Server CAL licensing

Question

Hello,

We have one single namespace domain running on 5 DCs (1 HQ and 4 branches). DC in the HeadQuarters office (Server 2019 standard) is running File server role for HQ users (25) and exchange server 2019 for all users in the domain (45 users). Branch locations (5 users each) are running Windows Server 2019 Essentials.

Do users in branches need own Server CAL also for the main DC to access their Exchange mailboxes? Branch server CALs are clear (part of Essentials server, Exchange CAL are clear too - each user = one license).

Thanks.

Answer 1

CAL stands for Client Access License. A CAL is needed for each client that is going to access the services of any Windows Server computer in a network. That could be a single Windows server or many Windows server. The CAL focuses on the client, not the number of Windows server hosts.