Per User CAL Token Open 25 25
> > N/A
> > W 2003 - TS Per USer CAL Open 45 45
> > 0
> >
> > It is as if the License server will only serve out of the 25 original
> > license. The wording when adding the second set of 20 was confusing, at
> > some
> > point I put in 45, maybe I was supposed to put in 20 so the combined total
> > of
> > the two lines would be 45? I'm considering de-activating the licesnse
> > server
> > tonight and re-activating it, but that's just kind of a shot in the dark
> > for
> > me. Any advice or other possiblities I should consider would be
> > appreciated.
> >
>
>
> Per-user licensing isn't enforced, so something else is causing the
> connection to fail. What error message do you see from the client? Are
> there any eventlog messages when the user can't connect?
>
> Check the Licensing control panel to see how may Windows Server CALs are
> installed. (This is different from Terminal Server CALs.)
>
> Rob
>
>

 

[Vera Noest [MVP]]

Re: Unable to use Terminal Server CALs purchased

Since the Licensing Logging srevice isn't running (and that's OK,
that's the recommended configuration), my guess is that the former
administrator enforced a maximum number of rdp connections of 25,
probably because Per User licenses are unmanaged and he wenated to
be sure to stay within the EULA.
If that's the case, you can increase the number in Terminal
Services Configuration - rdp-tcp connection - Network (I think,
can't check now). Increase it to 46 (45 licensed connections and 1
free console connection).

And yes, the wording when adding licenses is confusing, you should
have added 20 to get a total of 45. But as long as you have the
correct paperwork and make sure that you don't allow more than 45 +
1 connections, you are OK.
_________________________________________________________
Vera Noest
MCSE, CCEA, Microsoft MVP - Terminal Server
TS troubleshooting: http://ts.veranoest.net
___ please respond in newsgroup, NOT by private email ___

=?Utf-8?B?VG9ueSBSaWdkb24=?=
<TonyRigdon@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote on 15 okt 2008 in
microsoft.public.windows.terminal_services:

> No eventlog messages are generated. I'm able to cause it to
> happen by turning off the "Restrict each user to one session"
> and then opening up multiple Remote Desktops. Exactly when there
> are 25 sessions open, the 26th connection fails with this
> message: "Remote Desktop Disconnected
>
> This computer can't connect to the remote computer.
>
> Try connecting again. If the problem continues, contact the
> owner of the remote computer or your network administrator."
>
> I'm not sure how many Windows User CALs are installed. From the
> documentation I can find, we have 50 Windows Server User CALs.
> If I go to the CP and click on "Licensing", it just brings up a
> window from which I can chose my "Licensing Mode". It is
> currently set with the radio button next to "Per Device or Per
> User".
>
> If I go into "Administrative Tools" and click on Licensing, it
> says the Licensing Logging Service is not running on <here is
> lists our primary server>
>
> So maybe it is an issue with the windows server CAL? I find it
> ironic that it would be happening at exactly 25 users... Or
> could it be that while TS USER CALS might not be enforced in
> 2003 like it is in 2008, perhaps a recent update has implemented
> enforcement to the point that only x number of concurrent
> sessions can be open with x being the number of USER CALS
> activated?
>
> If you have some suggestions for checking my Windows Server
> CALs, let me know. I'm really new to all of this. Everything I'm
> working on was setup by a prior Network Administrator and I've
> never done this before!
>
> Thanks,
> Tony
>
> "Rob Leitman [MSFT]" wrote:
>
>> "Tony Rigdon" <TonyRigdon@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
>> message
>> news:4BF5D4E6-89A9-4DBC-A1E6-A900D7D7F88A@microsoft.com...
>> > On a Windows 2003 server, SP2 installed we have the Terminal
>> > Licensing Server
>> > running, setup using "Per User" CALs. Initially we started
>> > out with 25 of these until we purchased an additional 20 to
>> > get us to 45 users. Everything
>> > works fine until we reach the original 25 limit. Once 25 are
>> > in use, users are unable to connect.
>> >
>> > When going into the "Terminal Server Licensing" screen on the
>> > server, it displays three lines (slightly abreviated below):
>> > Product Type
>> > Total Available Issued
>> > --------------------------------------------------------------
>> > ---------------------------------- Existing Win2k...
>> > Built-in Unlimited Unlimited
>> > 0 W 2003 - TS Per User CAL Token Open 25
>> > 25
>> > N/A
>> > W 2003 - TS Per USer CAL Open 45
>> > 45
>> > 0
>> >
>> > It is as if the License server will only serve out of the 25
>> > original license. The wording when adding the second set of
>> > 20 was confusing, at some
>> > point I put in 45, maybe I was supposed to put in 20 so the
>> > combined total of
>> > the two lines would be 45? I'm considering de-activating the
>> > licesnse server
>> > tonight and re-activating it, but that's just kind of a shot
>> > in the dark for
>> > me. Any advice or other possiblities I should consider would
>> > be appreciated.
>> >
>>
>>
>> Per-user licensing isn't enforced, so something else is causing
>> the connection to fail. What error message do you see from the
>> client? Are there any eventlog messages when the user can't
>> connect?
>>
>> Check the Licensing control panel to see how may Windows Server
>> CALs are installed. (This is different from Terminal Server
>> CALs.)
>>
>> Rob

