Rob
from the mailbox asks “How does one buy CALs?” Where do you buy them?
Do they come on paper? In an email? How long does the process take?”
If you buy your CALs from an OEM, there
are boxes on the web site to specify that you need SBS CALs right on
the web site. If you need to buy licenses after the fact you can go
through many places like licenseonline.com or softwareone.com.
Once you purchase the license, a piece of paper will be sent to you
that has the product key code that you then enter into the SBS box
normally in a week or so [so plan accordingly]
If …however.. you have Open License
based software because you purchased the base of SBS via open license
you will get a electronic agreement that gets entered into the
eopen.microsoft.com web site. Your CAL codes will be up there.
Even better yet, if you opt for Software
Assurance [and go for the three year plan] not only will your CAL codes
be up there, but you'll get all your SBS media sent to you
automagically. [Like I have slipstreamed SBS media that has SP1,
whereas OEM can't get this]
So for your clients…. sit them
down…talk to them about how an OEM purchase may NOT be the way to go.
Check out the Open license sales opportunities on www.mssmallbiz.com resource page and then go through an outsourced licensing specialist.
OEM may not be the bargain you think it
is. Like Office 2003 on Software Assurance for example gives me Home
User Rights and allows me to be a lot more flexible. I normally use a
mixture of Office on OEM and SA to fit my needs. For the server though,
it's 100% open license with software assurance. [E-Bitz – SBS MVP the Official Blog of the SBS “Diva”]