Licensing Guidelines

You must purchase both server and client licenses to use Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server. The number of licenses you need depends on the number of computers on which you intend to install and the number of users you intend to allow to access Team Foundation Server.

This topic provides an overview of licensing for Team Foundation Server. For detailed information, see the Team System Licensing White Paper (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=55164).

How many server licenses do I need?

You need a server license for each computer on which you install Team Foundation Server components.

Deployment type Number of Server Licenses Required

Single-server

One only

Dual-server

Two: one for the database-tier computer and one for the application-tier computer.

How many client licenses do I need?

You need a license for each user or device that accesses Team Foundation Server. Different types of client licenses are available. Team Foundation Server client products, such as Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team System, already include a Client Access License (CAL) and therefore do not require additional licenses to access Team Foundation Server. Licenses must be purchased for users who do not access Team Foundation Server using a client product. For detailed information, see the Team System Licensing White Paper (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=55164).

How is licensing different for Team Foundation Server Workgroup Edition?

Use of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team Foundation Server Workgroup Edition is limited to five users. CALs are not required to use this edition. Team Foundation Server Workgroup Edition is provided with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team System client products through MSDN Premium subscriptions. These client products include:

  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team Suite

  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Software Architects

  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Software Developers

  • Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Software Testers

See Also

Other Resources

Capacity Planning for Team Foundation Deployment