Hey everyone! I'm a long-time lurker and this is my first time posting. I'm planning to rent a bare metal server located in Germany and came across some RDS CALs on trustedtechteam.com that seem pretty cheap. However, I've heard that these CALs might be region locked to the US and that even if they work, they could get blacklisted later. Is there any truth to this? I'm flexible with my server location, so if it turns out these CALs are a bad idea, I wouldn't mind using a machine based in France, Germany, or the Netherlands. My main concern is latency since I can't use servers based in the US or Asia for this project. What would you recommend?
3 Answers
Honestly, sounds like a bit of a scam to me. Microsoft doesn't strictly enforce the validation of RDS CALs when they're being installed; it's quite an honor system type of deal. I'd be careful with those CALs just to be safe. Not worth the risk!
I've never heard of RDS CALs being region locked either. From my understanding, RDS licensing is pretty straightforward and consists of just two types: Per Device and Per User. You can check the Microsoft documentation for more details. If you're worried about acquiring the right CALs in time, you might want to use the 120-day grace period which gives you some leeway to sort it out. Check out the official guidance for that!
I've never encountered region-locked CALs, so I wouldn't worry too much. Just make sure you're compliant with the licensing terms. But yeah, I've had a similar experience where I wasn't able to validate certain licenses. It's usually not that strict.
Yeah, exactly! The grace period is a solid solution if you're not sure about the licensing. It gives you a buffer to get what you need without rushing.