16 Jan
2011
16 Jan
'11
1:39 p.m.
Adam <geekdundee(a)gmail.com> wrote:
I recall that it also allows two RDP sessions, but
then
nobody can log into the console without forcing a termination of one
of the sessions, and vice versa.
I've played around with Windows Home Server and its stripped down
version of Windows Server 2003 in the meantime. It allows two RDP
sessions _plus_ the console session. I suspect this applies to all
Windows Server 2003 editions which don't use additional Terminal Services.
Nevertheless, its EULA makes Home Server and the Web Edition de-facto
unusable for our purpose over RDP. The Home Server license terms state:
"You may only use Terminal Services functionality to the extent required
to manage the server software in Remote Administration Mode" (2d).
While the Web Edition doesn't add any RDP-related limits, it puts a
general limit on the usage scenarios: "The Server Software may be used
solely for deployment of Web pages, Web sites, Web applications, Web
services, and POP3 mail serving. [...] Any other usage of the Server
Software is not permitted" (2c)
The Standard and Enterprise editions permit the usage of the included
two RDP sessions only for administrative purposes as well (3a). If we
want to go for RDP, we would still need one of these editions, plus a
Windows CAL and a Terminal Services CAL for each user that ever accesses
the server. It might be doable, but I consider it way too expensive and
hardly manageable for us.
Gladly, none of the EULAs puts limits on the console session. While the
Home Server EULA doesn't even mention it, the Standard/Enterprise EULA
explicitly states "You do not need a TS CAL when attaching to or
mirroring the single Console Session" (3g). As both products are related
in their general functionality and Terminal Services in Windows Server
2003 Standard/Enterprise explicitly exclude the console session, I
believe that this is also true for Home Server.
This would make it possible for us to install a Home Server onto a
virtual machine, disabling all RDP features and mirroring its console
session over VNC. Using this VNC connection could happen from a Linux VM
on the same server, which itself would be accessed over RDP (using Xrdp).
Of course, this makes simultaneous connections to the Home Server
impossible, but I doubt that this will cause many conflicts. As a new
Windows Home Server license is available for just about 90 EUR, we could
also just get another one in case of conflicts.
Simultaneous accesses to the same server instance might be a bad idea
anyway if some testing work requires an isolated environment and could
cause blue screens, restarts, etc.
While this of course is a hack around the EULA, I believe that we're
good to go with this method as we don't do anything wrong legally.
Please tell me what you think about this method and if we should spend
the 90 EUR for a Home Server license (or even buy more).
- Colin