Client Access License - Software Licensing Introduction

Software Licensing Introduction

Most commercial software is licensed to end users or businesses. In a legally binding agreement between the proprietor of the software (the "licensor") and the end user or organization (the "licensee"), the licensor gives permission to the licensee to use the software under certain limitations, which are set forth in the license agreement. Microsoft usually has notices on the packaging of their products which state that removing the notice or using the software constitutes agreement of the license terms.

Microsoft's consumer retail or "off-the-shelf" products generally use very similar licences, allowing the licensee to use the software on one computer, subject to the usual terms and conditions. For businesses however, Microsoft offers several types of licensing schemes for a range of their products, which are designed to be cost effective, flexible, or both.

Server software, such as Windows Server 2003 and SQL Server 2005 require licenses that are more expensive than those which are purchased for desktop software like Windows Vista. In the more recent versions of many of their server products, Microsoft require that all clients that connect to these server applications have a license to connect to and use the services of that software. These special purpose licenses come in the form of a Client Access License.