This page contains important information you need to correctly license Exchange Server 2010.
License Types
Exchange Server 2010 on-premise is licensed in the Server / Client Access License (CAL) model in exactly the same way that Exchange Server 2007 was licensed. There are three types of licenses:
1. Server Licenses
A license must be assigned for each instance of the server software that is being run. The Exchange Server license is sold in two server editions:
Standard Edition: designed for the mailbox needs of small to medium organizations. Also appropriate for non-mailbox roles in a larger Exchange deployment.
Enterprise Edition: designed for larger organizations that may require a greater number of mailbox databases.
2. Client Access Licenses (CALs)
Exchange requires a CAL for each user or device that accesses the server software. There are two types of CALs for Exchange:
Standard CAL: designed to help users be more productive from virtually any platform, browser, or mobile device, with new features in Exchange Server 2010 that help manage communications overload and lower helpdesk costs.
Enterprise CAL: designed to allow organizations to reduce the costs and complexity of meeting compliance requirements with new integrated archiving functionality and information protection capabilities, while also helping you cut costs by replacing legacy voice mail systems with Unified Messaging.
The Enterprise CAL is sold as an add-on to the Standard CAL. To enable Standard CAL features for a user, the user must be licensed with just the Standard CAL. To enable Enterprise CAL features, the user must be licensed with one Standard CAL plus one Enterprise CAL.
Note: Both CALs work with either Server Edition.
3. External Connector Licenses
An External Connector permits an unlimited number of clients to access an Exchange Server in scenarios where the number of CALs is uncertain.
Access via the External Connector is limited to non-employees such as partners, suppliers, customers, and retirees.
The number of External Connector licenses required corresponds to the number of servers in the organization’s Exchange environment.
Exchange 2010 Feature Details
Exchange 2010 Server Licenses:
Existing features have been significantly enhanced and new features have been added to both of the Exchange Server editions. The following table provides a feature breakdown for each server edition of Exchange Server 2010:
Comparison to Earlier Versions
See the table below for detailed information about licensing differences from Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2007.
These tables capture several changes in licensing Exchange Server 2010 compared with earlier versions. In addition to the new functions, the major changes are:
The supported number of mailbox databases has increased from 50 to 100 in the Enterprise Server.
Exchange Server 2003 had different storage limits for Standard Server compared with Enterprise Server. In Exchange Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2010, the storage limit is increased to 16 TB for both Standard and Enterprise Server editions.
Several high-availability options have been consolidated into just one option for Exchange Server 2010 (Mailbox Resiliency), which is now offered in both the Standard and Enterprise editions. The capabilities of Local Continuous Replication, Standby Continuous Replication, and Cluster Continuous Replication are now unified into the Exchange 2010 Mailbox Resiliency capability. These capabilities enable a simplified approach to high availability and disaster recovery.
Prerequisites for Exchange 2010 Server
For each Exchange Server 2010 instance, you must also purchase a Windows Server 2008 license. The edition of Windows Server that is required depends on which features of Exchange Server 2010 you will be using. For Exchange 2010 servers that use Mailbox Resiliency features for high availability, either Windows Server 2008 Enterprise or Datacenter editions are required for its clustering features. For all other Exchange 2010 scenarios, Windows Server Standard is appropriate.
Therefore, these are the possible scenarios and necessary prerequisites:
Exchange 2010 Client Access Licenses (CALs)
As with the Server licenses, the Exchange Server 2010 CALs have also been significantly improved from the previous versions of Exchange. The following table provides a detailed feature breakdown for each CAL edition of Exchange Server 2010:
Customers may buy the standard CAL standalone, but those who want to acquire the Enterprise features as listed above must purchase both the standard and the Enterprise CALs.
Comparison to Earlier Versions
The table below includes detailed information about differences in licensing Exchange Server 2010 compared with Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange Server 2007.
Apart from new functions, there are several major changes for licensing Exchange 2010 compared to earlier versions:
The Exchange 2003 license was sold with just one CAL, while the Exchange 2007 and Exchange 2010 licenses are sold with both Standard and Enterprise CALs.
The Exchange 2003 CAL included rights to the Outlook client. In Exchange 2007 and Exchange 2010, the Outlook client license must be purchased separately.
Features for managing e-mail retention have evolved from Mailbox Manager in Exchange 2003 to Managed Folders in Exchange 2007 to Retention Policies in Exchange 2010.
Advanced Exchange ActiveSync mobile policies were introduced in the Exchange 2007 Enterprise CAL at SP1.
Unified Messaging, Managed Folders, and Per-user/Per-distribution list Journaling were introduced in the Exchange 2007 Enterprise CAL.
Prerequisites for Exchange 2010 Client Access Licenses (CALs):
For each Exchange Server 2010 CAL, there are two possible prerequisites for the underlying Microsoft technologies. First, a Windows Server 2008 CAL is required for each user or device in all scenarios. Second, a Windows 2008 Rights Management Server (RMS) CAL is required for each Exchange Server 2010 user or device that will be making use of the Information Rights Management (IRM) features.
Therefore, these are the possible scenarios and necessary prerequisites:
Next Steps
Questions?
In the United States, call (800) 426-9400 to speak to a Microsoft representative.
In Canada, call (877) 568-2495.
