SharePoint licensing; confused? You will be….
Someone who shall remain nameless once told me that with regard to SharePoint licensing, “…If you don’t get the answer you want, ask again.”
There is no doubt that there is (still) a huge amount of confusion on this subject. It is one of the most common issues that clients ask me to advise on. There are many blog entries which attempt to explain the various nuances and complexities of the subject, and I won’t attempt to do that here. But here is an example of why this subject is so difficult.
First consider this extract from the Microsoft White Paper , “Planning an Extranet Environment for Office SharePoint Server 2007”, dated June 2007 and still available from the Microsoft web site (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc262400.aspx)
“Licensing requirements
Consider licensing requirements to determine the minimum number of server farms that you need to plan for. There are two server licenses available for Office SharePoint Server 2007. These licenses cannot be combined on the same server computer or on the same server farm. The following table lists and describes each license offering.
|
Offering |
Description |
|
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007, Server License |
This license is required to run Office SharePoint Server 2007 in client/server mode. You should use this license with the requisite number of Client Access Licenses (CALs) appropriate for your organizational needs. |
|
Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites |
You may use the software for Internet-facing Web sites only. All content, information, and applications must be accessible to non-employees. This license has all the features of the Enterprise Edition of Office SharePoint Server. This is a per server license that does not require the purchase of Client Access Licenses. |
If you plan to deploy internal content for your organization and Internet-facing content for non-employees, you must deploy at least two server farms to meet licensing requirements. “
So, two server licenses that cannot be combined on a single farm meaning that for Internet and Intranet you need two farms. Seems straightforward?
Now consider this advice from the MS Volume licensing web site, accessed this morning (http://www.microsoftvolumelicensing.com/userights/ProductPage.aspx?pid=123)
“Accommodation for simultaneous use of server software under Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites
The same software is licensed under Office SharePoint Server 2007 and Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites under different use rights. Office SharePoint Server 2007’s use rights support private intranet sites and require CALs for licensed access, while Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet Sites does not require CALs, but does require that all content, information and applications be accessible through the internet to non-employees. Please refer to the Product Use Rights (PUR) document for these products’ use rights.
As an accommodation for possible deployment scenarios, customers wishing to consolidate their SharePoint needs under a single deployment may acquire licenses for both products, assign those licenses to the same server, and use the same running instance of the software simultaneously under both licenses. However, customers must acquire CALs as required under the Office SharePoint Server 2007 use rights for users and devices accessing content in any manner not permitted under the Office SharePoint Server 2007 for Internet sites use rights.”
So now it seems we can use a FIS licensed farm to support CAL based intranet use for internal employees; just as long as we buy the correct number of CALS and ensure that the content is only access by users with the appropriate license.
This advice is repeated on the MS SharePoint FAQ’s page http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/sharepointserver/HA101655351033.aspx
Is it just me?
S:)