Licensing the Core Client Access License (CAL) Suite and Enterprise CAL Suite_September 2018

Licensing the Core CAL Suite and Enterprise CAL Suite – Details

CAL Suites
A CAL Suite is a single license that provides use rights equivalent to multiple licenses. Like other CALs, CAL Suites can be licensed on either a per-user or per-device basis. CAL Suites simplify licensing and tracking by reducing the number of licenses necessary to access Microsoft servers.
CAL Suites may also provide pricing that’s more attractive than licensing the equivalent components individually. However, since a suite is a single license—the sum of individual CALs— CAL Suites cannot be divided among more than one user or device.
CAL Suites sometimes provide use rights equivalent to licenses that aren’t CALs. For instance, the Enterprise CAL Suite provides rights to several management server products and several online services subscriptions. In all cases, under a CAL Suite, the customer’s use rights with respect to a particular product or online service are the same as if that component was licensed separately.
The only exception is that both per-user and per-device options are available in CAL Suites even when both options aren’t available outside the suite. For instance, Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012 has per-device use rights as part of Core CAL Suite and Enterprise CAL Suite, even though it’s offered under a per-operating system environment license individually.

Use Rights
Because CAL Suites contain licenses for products that are released independently, CAL Suites are version-less. CAL Suites are only offered with Software Assurance coverage, and accordingly give customers the right to use the most recent version of every product in the suite. If Software Assurance coverage lapses and the customer is vested with perpetual rights, use rights are determined by the latest version of the products in effect before the lapse in coverage. For example, if a customer’s Software Assurance coverage for the Core CAL Suite expired on August 1, 2018, the customer has perpetual rights equivalent to the most recent version of the Core CAL Suite’s components as of that date. This customer wouldn’t have rights to versions of components released after August 1, 2018 or to products added to the CAL Suite after that date. Note that service components of the suites do expire if Software Assurance is allowed to lapse.

Core CAL Suite and Enterprise CAL Suite
The Core CAL Suite is equivalent to the following licenses:
▬ Windows Server CAL
▬ SharePoint Server Standard CAL
▬ Exchange Server Standard CAL
▬ System Center Configuration Manager Client Management License
▬ System Center Endpoint Protection Client Management License
▬ Skype for Business Server Standard CAL

The Enterprise CAL Suite is equivalent to the following licenses:
▬ All of the components of the Core CAL Suite (listed above)
▬ Exchange Server Enterprise CAL with Services*
▬ Exchange Online with Archiving for Exchange Server
▬ SharePoint Server Enterprise CAL
▬ Skype for Business Server Enterprise CAL
▬ Windows Server Active Directory Rights Management Services CAL
▬ Advanced Threat Analytics Client Management License
*Includes Data Loss Prevention and Exchange Online Protection

The figure below is a visual representation of the components offered in the Core CAL Suite and Enterprise CAL Suite as of August 2015. Required server software licenses aren’t included in the CAL Suites and must be purchased separately. Note that many Core CAL components are “base CALs” while certain components of Enterprise CAL Suite are “additive CALs” for which base CALs are a prerequisite. For more information about base and additive CALs, refer to the Microsoft Commercial Licensing brief Base and Additive Client Access Licenses: An explanation.

Management Server Rights
The Core CAL Suite provides rights equivalent to the System Center Configuration Manager 1606 Client Management License. CAL Suites licensed on a per device basis extend these rights to multiple operating system environments deployed on the same device, consistent with Server/CAL per-device licensing. Other Management Server licensing restrictions particular to these products must be observed, such as System Center Configuration Manager Client
Management License’s limitation to systems running client operating systems. Management Server Licenses aren’t required under System Center 2016. See the System Center website for more information about Client Management Licenses and Server Management Licenses.

Subscription Services components
The Core CAL and Enterprise CAL Suite include services as components. While customers normally subscribe to online services separately, the Enterprise CAL Suite services component subscription is integrated with the license cost. As with a lapse in an online services subscription, a lapse in Software Assurance coverage on a CAL Suite means rights to access the online services components will lapse as well.
A license for the Enterprise CAL Suite with active Software Assurance coverage includes the rights to Exchange Online Archiving for Exchange Server, Data Loss Prevention, and Exchange Online Protection.
To begin using these services, contact your Microsoft Partner, who can begin the provisioning process required to activate each service.

Obtaining Enterprise CAL Suite Licenses and equivalent functionality
Customers may choose to license the Enterprise CAL Suite upfront or as a step-up from Core CAL Suite licenses. Having the Enterprise CAL Suite is like having both the Core CAL Suite and the components that are unique to the Enterprise CAL Suite. This means the customer licensing the Enterprise CAL Suite isn’t required to also maintain a separate Core CAL Suite, unlike the customer who’s licensing the same products under individual licenses.
All Enterprise CAL Suite components can be licensed independently from the Enterprise CAL Suite. For instance, to license the Exchange Server Enterprise CAL functionality outside the Enterprise CAL Suite, a customer must obtain both an Exchange Server Standard CAL (or Core CAL Suite, which provides equivalent rights to Exchange Server Standard CAL) and the Exchange Server Enterprise CAL. Alternatively, a customer may obtain rights equivalent to the Exchange
Server Standard CAL and the Exchange Server Enterprise CAL by licensing only the Enterprise CAL Suite, because it also provides rights equivalent to all of the components of the Core CAL Suite.

