I was thinking of offering Win2K virtual hosting to my customers, but was abit puzzled by Microsoft's licensing plans. From what I know, the Win2K Server Edition comes with 5 Client Licenses. How is that relevant in the context of virtual hosting?

What if I offer colocation services? Can I use this same copy of Win2K Server Edition for up to 5 servers?

How is that relevant in the context of virtual hosting? The 5 licenses that are included are CALs (client access licenses). If you use MS Server to authenticate a user (FTP for example) you must have a CAL for each. One way around this is to use a program like FTP Serv-U which has it's own internal authentication scheme and does not rely on MS Server. Make sense?

Can I use this same copy of Win2K Server Edition for up to 5 servers?No, see above :)

If you use MS Server to authenticate a user (FTP for example) you must have a CAL for each.

Hmm...I have actually seen web hosting providers using MS-FTP to service their virtual hosting customers. Surely there must be a way to get around this? Cos given the slim profit margins, I don't think they can afford to buy CALs for each virtual host customer.

Also, what about MS-SQL licensing? Does the number of CALs affect my virtual host customers?

Hmm...I have actually seen web hosting providers using MS-FTP to service their virtual hosting customers. Surely there must be a way to get around this? Cos given the slim profit margins, I don't think they can afford to buy CALs for each virtual host customer. Nope, they must have 1 CAL for every customer. CALs are not that expensive, for W2K server they are about $20/CAL. If you use MS Authentication, you must have a CAL for each authenticated user.

MS SQL on the other hand is a little different. MS changed the licensing w/2000. With SQL 7, if you were going to connect it to a web site in any way you must purchase the Internet Connector License for it (about $2,000). With 2000, they changed to a "processor" model. If you are going to connect it to the Internet, you must purchase the "processor" version which has unlimited CALs.

Hope that helps!