Concurrent Connections

With Per Server licensing, each Client Access License is assigned to a particular service (product) on a particular server and allows one connection to that service, such as basic network services, which include the following:

• • File services — sharing and managing files and/or disk storage
• • Printing services — sharing and managing printers
• • Macintosh® connectivity — file sharing and printing services
• • File and Print Services for NetWare® connectivity — file sharing and printing services for NetWare clients
• • Remote access services — accessing the server from a remote location through a communications link

Notice that a connection, in this case, is to a server and not just to an individual share point or printer on that server. If you connect to \\PRODUCT\NEW and \\PRODUCT\OLD, that is considered as only one connection for licensing purposes. However, if you connect, in Per Server mode, to a server from two different computers using the same username, that is considered two connections.

You must have at least as many Client Access Licenses dedicated to a service on that server as the maximum number of client computers that will connect to that server at any point in time. If you select the Per Server option, you must specify during Setup, or upon purchasing new Client Access Licenses, the number of Client Access Licenses (which corresponds to the number of concurrent connections) that you have purchased for that server.

With Per Server licensing, once the specified limit for concurrent connections is reached, the server returns an error to the client's computer and does not allow more computer connections to that server. Connections made by administrators are also considered as part of the total number of concurrent connections. When the limit is reached, though, administrators are still allowed to connect to manage the lockout situation. New users, however, will not be allowed to connect again until enough users (including administrators) have disconnected to get below the specified limit.

Note

You can also check the Application log in Event Viewer on the master server to view any license violation alerts, which appear every 6 hours as Error 71 and Event ID 201. Reports can be created using an OLE script (see "Using OLE To Export User Data to a Spreadsheet," later in this chapter) or the Crystal Reports for Windows NT utility included on the CD for the Microsoft Windows NT Resource Kit for Windows NT Workstation and Windows NT Server Version 3.51.

The Per Server option is often the most economical one for networks in which clients tend to connect to only one server or occasional-use or special-purpose servers, and they do not all need to connect at the same time. If a network environment has multiple servers, then each server licensed in Per Server mode must have at least as many Client Access Licenses dedicated to it as the maximum number of clients that will connect to it at any one point in time.