Licensing the Core CAL Suite and Enterprise CAL Suite Frequently asked questions

1. Is there a difference between the Enterprise CAL Suite and an Enterprise CAL? Is it an important distinction?
Yes. The Enterprise CAL Suite provides user rights equivalent to a variety of technologies. AnEnterprise CAL is a distinct license that describes specific use rights to specific features forSharePoint, Exchange, and Skype for Business Server.
For more information, refer to the Microsoft Commercial Licensing brief Base and AdditiveClient Access Licenses: An explanation.
2. Can I apply an Enterprise CAL Suite Step-up to a Core CAL Suite with expired SoftwareAssurance coverage?
No. You must have active Software Assurance to benefit from the ability to migrate loweredition offerings to higher editions like migrating from the Core CAL Suite to the EnterpriseCAL Suite.
3. If I can step up from the Core CAL Suite to the Enterprise CAL Suite, can I step up fromcomponents of the suites into one of the CAL Suites?
While there aren’t programmatic step-up licenses from one or more individual components to the full suite, Microsoft will provide customized migration solutions. Please ask your Microsoft Commercial Licensing representative for migration options.
4. Do the Core CAL Suite and Enterprise CAL Suite provide downgrade rights for their equivalent components?
Yes. Unlike use rights for most product suites, the use rights for the Core CAL Suite and Enterprise CAL Suite permit customers to downgrade components individually. The downgrade rights for the components of the Core CAL Suite and Enterprise CAL Suite are the same as those for the individual components. For instance, an Enterprise CAL Suite license may be used to access an Exchange Server 2016 server.
5. Does the Enterprise CAL Suite provide the right to Microsoft Server licenses?
The Enterprise CAL Suite provides use rights to the appropriate CALs and Client Management Licenses. Customers must still purchase the matching server license to each accompanying Enterprise CAL Suite component.
6. Does the Enterprise CAL Suite provide the right to access all Microsoft Server Products?
No. The Enterprise CAL Suite provides rights equivalent to a broad selection of Microsoft server products to provide information workers access to a variety of functionality, including communication, collaboration, presence,synchronous communications (IM), enterprise content management, information rights management, client security, server and Web security, client and server real-time monitoring and updates, conferencing, Web-based forms solutions, and business data connectors. However, the Enterprise CAL Suite doesn’t provide rights equivalent to other CALs, including CRM and SQL Server.
7. How does the Enterprise CAL Suite relate to the Enterprise Desktop platform offering?
The Enterprise CAL Suite, the Windows Enterprise operating system, and Microsoft Office Professional Plus comprise the Enterprise Desktop platform offering.
8. Can I license the Enterprise CAL Suite’s components individually?
Yes. All Enterprise CAL Suite components are available for individual purchase.
9. What server editions do CAL suites provide access to? For instance, does the Enterprise CAL Suite provide access to Exchange Server Standard Edition or Exchange Server Enterprise Edition?
Like other CALs, the Enterprise CAL Suite and Core CAL Suite licenses work with any accompanying edition of the server that requires a CAL. Therefore, Enterprise CAL Suite and Core CAL Suite license access to both Exchange Server Standard Edition and Exchange Server Enterprise Edition.
10. Does the Enterprise CAL Suite include rights to access Microsoft SQL Server?
No. SQL Server CALs must be obtained separately from the Enterprise CAL Suite or Core CAL Suite.
11. My Software Assurance cost for Enterprise CAL Suite looks higher than the normal rate. Has Microsoft raised the cost of Software Assurance?
No. Online Services subscription fees are reflected in the Enterprise CAL Suite’s annual cost, which includes both online services subscription costs and Software Assurance. These costs are part of both the new and renewal offerings and, as a result, the relationship between the new and renewal price varies from that normally associated with our License and Software Assurance offerings.
12. What is System Center Endpoint Protection?
System Center Endpoint Protection (formerly Forefront Endpoint Protection Manager), simplifies and improves endpoint security. It builds on System Center Configuration Manager, allowing customers to use their existing client management infrastructure to deploy, monitor, and manage endpoint protection. This shared infrastructure lowers ownership costs while providing improved visibility and control over endpoint management and security.
13. Are there any price adjustments for customers who already own the Enterprise CAL Suite which contains Core CAL, System Center Endpoint Protection, and Skype for Business Server Standard CAL?
Since Enterprise CAL Suite contains Core CAL, there’s no change to the composition or pricing of Enterprise CAL Suite
14. What is Advanced Threat Analytics?
Advanced Threat Analytics (ATA) is a platform that helps Active Directory customers protect their data from advanced attacks by automatically learning, profiling and predicting entity (user, device, etc.) behavior. Using machine learning, it builds the Organizational Security Graph, a living, continuously-updated view of all of the people and machines accessing an organization’s Windows Server Active Directory (AD). This enables it to understand what normal behavior is and then to identify anomalies, so a company can quickly see suspicious behavior and take appropriate measures to help protect itself.

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