This licensing brief clarifies the licensing
of Microsoft® SharePoint® Server 2010 for Internet Sites through three
sections:
·
SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet
Sites Licensing: The Basics
·
How to Choose Licenses: SharePoint
Server, SharePoint Server for Internet Sites
·
Usage Scenarios
Details
SharePoint
Server 2010 for Internet Sites Licensing: The Basics
What
is SharePoint Server for Internet Sites?
|
SharePoint Server for Internet Sites
is software that organizations license to create external Internet and/or
extranet sites for their enterprise content infrastructure.
|
What
scenarios require the SharePoint Server for Internet Sites License?
|
This license can be used for both anonymous Internet sites
and authenticated extranet sites. It can only be used for sites where:
•
No content,
information, or application is accessible exclusively to individuals inside
your organization. In other words, if internal users can access content, then
external users must also be able to access it.
•
Generally,
the users are not internal to your organization (i.e., individuals who are
not employees, affiliates’ employees, on-site contractors, or agents serving
in an employee-like capacity).
|
How
is it licensed?
|
•
SharePoint
Server for Internet Sites is licensed per running instance.
•
No Client
Access Licenses (CALs) are required, even for authors creating content.
When using SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet Sites
for licensing external-facing scenarios, you must have a server license for
all servers that are used to deliver content to external users, regardless of
the farm configuration or whether or not users are directly accessing that
server (staging, application, front-end, or index). Servers in a
development/test environment are exempt from this rule assuming they are
covered by MSDN® developer program licensing. The underlying logic in this is
that all servers supporting a specific solution (internal vs. external and
production vs. development test) must be licensed similarly (i.e., in the
CAL/Server model, the per-server “For Internet Sites” model, or the MSDN
developer program). This is independent of the order in which information
moves through servers.
|
What
are the differences between the SharePoint Server for Internet Sites Standard
and SharePoint Server for Internet Sites Enterprise?
|
·
SharePoint Server for Internet Sites Standard:
o
Helps small and midsize organizations create public Internet
sites or basic extranets.
o
Provides
licensing for the same features as the Standard CAL for SharePoint Server.
o
Designed only to be used for creating and hosting a
single site resolved from a single domain name (for example, contoso.com) and
its subdomains (for example, support.contoso.com). (A “site” is a collection of interconnected web pages and
related web content that share a common home page.)
o
When combined with active Microsoft Software Assurance,
it is eligible to be stepped up to SharePoint Server for Internet Sites
Enterprise for an additional fee.
·
SharePoint Server for Internet Sites Enterprise:
o
Designed for enterprises to create externally-facing
public Internet sites and secure private extranets using the full
capabilities of SharePoint Server.
o
Provides licensing for all SharePoint Server features (the
same as SharePoint Server Enterprise CAL).
Offers the rights to host an unlimited number
of sites and/or domains.
|
What
do you mean by “single site on a single domain” when referring to the
restrictions of the SharePoint for Internet Sites Standard license?
|
SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet Sites Standard can only
be used to support a single site and its related subdomains on a single
domain.
·
Single site: A single site is
defined as having a single default page, such as a home page.
·
Single domain: A “domain” is a
combination of a top-level domain (.com, .net, .org, .co.uk, etc.) with a
second-level domain. Examples of different domains include: firm.com, firm.co.uk, and firm.net.
Subdomains, defined as any URL prefixes noted to the left of the second-level
domains, must point to a single default page to be considered part of the
same domain. For example, service.firm.com
and investors.firm.com are
considered to be from the same domain if and only if they direct to the same
default page.
Server-side
redirect (or server-side URL remapping) to bypass the default page by end users is not allowed under the licensing
terms for SharePoint Server for Internet Sites Standard..
SharePoint Server for Internet Sites Standard cannot be
used when these conditions are not met. For example, you must use SharePoint
for Internet Sites Enterprise if multiple domains are pointing to the same
site. Any entries in a zone file that point to the same landing page (A
records, CNAMEs, or similar) count against the two variation limits.
