External licensing

Question

Hi,
At my work we are using the following SharePoint license (installed on a single server):

Office SharePoint Server with Standard Client Access License

We are using SharePoint as a VLE which staff and students access from inside the school.
The plan is to open up the VLE to parents so they can access information about the school, their children's performance etc. To do this from their homes they will need to login to SharePoint using SSL.

I have looked at Microsoft's guidelines on licensing SharePoint for external access but still find it confusing.
Is the above license sufficient for the external access we are planning?
If not, what type of licensing do we need - an external connector - external CALs? 

Answer 1

You will need Internet Connection licences for both the server (2K) and MOSS 2007 (ca 30K).

The only way round this would be if all people outside your school (parents) who can access the site are members of your internal AD (or other authentication method) AND that you pay for MOSS standard CALs for each of them.

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All licensing answers are to be treated as advisory and ought to be checked with Microsoft licensing specialist(s), but I have a pretty good idea about what is needed.



You also naturally need a Standard CAL for each of your internal users. You didn't mention this but without it you are already in breach of the licensing rules.


P.S. This "Office SharePoint Server with Standard Client Access License" is unclear.

The Office SharePoint Server version you have installed must be the Standard version as otherwise you need both Standard and Enterprise CALs for all users.

"Standard Client Access License" - it is incorrect if this really is singular. You need such a license for *each* user. 200 internal users 200 CALs. (or 200 Std and 200 Enterprise CALS if the Enterprise version of the software was installed *even if you don't use enterprise functions*)

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FAQ sites: (SP 2010) http://wssv4faq.mindsharp.com; (v3) http://wssv3faq.mindsharp.com and (WSS 2.0) http://wssv2faq.mindsharp.com
Complete Book Lists (incl. foreign language) on each site.

Answer 2

AD accounts are being created for parents through AD provisioning with SIMS which contains student & parent information. Does this mean we just need to buy more CALs?

The licensing for SharePoint was purchased by a manager who is no longer at the school and while I wasn't here so I am not entirely sure how and what licenses were purchaced. 

I assumed the 'Office SharePoint Server with Standard Client Access License' (retrieved from central admin) included the standard CALs for our users - or do they have to be purchased seperately to this?

Thanks

Answer 3

Again with the same proviso as before.

Yes I suspect that more CALs cover the additional users.

As for what was bought, it could be that you are licensed OK and could be that you are not.

As far as I know there isn't a pack of MOSS + a certain number of CALs. Instead you buy MOSS and in additional a pack of CALs (packs are available in different quantities and are possibly cheaper per CAL for larger numbers).

It may be that you already have paid for extra CALs (i.e. more than the internal users you already have) so it is worth hunting for invoices; contacting your supplier of CALs pack(s).


It might also be that as an educational installation you have different (lower) payments or requirements. You should contact your local Microsoft office about this.

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FAQ sites: (SP 2010) http://wssv4faq.mindsharp.com; (v3) http://wssv3faq.mindsharp.com and (WSS 2.0) http://wssv2faq.mindsharp.com
Complete Book Lists (incl. foreign language) on each site.

Answer 4

Thanks Mike I will contact our supplier about the CALs.