 

[Tony Rigdon]

Re: Unable to use Terminal Server CALs purchased

Thanks Vera, that was the problem and I would have saved myself several hours
of work if I had waited until today!

Instead I de-activated the License server that was running on the terminal
server and instead activated a TS License server on our DC. When I installed
the licenses on it I got the wording correct so it shows up now as having 45
available CALs, not 45 plus 25...

Ironically, after I de-activated the original TS license server and prior to
activating the new one, I was still able to login multiple times to the
terminal server without an activated TS license server...

Anyways, I was not aware you could go into "Terminal Services Configuration"
and that double clicking on the "RDP" connection would get you into
properties or that there was an option to limit the number of connections!
Instead, around midnight last night I found a value "MaxInstanceCount" in the
registry under HKLM\system\currentcontroset\terminal server\winstations\rdp.
After changing that value to 45 the problem was fixed. Long way round to
finding the fix that your answer gave! Thanks!

"Vera Noest [MVP]" wrote:

> Since the Licensing Logging srevice isn't running (and that's OK,
> that's the recommended configuration), my guess is that the former
> administrator enforced a maximum number of rdp connections of 25,
> probably because Per User licenses are unmanaged and he wenated to
> be sure to stay within the EULA.
> If that's the case, you can increase the number in Terminal
> Services Configuration - rdp-tcp connection - Network (I think,
> can't check now). Increase it to 46 (45 licensed connections and 1
> free console connection).
>
> And yes, the wording when adding licenses is confusing, you should
> have added 20 to get a total of 45. But as long as you have the
> correct paperwork and make sure that you don't allow more than 45 +
> 1 connections, you are OK.
> _________________________________________________________
> Vera Noest
> MCSE, CCEA, Microsoft MVP - Terminal Server
> TS troubleshooting: http://ts.veranoest.net
> ___ please respond in newsgroup, NOT by private email ___
>
> =?Utf-8?B?VG9ueSBSaWdkb24=?=
> <TonyRigdon@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote on 15 okt 2008 in
> microsoft.public.windows.terminal_services:
>
> > No eventlog messages are generated. I'm able to cause it to
> > happen by turning off the "Restrict each user to one session"
> > and then opening up multiple Remote Desktops. Exactly when there
> > are 25 sessions open, the 26th connection fails with this
> > message: "Remote Desktop Disconnected
> >
> > This computer can't connect to the remote computer.
> >
> > Try connecting again. If the problem continues, contact the
> > owner of the remote computer or your network administrator."
> >
> > I'm not sure how many Windows User CALs are installed. From the
> > documentation I can find, we have 50 Windows Server User CALs.
> > If I go to the CP and click on "Licensing", it just brings up a
> > window from which I can chose my "Licensing Mode". It is
> > currently set with the radio button next to "Per Device or Per
> > User".
> >
> > If I go into "Administrative Tools" and click on Licensing, it
> > says the Licensing Logging Service is not running on <here is
> > lists our primary server>
> >
> > So maybe it is an issue with the windows server CAL? I find it
> > ironic that it would be happening at exactly 25 users... Or
> > could it be that while TS USER CALS might not be enforced in
> > 2003 like it is in 2008, perhaps a recent update has implemented
> > enforcement to the point that only x number of concurrent
> > sessions can be open with x being the number of USER CALS
> > activated?
> >
> > If you have some suggestions for checking my Windows Server
> > CALs, let me know. I'm really new to all of this. Everything I'm
> > working on was setup by a prior Network Administrator and I've
> > never done this before!
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Tony
> >
> > "Rob Leitman [MSFT]" wrote:
> >
> >> "Tony Rigdon" <TonyRigdon@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in
> >> message
> >> news:4BF5D4E6-89A9-4DBC-A1E6-A900D7D7F88A@microsoft.com...
> >> > On a Windows 2003 server, SP2 installed we have the Terminal
> >> > Licensing Server
> >> > running, setup using "Per User" CALs. Initially we started
> >> > out with 25 of these until we purchased an additional 20 to
> >> > get us to 45 users. Everything
> >> > works fine until we reach the original 25 limit. Once 25 are
> >> > in use, users are unable to connect.
> >> >
> >> > When going into the "Terminal Server Licensing" screen on the
> >> > server, it displays three lines (slightly abreviated below):
> >> > Product Type
> >> > Total Available Issued
> >> > --------------------------------------------------------------
> >> > ---------------------------------- Existing Win2k...
> >> > Built-in Unlimited Unlimited
> >> > 0 W 2003 - TS Per User CAL Token Open 25
> >> > 25
> >> > N/A
> >> > W 2003 - TS Per USer CAL Open 45
> >> > 45
> >> > 0
> >> >
> >> > It is as if the License server will only serve out of the 25
> >> > original license. The wording when adding the second set of
> >> > 20 was confusing, at some
> >> > point I put in 45, maybe I was supposed to put in 20 so the
> >> > combined total of
> >> > the two lines would be 45? I'm considering de-activating the
> >> > licesnse server
> >> > tonight and re-activating it, but that's just kind of a shot
> >> > in the dark for
> >> > me. Any advice or other possiblities I should consider would
> >> > be appreciated.
> >> >
> >>
> >>
> >> Per-user licensing isn't enforced, so something else is causing
> >> the connection to fail. What error message do you see from the
> >> client? Are there any eventlog messages when the user can't
> >> connect?
> >>
> >> Check the Licensing control panel to see how may Windows Server
> >> CALs are installed. (This is different from Terminal Server
> >> CALs.)
> >>
> >> Rob
>