Because the licensing of SharePoint Server for Internet
Sites is per running instance, you can run more than one site/domain using
the Standard edition only if separate running instances are used for each
site/domain and a unique license of SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet Sites
Standard is allocated for each running instance.
|
What
if a single server is supporting both internal and external sites?
|
If a single running instance of the software is used both
for sites providing internalfacing content, and for sites providing external-facing
content, you can assign two different server licenses to the same running
instance. Keep in mind that SharePoint Server (licensing the internal-facing
sites) also requires that you purchase the corresponding CALs.
If SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet Sites Standard is
licensed on the same running instance as SharePoint Server 2010 for
internal-facing sites in the Enterprise, we recommend Software Asset
Management (SAM) to help monitor and ensure license compliance.
Learn
More about SAM.
|
If
I have the Enterprise features activated on my farm, can I use the Standard
edition to connect the farm to external users?
|
In theory, you can use SharePoint Server for Internet
Sites Standard with a farm on which the Enterprise features of SharePoint
Server are activated. However, we recommend Software Asset Management (SAM)
to help monitor and ensure license compliance. Learn More about SAM.
|
How do I get FAST Search Server
for Internet Sites?
|
Microsoft® SharePoint® Server 2010 for Internet Sites,
Enterprise (“FIS-E”) product includes rights to Microsoft® FAST™ Search Server
2010 for SharePoint® (“FS4SP”) for use outside the firewall. Certain
restrictions apply to Service Providers, so check with your FAST Partner
Account Manager for clarifications or details.
This FIS-E model differs from a deployment of Microsoft®
SharePoint® Server 2010 with FS4SP, which requires you to have the SharePoint
Enterprise CAL (which is additive to the Standard CAL) and to purchase
separate server licenses for each deployed instance of FS4SP.
|
How
can I obtain more information about specific scenarios such as multiplexing,
virtualization, etc.
|
For more information on specific scenarios, please refer to
the Microsoft Volume Licensing brief at the Microsoft’s
Volume Licensing site - http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/volume-licensing-briefs.aspx
|
How to
Choose Licenses: SharePoint Server, SharePoint Server for Internet Sites
SharePoint products allow users to create a
centralized portal to store documents, and facilitate collaboration and web
publishing. There are two licensing
models for SharePoint servers, and the distinction between them is driven by who
has access to the content, information, and applications provided by the
servers. SharePoint Server 2010 is
licensed with a Server / CAL model, while SharePoint Server for Internet Sites
is licensed as a Specialty Server (i.e., per instance without CALs).
To understand the distinction between these
two products and their corresponding licensing models, we reference the
following definitions and abbreviations in this document.
Definitions
·
Internal
Users: Employees, affiliates’ employees, on-site contractors or agents
·
External
Users: All other users
·
Internal
Content: Content that is only available to Internal Users or Devices (Intranet
content), also referred to as “internal-facing content”
·
External
Content: Content that is available to Internal and External Users (Internet /
Extranet content), also referred to as “external-facing content”. No external content may be exclusive to
internal users.
·
Intranet:
A private computer network accessible only by Internal Users
·
Extranet:
An Intranet extended to provide trusted External Users with limited access
·
Internet:
A public computer network accessible by all Internal and External Users
Abbreviations
·
SPS:
SharePoint Server 2010
·
SPSFIS-Std:
SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet Sites Standard*
·
SPSFIS-Ent:
SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet Sites Enterprise*
* For
brevity, SPSFIS is used to reference either SPSFIS-Std or SPSFIS-Ent
·
CAL:
Client Access License
·
RI:
Running Instance
·
EC:
External Connector
SharePoint Server 2010 is required for
Intranet and Extranet networks used to support Internal Content. If the content being stored and accessed is
only available to Internal Users, it must be hosted on a Server licensed with
SharePoint Server 2010. Furthermore,
that content is only accessible by Users or Devices with a Client Access
License for SharePoint Server 2010.
SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet Sites is
available for servers used to provide External Content—typically over the
internet. If the content being stored
and accessed is available to External Users, it can be hosted on a Server
licensed with SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet Sites. Furthermore, users accessing that content
will not require a Client Access License.
