Microsoft’s definitions of “Internal Users” and “External Users” – specifically as it applies to the External
Connector License VS a standard Windows Server User CAL – are somewhat vague and overlap.
You can Google and find many descriptions from various sources on what their interpretation of these is
and they paraphrase what they think an external user is, but in most cases there are unanswered
questions and vague pieces.
But instead of trusting random articles from different IT article/blog writers with making sure you are
compliant with Microsoft licensing – I wanted to get Microsoft’s definition for all of this. Here are the
articles I was able to put together where they have various definitions and explain it in several ways –
again not being clear enough and overlapping with “internal users” in some cases.
I put this article together so that anyone else working out how to properly license the External
Connector License VS User CALs can make up their own mind based on the Microsoft definitions below.
Please let me know if you have any other sources from Microsoft further defining the below?
The below first article for internal and external users, it specifically mentions “onsite” contractors and
agents. In today’s world of remote access, where contractors would have worked onsite in the past are
now fulfilling the same function remotely. So the definition seems very incomplete in not explicitly
talking about the remote workforce and instead very explicitly using the word “onsite” – essentially
classifying all contractors and agents that work remotely as “external users”.
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THIS SITE: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/licensing/product-licensing/windows-server
TO THIS DOWNLOADABLE PDF: https://aka.ms/WindowsServerLicensingGuide
“Requirements for internal users – Client Access License (CAL)
“For users that are either the customer’s or its affiliates’ employees, or its or its affiliates’ onsite
contractors or onsite agents:”
“Requirements for external users – Client Access License (CAL) and/or External Connector
license (EC)
“For users that are not either customer’s or its affiliates’ employees, or its or its affiliates’ onsite
contractors or onsite agents:”
“CALs are required for users that are either the customer’s or its affiliates’ employees, or its or its
affiliates’ onsite contractors or onsite agents. CALs or, alternatively, External Connectors are required for
users that are not either the customer’s or its affiliates’ employees, or its or its affiliates’ onsite
contractors or onsite agents.”
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Microsoft Product Terms – Glossary
“External Connector License means a License assigned to a Server that permits access to the
corresponding version of the server software or earlier versions of the server software by External Users.
“External Users means users that are not employees, onsite contractors or onsite agents of Customer or
its Affiliates.”
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Client Access Licenses (CAL) & Management Licenses | Microsoft Volume Licensing
“If you want external users—such as business partners, external contractors, or customers—to be able to
access your network, you have two licensing options:
Acquire CALs for each of your external users.
Acquire External Connector (EC) licenses for each server that will be accessed by your external users.”
“An external user is a person who does not have employee-level access to your company’s network or the
network of your affiliates, and is not someone to whom you provide hosted services. An EC license
assigned to a server permits access by any number of external users, as long as that access is for the
benefit of the licensee and not the external user. Each physical server that external users access requires
only one EC license regardless of the number of software instances running. An "instance" is an installed
copy of software.
“The right to run instances of the server software is licensed separately; the EC, like the CAL, simply
permits access. The decision on whether to acquire CALs or an EC for external users is primarily a
financial one.”
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PDF DOWNLOAD: Microsoft Product Terms Explained.pdf
https://download.microsoft.com/download/E/8/E/E8EDAE36-CBC6-4123-BC5A-
F651D174FD6C/Microsoft_Product_Terms_Explained.pdf
“Quick Facts: External User Access
The server license permits external users’ (such as customers or vendors) access to base functionality.”