 

[Vera Noest [MVP]]

Re: Unable to use Terminal Server CALs purchased

Well done, Tony! I'm sorry that you had to go through all this, but
I guess you've discovered a couple of new things in the process
which might be usefull later.
_________________________________________________________
Vera Noest
MCSE, CCEA, Microsoft MVP - Terminal Server
TS troubleshooting: http://ts.veranoest.net
___ please respond in newsgroup, NOT by private email ___

=?Utf-8?B?VG9ueSBSaWdkb24=?=
<TonyRigdon@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote on 15 okt 2008 in
microsoft.public.windows.terminal_services:

> Thanks Vera, that was the problem and I would have saved myself
> several hours of work if I had waited until today!
>
> Instead I de-activated the License server that was running on
> the terminal server and instead activated a TS License server on
> our DC. When I installed the licenses on it I got the wording
> correct so it shows up now as having 45 available CALs, not 45
> plus 25...
>
> Ironically, after I de-activated the original TS license server
> and prior to activating the new one, I was still able to login
> multiple times to the terminal server without an activated TS
> license server...
>
> Anyways, I was not aware you could go into "Terminal Services
> Configuration" and that double clicking on the "RDP" connection
> would get you into properties or that there was an option to
> limit the number of connections! Instead, around midnight last
> night I found a value "MaxInstanceCount" in the registry under
> HKLM\system\currentcontroset\terminal server\winstations\rdp.
> After changing that value to 45 the problem was fixed. Long way
> round to finding the fix that your answer gave! Thanks!
>
> "Vera Noest [MVP]" wrote:
>
>> Since the Licensing Logging srevice isn't running (and that's
>> OK, that's the recommended configuration), my guess is that the
>> former administrator enforced a maximum number of rdp
>> connections of 25, probably because Per User licenses are
>> unmanaged and he wenated to be sure to stay within the EULA.
>> If that's the case, you can increase the number in Terminal
>> Services Configuration - rdp-tcp connection - Network (I think,
>> can't check now). Increase it to 46 (45 licensed connections
>> and 1 free console connection).
>>
>> And yes, the wording when adding licenses is confusing, you
>> should have added 20 to get a total of 45. But as long as you
>> have the correct paperwork and make sure that you don't allow
>> more than 45 + 1 connections, you are OK.
>> _________________________________________________________
>> Vera Noest
>> MCSE, CCEA, Microsoft MVP - Terminal Server
>> TS troubleshooting: http://ts.veranoest.net
>> ___ please respond in newsgroup, NOT by private email ___
>>
>> =?Utf-8?B?VG9ueSBSaWdkb24=?=
>> <TonyRigdon@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote on 15 okt 2008 in
>> microsoft.public.windows.terminal_services:
>>
>> > No eventlog messages are generated. I'm able to cause it to
>> > happen by turning off the "Restrict each user to one session"
>> > and then opening up multiple Remote Desktops. Exactly when
>> > there are 25 sessions open, the 26th connection fails with
>> > this message: "Remote Desktop Disconnected
>> >
>> > This computer can't connect to the remote computer.
>> >
>> > Try connecting again. If the problem continues, contact the
