Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Datacenter & 10 RDS User CALs (Bundle)

Windows Server 2025 Datacenter with 10 RDS User CALs: server licence for virtualised environments and Remote Desktop access

This bundle combines a licence for Windows Server 2025 Datacenter with 10 RDS User CALs for Windows Server 2025. The Datacenter edition allows any number of operating system environments on the licensed server and is therefore designed for servers on which numerous virtual machines run. The Remote Desktop Services Client Access Licenses (RDS CALs) entitle 10 users to access desktops and applications via Remote Desktop Services. The package is suitable for organisations that want to virtualise several servers and provide programs centrally to 10 users via Remote Desktop.

Remote Desktop Services in Windows Server 2025

Remote Desktop Services (RDS) is included in Windows Server 2025 as a server role. On a Remote Desktop Session Host, several users share one Windows Server installation, each in their own separate session. This means, for example, that accounting software can be installed once on the server and used from the office, from home or from other locations. Individual programs can also be published as RemoteApp programs; they appear in the user's Start menu and behave like locally installed software. For connections from outside the company network, the Remote Desktop Gateway provides encrypted RDP connections over HTTPS without internal RDP ports having to be opened. The RDS CALs are installed on a Remote Desktop license server, which issues them to the users. The role requires an installation as Server with Desktop Experience.

Licensing: cores, virtualisation and access licences

Windows Server 2025 Datacenter is licensed per processor core. According to Microsoft, all physical cores of the server must be licensed, with a minimum of 8 core licences per processor and a minimum of 16 per server. You select the number of core licences in the product variant when ordering; our Support team will answer questions about the right number of cores. The Datacenter edition entitles you to use it in any number of operating system environments, physical or virtual. On a Hyper-V host, for example, several session hosts, license servers, a gateway and application servers can thus be run as separate virtual machines without having to license the cores again for additional virtual machines. Windows Server 2025 Datacenter also includes Storage Spaces Direct for software-defined storage, support for shielded virtual machines via the Host Guardian Service and the Network Controller for software-defined networking.

Access to Windows Server follows a two-tier model. Every user or device that accesses the server requires a Windows Server CAL (base CAL). According to Microsoft, the RDS CAL is an additional licence that is required alongside the base CAL when Windows Server provides a graphical interface via Remote Desktop Services. Windows Server CALs are not included in this bundle and are required in addition for the 10 users, unless an exception in the Microsoft Product Terms applies.

The 10 RDS User CALs are each assigned to one user in Active Directory. A licensed user may connect from any number of devices, for example from the office PC and from a laptop. What counts is the number of users, not the number of simultaneous sessions: this bundle licenses 10 users, and each additional user requires an additional RDS User CAL. In a workgroup without Active Directory, the license server cannot track user CALs. RDS CALs for Windows Server 2025 entitle access to session hosts running Windows Server 2025, 2022, 2019 and 2016. They are installed on a license server running Windows Server 2025.

Buy Windows Server 2025 Datacenter with 10 RDS User CALs: licence and scope of delivery

You receive a licence for Windows Server 2025 Datacenter and 10 RDS User CALs for Windows Server 2025 for 10 users. The scope of delivery includes:

• the product key for Windows Server 2025 Datacenter
• 10 RDS User CALs for Windows Server 2025, provided as License Server ID (SPK) and License Key Pack ID (LKP)
• the download link for the Windows Server installation file (all downloads are also available under Software Download)
• instructions for installation and activation (see also Guides and FAQ)

Windows Server CALs (base CALs) are not included in the scope of delivery.

Once your payment has been received, the product key for Windows Server is displayed directly on the order confirmation page and also sent to you by email. After that, you can retrieve it again at any time: with a customer account under My Product Codes, without a customer account via the Guest Portal. There you also submit the Product ID of your activated Remote Desktop license server for the RDS User CALs and then receive the License Server ID (SPK) and License Key Pack ID (LKP) for installation in Remote Desktop Licensing Manager. The individual steps are described in the guide Activating RDS CALs and VDI licences.

If you have any questions about installation, activation or licensing, our Support team is available around the clock by email. You will find offers for businesses, schools and public authorities in the B2B Area. The server licence and RDS User CALs are also available separately: Windows Server 2025 Datacenter and Windows Server 2025 RDS User CAL. You will find further packages in the category Bundles & Value Packs and further server licences under Windows Server.

System requirements

Minimum requirements according to Microsoft, applicable to Server Core and Server with Desktop Experience. The RAM and storage requirements depend on the installed roles; Microsoft recommends determining them using the documentation of the server roles and test installations.