Additionally, please note the following
points regarding SPS and SPSFIS
·
SPSFIS is restricted
to External Content, but not External Users.
For example, an Internal User (e.g., employee) would not require a CAL
to access External Content on an instance of SPSFIS.
·
SPS can still be used
to support External Content, although each user or device requires a CAL,
whether they are Internal or External.
·
The choice between
SPS and SPSFIS for External Content is a financial one, unless the External
Users have anonymous access—in which case, SPSFIS is the only feasible option.
The following
decision tree will help you determine which type of SharePoint Server product
and license model is appropriate, based on your usage scenario.
What is the
difference between SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet Sites and a traditional
External Connector?
There
are two important differences between SPSFIS and an External Connector. The first difference is based on the types of
users, while the second is based on the software installed.
Types of Users
External
Connectors are licensed per server, and allow External Users to access and use a
server licensed for the underlying Server / CAL product. For example, if a server is licensed for
Exchange Server 2010, an External Connector can be acquired to allow External
Users to maintain a mailbox on that server to be used for the business’s
benefit. In other words, it allows
External Users to access and use the licensed server without a CAL. This is important for scenarios where it is
not technically or financially feasible to purchase CALs for all External
Users.
In
contrast, SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet Sites is licensed per instance,
without any CAL requirements. Server
instances licensed with SPSFIS may only provide External Content; however, that
content can be accessed by both Internal and External Users. This is ideal if you have external content on
an internet or extranet site that is accessed by both Internal and External
Users—a scenario that can only be supported by traditional External Connectors
in conjunction with CALs.
Installed Software
External
Connectors are licenses that allow External Users to access the underlying
server in lieu of a CAL. As such, an EC
is purchased in addition to the underlying server license, where the underlying
server license includes the actual server software to be installed. Put differently, there is no software
associated with an EC, and it requires the underlying server license and software.
In
contrast, SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet Sites is licensed per server
instance, and includes the rights to install an instance of SharePoint Server
2010—provided that instance is used only for External Content. Furthermore, users do not require CALs to
access that content. Put differently,
SPSFIS is a self-contained product because it provides the right to install and
access the server software. This is
particularly useful for internet applications: users with dedicated servers for
External Content are only required to purchase one SharePoint license.
Usage
Scenarios
The remainder of this document illustrates
several common deployment scenarios to further explain the licensing
requirements of SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet Sites. Although covered for
user-based CALs, these scenarios can also be used for device-based CALs.
Color coding
used in diagrams:
Scenario A: Intranet
Description: Internal Users access
information through LAN or the Internet. No other users (internal or external)
have access to information or applications.
Example: A professional sports
team sets up an intranet site accessed by managers, the coach, and players. It
is also used for support staff such as the physiotherapist who is an on-site contractor
rather than an employee. But the therapist still qualifies as an internal user.
A news reporter trying to access the SharePoint site is denied access.
Licensing:
·
Server à 1 SPS/RI
·
Internal User Ã
1 CAL/User
Figure 1 - Scenario:
Intranet
Key Takeaway:
·
Licensing requirements for Server and
CAL remain the same for Internal Users based on the location of access (through
LAN or the Internet).
Scenario B: Intranet Plus
Extranet
Description: An organization with
information accessible only by Internal Users (i.e., Internal Content) chooses
to extend access to a limited number of identifiable External Users. In this
case, the identifiable External Users have access to all information, previously
accessible byInternal Users only. The
organization may choose to license those External Users either via SPS/CAL or
SPSFIS for authenticated External Users. This decision is typically made based
on cost.
Example: The Elm University publishes research papers,
which are made available to specific educators from other universities (External
Users). This situation is assumed to be an intranet plus extranet scenario, even
though the Elm University does not have a public-facing website.
Licensing:
·
Server à 1 SPS/RI
·
Internal User Ã
1 CAL/User
·
External User Ã
1 CAL/User
-or-
·
Server à 1 SPS/RI
(for internal use), 1 SPSFIS/RI* (for external use)
·
Internal User Ã
1 CAL/User
·
External User: No additional licenses
required.
