Client and Server Licensing

Microsoft licensing for Lync includes both client and server licensing. Whereas the server licensing is straightforward, the client licensing can be challenging to absorb. As noted in the previous sections, there are two editions of the server software: Standard Edition and Enterprise Edition. All Front End Servers installed in a Lync deployment fall into one category or the other, and must therefore be licensed appropriately.

As for client licensing, one Client Access License (CAL) is required for each user to access the services of a Lync server. However, there are three types of CALs available for Lync Server 2013:

• Lync Server 2013 Standard CAL

• Lync Server 2013 Enterprise CAL

• Lync Server 2013 Plus CAL

The Standard CAL is the base CAL, which is required for all users and grants access to a standard set of Lync features, including IM and Presence and peer-to-peer audio and video communications. The Enterprise and Plus CALs are additive CALs that grant access to additional Lync features. Whereas the Enterprise CAL grants access to audio, video, and web conferencing features, the Plus CAL includes Enterprise Voice features. To enable access to the entire feature set provided with Lync, a user must be licensed with all three CALs. Note that this is the case regardless of the server edition installed on the Lync servers that the user connects to.

The CAL types mentioned can all be purchased individually as part of a standalone Lync deployment, and the Lync Standard and Enterprise CALs in particular can also be purchased as part of a volume licensing arrangement. For example, the Lync Standard CAL can be purchased as part of the Microsoft Core CAL Suite (CCAL), and the Lync Standard or Enterprise CAL can be purchased as part of the Microsoft Enterprise CAL Suite (ECAL). Many organizations purchase Lync licensing as part of a larger volume licensing agreement in order to save on overall licensing costs. Note that the Plus CAL must be purchased standalone, because it is not included in either the CCAL or the ECAL volume license offerings. There is also a licensing requirement for the Lync client software. The client software can be purchased as a standalone application, or it is included as part of the Office Professional Plus 2013 suite.