An Overview of Licensing

In the SharePoint 2007 product line, the “free” version is officially known as WSS 3.0, or Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, which is rebranded in the 2010 product line as SharePoint Foundation 2010. This version (in both the 2007 and 2010 product lines) offers a core set of collaboration and document management tools. Microsoft also provides a more feature-rich version that, in the SharePoint 2007 product line, is titled SharePoint Server 2007; this is now called SharePoint Server 2010 in the current version and, like the 2007 product, comes in Standard and Enterprise editions. The higher-end products contain all the features offered in the entry-level products, plus many additional tools and capabilities, which are reviewed in depth later in this chapter.

One of the first points to clarify is that the “free” version of SharePoint still requires that the organization pay for the server operating system that is in use (Windows Server 200x), the CALs required for users to access the server, and the SQL Server software (unless an Express version is being used) and SQL Server CALs. So, the only component that is free with the current version of SharePoint is SharePoint Foundation 2010, not the supporting software. This is important to remember if the organization wants to use SharePoint Foundation 2010 on the Internet or as an extranet. If SharePoint Foundation 2010 is going to be used to host a public site on the Internet that is open to anonymous access, there could be hundreds, thousands, or even millions of users visiting the site; the organization is responsible for valid Windows Server licenses and, if the full version of SQL Server is being used, for those licenses as well. Prices vary based on the level of agreement the organization has with Microsoft.

If the organization has an extranet based on SharePoint Foundation 2010, and is creating accounts for users not a part of the organization, it is responsible for tracking the number of users and purchasing the appropriate number of user licenses. For example, an engineering firm uses SharePoint Foundation 2010 for a project management extranet, and adds 50 accounts to an Active Directory organizational unit (OU) called Extranet Users. This company is using SQL Server 2008 Enterprise to store the SharePoint data, and Windows Server 2008 as the operating system to house SharePoint Foundation 2010. This company will need to be able to show an auditor that it does in fact have sufficient Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 CALs for these 50 users if an audit occurs.

With regard to the “full” SharePoint product, SharePoint Server 2010, Microsoft does offer SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet sites, Standard and SharePoint Server 2010 for Internet sites, and Enterprise. These licenses are costlier, but cover unlimited access to the licensed servers; as mentioned earlier, the organization also needs to purchase licenses for the server operating system and the version of SQL Server in use, if other than the Express version.

To make matters even more complicated, the SharePoint Server 2010 product can be installed with either the Standard features enabled or the Enterprise features enabled. If the Standard features are enabled, the organization must have a standard CAL for each user, whereas if the Enterprise features are enabled, the organization must have both the Standard CAL and the Enterprise CAL for each user. As with all licensing from Microsoft, check with your software provider to see whether these conditions have changed at time of purchase.