What Happens When Microsoft Doesn't Issue Licenses
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@scottalanmiller : You know this already, but they definitely do. We have RDS user CALs from 2008 through 2019 in our own VLSC not to mention thousands spread amongst clients.
Funny thing is, these were mostly purchased from Insight (Canada) without issue.
We just provide them a working email address for the client, even if it doesn't have a VLSC tied to it, and we get the microsoft email telling us to activate VLSC and accept this license.With that said, RDP user CALs tend to be "soft licensed" and we've taken over clients way over their purchase count (i.e. 100 active users on RDP, 20 CALs) and the servers never complained. Obviously we got them into compliance.
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@manxam said in What Happens When Microsoft Doesn't Issue Licenses:
You know this already, but they definitely do. We have RDS user CALs from 2008 through 2019 in our own VLSC not to mention thousands spread amongst clients.
Yeah, we've always had them there in the past. MS keeps claiming that they don't go there anymore. Which makes no sense at all.
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@manxam said in What Happens When Microsoft Doesn't Issue Licenses:
We just provide them a working email address for the client, even if it doesn't have a VLSC tied to it, and we get the microsoft email telling us to activate VLSC and accept this license.
Yeah, see that was the process that we were told would happen.
Then when it didn't happen, they told us that emails are not sent for this. The licenses just go in VLC.
Then when they don't go in VLC, they claimed that you never get licenses and you have to call the RDS Clearing House to put in the licenses for you.
But then the clearing house has no idea of this process that MS has decreed.
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@manxam said in What Happens When Microsoft Doesn't Issue Licenses:
With that said, RDP user CALs tend to be "soft licensed" and we've taken over clients way over their purchase count (i.e. 100 active users on RDP, 20 CALs) and the servers never complained. Obviously we got them into compliance.
Yeah, the issue is when you have zero. If we were just "adding more" it would not be so bad.
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Obviously, we know that both Insight and MS are just saying anything to try to not be at fault. It is super obvious that the licenses were never purchased at all and the money was just accepted and that was that.
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@scottalanmiller said in What Happens When Microsoft Doesn't Issue Licenses:
Yeah, the issue is when you have zero. If we were just "adding more" it would not be so bad.
I thought about that after the fact -- that you likely had zero currently.
What a mess...
At least you -- by the looks of it -- were able to reset the 120 day countdown. This can only be done once IIRC so hopefully Insight can get this corrected before then.
I'm really surprised that they just haven't provisioned more for you due to their mistake.
How many did you order? -
@manxam said in What Happens When Microsoft Doesn't Issue Licenses:
This can only be done once IIRC so hopefully Insight can get this corrected before then.
That's what they say, but it isn't true! We had already done it once so thought that we were time bombed. Turns out, with the script we have, it can be done more than once. Woot!
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@manxam said in What Happens When Microsoft Doesn't Issue Licenses:
How many did you order?
Only thirteen, it's a tiny deployment.
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We have a lead on a solution. Will know more early in the morning. We've found a billing error where MS never sent a billing notice to Insight, Insight never billed, and so we knew nothing of a "missed payment". Insight is blaming a rep (and we know who he was and he was truly horrific) that quit and took the accounts down with him passing nothing on. That would fit what we experienced with him at the time, so no reason to question that. So in the morning we are going to look into that and see if that other account issue might unlock this one. What a mess. Six months of looking into this and never once has MS mentioned this to Insight, and our account was clear so we knew nothing of it, we've been paying on the account since that time so really had no way to know that MS didn't see it as current, as Insight thought it was current.
https://media1.tenor.com/images/ccd17b9c51655f059745ea8ab0b205eb/tenor.gif?itemid=6164113
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I can tell you I have never had this many problems with Microsoft (not that I deny it for you) but man what a pain.
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So the reset and query tool that Microsoft provide do not work (they don't claim that they do in 2016, just that they thought that they would.) They report that all is well, and then RDS fails anyway. So there is both the licensing issue, and an issue with a lack of working tooling.
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@scottalanmiller said in What Happens When Microsoft Doesn't Issue Licenses:
So the reset and query tool that Microsoft provide do not work (they don't claim that they do in 2016, just that they thought that they would.) They report that all is well, and then RDS fails anyway. So there is both the licensing issue, and an issue with a lack of working tooling.
Next time do it properly?
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@Obsolesce said in What Happens When Microsoft Doesn't Issue Licenses:
@scottalanmiller said in What Happens When Microsoft Doesn't Issue Licenses:
So the reset and query tool that Microsoft provide do not work (they don't claim that they do in 2016, just that they thought that they would.) They report that all is well, and then RDS fails anyway. So there is both the licensing issue, and an issue with a lack of working tooling.
Next time do it properly?
And not use Microsoft? We did everything we were supposed to do, Microsoft messed it up. Short of not using anything that depends on Windows, what's the solution? Right now Insight and Microsoft are still going back and forth blaming each other.
Unfortunately, not using Windows isn't something we control. But without being able to control that, having a reliable product isn't always something IT determines.