>> > owner of the remote computer or your network administrator."
>> >
>> > I'm not sure how many Windows User CALs are installed. From
>> > the documentation I can find, we have 50 Windows Server User
>> > CALs. If I go to the CP and click on "Licensing", it just
>> > brings up a window from which I can chose my "Licensing
>> > Mode". It is currently set with the radio button next to "Per
>> > Device or Per User".
>> >
>> > If I go into "Administrative Tools" and click on Licensing,
>> > it says the Licensing Logging Service is not running on <here
>> > is lists our primary server>
>> >
>> > So maybe it is an issue with the windows server CAL? I find
>> > it ironic that it would be happening at exactly 25 users...
>> > Or could it be that while TS USER CALS might not be enforced
>> > in 2003 like it is in 2008, perhaps a recent update has
>> > implemented enforcement to the point that only x number of
>> > concurrent sessions can be open with x being the number of
>> > USER CALS activated?
>> >
>> > If you have some suggestions for checking my Windows Server
>> > CALs, let me know. I'm really new to all of this. Everything
>> > I'm working on was setup by a prior Network Administrator and
>> > I've never done this before!
>> >
>> > Thanks,
>> > Tony
>> >
>> > "Rob Leitman [MSFT]" wrote:
>> >
>> >> "Tony Rigdon" <TonyRigdon@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote
>> >> in message
>> >> news:4BF5D4E6-89A9-4DBC-A1E6-A900D7D7F88A@microsoft.com...
>> >> > On a Windows 2003 server, SP2 installed we have the
>> >> > Terminal Licensing Server
>> >> > running, setup using "Per User" CALs. Initially we started
>> >> > out with 25 of these until we purchased an additional 20
>> >> > to get us to 45 users. Everything
>> >> > works fine until we reach the original 25 limit. Once 25
>> >> > are in use, users are unable to connect.
>> >> >
>> >> > When going into the "Terminal Server Licensing" screen on
>> >> > the server, it displays three lines (slightly abreviated
>> >> > below): Product Type
>> >> > Total Available Issued
>> >> > -----------------------------------------------------------
>> >> > --- ---------------------------------- Existing Win2k...
>> >> >
>> >> > Built-in Unlimited Unlimited
>> >> >
>> >> > 0 W 2003 - TS Per User CAL Token Open 25
>> >> >
>> >> > 25
>> >> > N/A
>> >> > W 2003 - TS Per USer CAL Open 45
>> >> >
>> >> > 45
>> >> > 0
>> >> >
>> >> > It is as if the License server will only serve out of the
>> >> > 25 original license. The wording when adding the second
>> >> > set of 20 was confusing, at some
>> >> > point I put in 45, maybe I was supposed to put in 20 so
>> >> > the combined total of
>> >> > the two lines would be 45? I'm considering de-activating
>> >> > the licesnse server
>> >> > tonight and re-activating it, but that's just kind of a
>> >> > shot in the dark for
>> >> > me. Any advice or other possiblities I should consider
>> >> > would be appreciated.
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Per-user licensing isn't enforced, so something else is
>> >> causing the connection to fail. What error message do you
>> >> see from the client? Are there any eventlog messages when
>> >> the user can't connect?
>> >>
>> >> Check the Licensing control panel to see how may Windows
>> >> Server CALs are installed. (This is different from Terminal
>> >> Server CALs.)
>> >>
>> >> Rob