Office + RDS + Citrix + Licensing = Confused
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A job for this week is to look at Office and licensing in our environment.
Current Set-up is we are using Citrix XenApp 7.X this gives our 400+ Users access to our production system GP via XenAPP (i.e. RDS in Microsoft terms
). On the two servers that host the 10 XenApp/RDS servers each has office 2010 installed, this was all setup before I got my hands on it.Now with the news that Office2010 will not connect to 365 mailboxes, also we are having issues with Access and newer versions of office. It's time to get it all upgraded and inline both versions and licensing wise.
So the question is how do I license Office2016 on RDS servers? The main problem I have is some users need Full access to all products like Access, some will only need Word and Excel.... I'm not sure if Outlook will be needed as there are all 365 mailboxes they could just access the Web interface, but I guess some will still want the desktop app
We already have the correct User/RDS cals to cover all users. I just need to understand the Office side and how to install on 10+ VM's
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I have started looking online and found these two guides:-
http://www.mirazon.com/how-do-you-license-office-in-a-remote-desktop-environment/
http://www.mirazon.com/licensing-office-365-in-a-remote-desktop-environment/ -
What i'm mainly confused with if I have say 5 users
User 1, User 2, User 3 etcLets say
User 1 to 3 only need World, Excel, Outlook
but
User 4 and 5 need all including AccessDo I have to license them all with E3 plans (as they all need a mailbox anyway)?
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If a user needs access to any part of Office they need one of the plans listed on that website or a volume licence for Office per machine.
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What if I have 400 people accessing 10 servers but only 250 need basic office and out of them only 10 need Access?
This is where i'm getting confused. -
@hobbit666
I don't see any official mention of "basic Office", look at the O365 plans and Office includes all those packages. If you want Office you need to license as above. -
So I would need 250 E3 plans
that's a bummer. Then stop the rest of the users having access via GPO.That becomes VERY expensive.
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Actually I might need to look at this a different way. Maybe remove Access and keep it on the desktops instead of RDS.
If I have 400 users accessing the server but only 50-60 need any form of Office, what's the cheapest way of doing it?
Guessing if all 50 need a mailbox then E3 via the Office365 plans
OR
50 Volume Licenses if I went down that road and keep 365 mailboxes separate.Or do I need to license for the total number accessing the servers even if they don't need office?
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@hobbit666 said in Office + RDS + Citrix + Licensing = Confused:
Actually I might need to look at this a different way. Maybe remove Access and keep it on the desktops instead of RDS.
If I have 400 users accessing the server but only 50-60 need any form of Office, what's the cheapest way of doing it?
Guessing if all 50 need a mailbox then E3 via the Office365 plans
OR
50 Volume Licenses if I went down that road and keep 365 mailboxes separate.Or do I need to license for the total number accessing the servers even if they don't need office?
I could be wrong, but, if they don't have a license in 365, opening Word, Excel, Outlook etc wont work. It will open, then ask for activation, and close. For those with a license, it will open, activate, and they can work. So, just buy the E3 plans as needed for those that need it and install to the servers. Those with a license will work, those without wont.
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@jimmy9008 That makes a bit more sense with the Office365 plans.
But what If I use the Volume License route?
Need to think why and if we need it on the RDS servers verses just licensing Office on the desktop as all users use a PC/Laptop to access the Citrix servers.
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Think i'm getting the hang of this now I've re-read all the articles and the different licensing plans both VL and 365.
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@hobbit666 said in Office + RDS + Citrix + Licensing = Confused:
Need to think why and if we need it on the RDS servers verses just licensing Office on the desktop as all users use a PC/Laptop to access the Citrix servers.
But do they need/want access to Office inside the RDS sessions?
As for keeping people from running office that aren't licensed for it, you can set the permissions on the office install folder to only allow those with licenses to have access.
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Considering you have two different types of users, those that need Access and those that don't - Assuming you buy two different types of licenses, do you have to split the users to different RDS servers so the allowed only have access to the version they are licensed for?
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@dashrender said in Office + RDS + Citrix + Licensing = Confused:
But do they need/want access to Office inside the RDS sessions?
That's the point i'm up to now. Do we need office on the servers?
Who needs it, why, etc. -
@hobbit666 said in Office + RDS + Citrix + Licensing = Confused:
@dashrender said in Office + RDS + Citrix + Licensing = Confused:
But do they need/want access to Office inside the RDS sessions?
That's the point i'm up to now. Do we need office on the servers?
Who needs it, why, etc.FYI, O365 local install of Office is allowed on up to 5 devices per user, VL (last time I checked) allowed one desktop and one mobile install per user.
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@dashrender said in Office + RDS + Citrix + Licensing = Confused:
Considering you have two different types of users, those that need Access and those that don't - Assuming you buy two different types of licenses, do you have to split the users to different RDS servers so the allowed only have access to the version they are licensed for?
This is something i'm thinking, only give access to people that need it to a VM that has it installed.
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@dashrender said in Office + RDS + Citrix + Licensing = Confused:
FYI, O365 local install of Office is allowed on up to 5 devices per user, VL (last time I checked) allowed one desktop and one mobile install per user.
But only certain plans allow running on a RDS session.
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@hobbit666 said in Office + RDS + Citrix + Licensing = Confused:
@dashrender said in Office + RDS + Citrix + Licensing = Confused:
FYI, O365 local install of Office is allowed on up to 5 devices per user, VL (last time I checked) allowed one desktop and one mobile install per user.
But only certain plans allow running on a RDS session.
You mean certain O365 plans? I would assume E3 and E5. I'm not sure if Office 365 Business (the Office only package) or Office 365 Business Premium is usable on RDS, but I'd be surprised if not.
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It has to include Office 365 Pro applications to support RDS, I believe.
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@brianlittlejohn said in Office + RDS + Citrix + Licensing = Confused:
It has to include Office 365 Pro applications to support RDS, I believe.
As for as I know - all O365 plans that include local install Office are Office Pro.
