Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Rds Cals
Any device that utilizes any RDS service needs an RDS CAL - either by the device itself having a Device CAL or the user having a User CAL. Doesn't matter how many are connected concurrently.
Windows Server 2016 Remote Desktop Services - 10 User CALs. With Remote Desktop Services (RDS) one of the core virtualization technologies available in Windows Server Microsoft is progressing in its vision to provide the best virtualization platform for accelerating and extending desktop and application deployments from the data center to any device.
Windows Server 2016 Cal
'It's an application server, so obviously every user I have will need the ability to connect to the server via RDP.'
They will be using RDS to connect to the server and then run the app or is the app just installed on the server and run from the workstation? If the latter, do you need RDS at all? That wasn't clear in your wording.
Pricing and licensing overview
Windows 2016 Rds Cal Pricing
To give you a more consistent licensing experience across multi-cloud environments, we transitioned from processor-based licensing to core-based licensing for Windows Server 2019 Datacenter and Standard editions. For specific pricing, contact your Microsoft reseller.
| Datacenter[2] | Highly virtualized datacenters and cloud environments | Core-based | Windows Server CAL | $6,155 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard[2] | Physical or minimally virtualized environments | Core-based | Windows Server CAL | $972 |
| Essentials | Small businesses with up to 25 users and 50 devices | Specialty servers (server license) | No CAL required | $501 |
Datacenter[2] | Highly virtualized datacenters and cloud environments | Core-based | Windows Server CAL | $6,155 |
Standard[2] | Physical or minimally virtualized environments | Core-based | Windows Server CAL | $972 |
Essentials | Small businesses with up to 25 users and 50 devices | Specialty servers (server license) | No CAL required | $501 |
Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Rds User Cal
[1]CALs are required for every user or device accessing a server. See the Product Use Rights for details.
[2]Datacenter and Standard edition pricing is for 16 core licenses.
[3]Pricing is shown in USD and may vary from country to country. Please contact your Microsoft representative for a quote.