Windows Licensing and Win4Lin Terminal Servers?

miguelk asks: "I'm helping a company (in Brazil) legalize their desktop operating system licenses by migrating to Linux on the desktop. WINE was tried but unfortunately did not work out for this particular case, so the idea is to install a Linux server with Win4Lin Terminal Server for 5 users, since the company has 5 Windows98 licenses to use for this purpose. All of the other 50+ desktops would be running Linux and would access these 5 licenses as needed, whenever they use a legacy Windows application. I have a question about the legal aspect of using the Windows desktop remotely. From all I have researched so far, this is legal since the actual Windows code will be installed on only one computer and will not be loaded in RAM on any other computer. I see it as equivalent to having 5 PCs on a desk and users walking up and using whatever PC happens to be available. I suspect that a direct, unprepared question to Microsoft is not a good idea, so I want to prepare first. Can anybody comment on this solution or share their experiences?"

Comments

Re:From the FAQ:

[sporty]

Now, defining "active user" is the fun part, isn't it? It sounds like what you're trying to do is within the bounds here, but then again, IANAL. If the MS EULA is hazy for VNC then who the hell knows.

Tight usage of industry abbreviations, 10 yard penalty. 1st down.

Re:Good idea, but prolly violates Microsoft's EULA

[gristlebud]

"If 50 people need to use the app at the same time, you need 50 licenses."

This is where some creative scripting or programming can keep you out of a lot of trouble. If you have 5 Windows licenses, then you must ensure that only 5 people can access those applications. As long as you have positive control and proper documentation, you should be able to sail through any audit. At one of my previous jobs, we used a net-installed version of Wordperfect that had about 20 liscenses for 100 employees. Occassionally, when you went to start the program, you'd get a message saying something like "Sorry, no liscense is available. Currently, there are 4 people waiting. The program will start as soon as a liscense is available."