SPS/CAL Only
Figure 2A – Scenario:
Intranet Plus Extranet without SPSFIS
SPS/CAL Plus SPSFIS
Figure 2B – Scenario:
Intranet Plus Extranet with FIS
Key Takeaways:
•
You
can choose between SPS/CAL or SPSFIS based on what is more economical to them
given the number of external users.
•
The
licensing requirement for Internal User varies depending on the server license
chosen and use (publishing or internal use of information/applications).
•
The
university chooses to make External Content available to selective External Users.
With SPSFIS licensing, no restriction is made on how many external users access
that information.
Scenario C: Internet
Description: Internal Users are
publishing information for External Users. It is not possible to identify some
or all of External Users, so you must license External Users via SPSFIS. Because
Internal Users access the same information as External Users, all users can be
licensed via SPSFIS, and no additional CALs are required.
In another example, a team of Internal Users is
customizing the look and feel of the website and testing it before the changes
go live in production; CALs are not required if the Internal Users have MSDN licenses.
Example: News website,
knowledge forums, and social networking sites
Licensing:
·
Server à 1 SPSFIS/RI
·
Internal UserÃ
Need no CAL
·
External User Ã
Need No CAL
·
Test/Dev: If users are covered via
MSDN, no additional server licenses/CALs are required.
Figure 3 – Scenario:
Internet
Key Takeaways:
•
SPSFIS/RI
is the only license required if Internal Users are accessing the same sites as External
Users.
•
Each
staging server that is posting content requires its own SPSFIS/RI (same
licensing requirement as production server). This requirement excludes test
staging servers because testing technical changes are covered under MSDN.
Scenario D: Intranet Plus
Internet
Description:
You make some content available only to Internal Users, while other Content is
made available to anonymous External Users.
You
need one SPS/RI for the Internal Content, one CAL/user for all Internal Users
accessing that Internal Content, and one SPSFIS/RI for the External Content
accessed by anonymous External Users. SPSFIS negates the need for CALs for Internal
Users only publishing information and all External Users.
Example: Woodgrove Bank offers
loan information and the option to submit a loan application on its public-facing
site, on which only internal users are allowed to view/work.
Licensing
·
Server à 1 SPS/RI
for servers for internal information, 1 SPSFIS/RI* for servers for external
information
·
Internal User (if only publishing) Ã
needs no CAL
·
Internal User (otherwise) Ã
1 CAL/User
·
External User Ã
needs no CAL
Figure 4 – Scenario:
Intranet Plus Internet
Key Takeaways:
•
If
Internal Users are only publishing information and SPSFIS/RI is being used for
the servers, CALs are not required for them.
•
If the contents/information/applications
accessed by Internal Users are different from those accessed by External Users,
SPS/CAL licenses are required for Internal Users.
Scenario E: Intranet Plus
Internet Plus Extranet
Description: In this scenario, one subset of information is available only to
Internal Users, another subset of information is available to both Internal
Users and authenticated External Users, and a third subset of information is available to anonymous External
Users.
Example: Contoso Pharmaceutials maintains
a public website accessible by all, offers collaboration with authenticated External
Users on specific research and development projects, and hosts company’s internal
intranet for its internal users.
Licensing:
·
Server à 1 SPS/RI for
servers for internal information, 1 SPSFIS/RI for servers for external
information*
·
Internal User (publishing) Ã
needs no CAL
·
Internal User (otherwise) Ã 1 CAL/User, External
User à needs no CAL
·
External User à needs
no CAL
*In the case of dedicated server for extranet, users
would have a choice of SPSFIS to cover all authenticated External Users or
extending CALs to them, as discussed in scenario 2.
Figure 5 – Scenario: Intranet Plus Internet Plus Extranet
Key Takeaways:
·
This
scenario shows that the Internet plus intranet plus extranet scenario is no
different than the sum of the individual scenarios.
·
An
organization can choose to make external information available to selective
external users. However, with SPSFIS licensing, no licensing restriction is
made on how many external users can access external information.
