Microsoft Windows Server 2025 1 Device CAL Perpetual License
PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Device CAL (DG7GMGF0PWHT:0005) - Local Support
Windows Server 2025 Device CAL — the Right to Access, Not to Run
A Client Access Licence is what makes it legal for a device to use a Windows Server. Microsoft is explicit about what it is not: “A CAL is not a software product; rather, it is a license that gives a user the right to access the services of the server.” There is nothing to install and no media.
Client Access Licences are required in addition to the server licence, not instead of it. Microsoft: “A CAL is not a software product; rather, it is a license that gives a user the right to access the services of the server”, and “Windows Server Standard and Datacenter editions continue to require Windows Server CALs for every user or device accessing a server”. Budget for the server licence and the CALs together.
Device CAL or User CAL — Which You Need
Microsoft’s rule: “A user CAL allows access to corresponding version of the server software or earlier versions of the server software from any device by one user. A device CAL allows access to corresponding versions of the server software or earlier versions of the server software from one device by any user.” Microsoft’s own steer is that “Customers with more devices than users can license users rather than devices” — and the converse: a shift-work floor where many people share a few terminals is usually cheaper on device CALs.
This SKU is the Device CAL: one licensed device may be used by any number of people — a shared terminal, a shop-floor PC or a shift workstation counts once.
The Version Rule That Catches People Out
CAL version must match or exceed the server version. Microsoft’s OEM use terms state “You must acquire and assign the corresponding version of the appropriate CAL to each device or user that directly or indirectly accesses your instances of the server software”. A Windows Server 2025 server therefore needs Windows Server 2025 CALs; older CALs do not license it. The reverse works — Microsoft states 2025 CALs “permit access to Windows Server 2025 server software and prior versions”. Note the words “or indirectly”: putting middleware in front of the server does not remove the CAL requirement.
What This CAL Does Not Cover
A base CAL covers ordinary access to Windows Server. It does not cover a Remote Desktop Services session — that needs an RDS CAL as well, not instead. It does not cover Active Directory Rights Management Services, which needs its own additive CAL. And it is not a licence to run the server: the server itself is licensed separately, per core.
Microsoft publishes a small number of exceptions: CALs are not required for access by another licensed server, nor to access server software running a Web Workload or an HPC Workload. Supplied by SourceIT in Singapore with a GST invoice and local support. For a written quotation, current stock position or delivery lead time, contact our team.
Licensing note. This is a licence, not hardware, so it carries no hardware warranty — SourceIT provides local support and a GST invoice. A CAL does not license the server itself; the right to run Windows Server is bought separately, per core. A CAL does not cover Remote Desktop Services — an RDS CAL is required in addition, not instead. And the CAL version must match or exceed the server version: a Windows Server 2025 server needs Windows Server 2025 CALs.
Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Device CAL Datasheet — Licensing and Specifications
Licence
| Product Name | Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Device CAL |
| Part Number (SourceIT) | DG7GMGF0PWHT:0005 |
| Licence Type | Perpetual Client Access Licence |
| User CAL or Device CAL? | Per device |
| What It Grants | One licensed device may access Windows Server 2025 by any number of users |
| Server Licence Included | No. The right to run Windows Server is licensed separately, per core |
| Version Compatibility | Licenses access to Windows Server 2025 and to prior versions. Older CALs do not license a 2025 server |
| RDS Sessions | Not covered. A Remote Desktop Services CAL is required in addition |
| Media | None — a CAL is a licence, not software |
| Transferable | Subject to the terms of the licensing programme it was bought under |
| Local Support (Singapore) | Supplied by SourceIT with local support and a GST invoice |
Where CALs Are Not Required
| Server-to-server access | Microsoft states CALs are not required for access by another licensed server |
| Web workloads | Not required to access server software running a Web Workload |
| HPC workloads | Not required to access server software running an HPC Workload |
What Microsoft Does Not Publish for This Product
The following are commonly asked about but are not stated on any current official Microsoft source for this product, so SourceIT does not quote them: a Singapore price and a Microsoft-published CAL price list. We would rather leave a field blank than print a figure we cannot substantiate.
Lifecycle, End of Support and Entitlement
Windows Server 2025 is a Long-Term Servicing Channel release under the Fixed Lifecycle Policy. Microsoft publishes mainstream support ending in November 2029 and extended support ending in November 2034, with its lifecycle database and its release-health page rendering each date one day apart. Both renderings appear in the table below.
This is a perpetual licence: a one-time purchase with no renewal. Note that “perpetual” describes the licence, not the support — Microsoft publishes a dated end of support for Windows Server 2025 (see the lifecycle section), and we do not use the word “lifetime” anywhere on this page.
Microsoft counts indirect access too. Its terms cover users and devices that “directly or indirectly” access the server software. Putting a web front end, a pooling layer or middleware between users and the server does not remove the CAL requirement — this is sometimes called multiplexing, and it is a common audit finding.
Published Lifecycle Dates
| Servicing model | Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC), under the Fixed Lifecycle Policy |
| Release date | 1 November 2024 per the lifecycle database and the release-health page. Microsoft’s update history separately shows the first build, KB5046617 (OS build 26100.2314), shipping 12 November 2024 |
| Mainstream support ends | 14 November 2029 per the lifecycle database; 13 November 2029 per the release-health page |
| Extended support ends | 15 November 2034 per the lifecycle database; 14 November 2034 per the release-health page |
| Why two dates | The same instant rendered in different timezones. Microsoft’s lifecycle page labels its dates Pacific Time yet renders them at 06:59:59, which is midnight PT of the previous day expressed in UTC. Both renderings are published here rather than one being chosen |
Support and Entitlement Position
A software licence carries no hardware warranty. SourceIT supplies this licence with local Singapore support and a GST invoice, and will confirm the licensing position in writing before you order — which on server licensing is worth doing, because the cost of getting it wrong surfaces at audit rather than at purchase. No warranty term is quoted or implied.
Compatibility, Deployment and System Requirements
An RDS CAL is required in addition to the base Windows Server CAL, not instead of it. This is the single most common and most expensive licensing mistake in the Windows Server range. Microsoft’s wording is “a Windows Server CAL and an incremental Remote Desktop Services (RDS) CAL is required for each user or device using Windows Server Remote Desktop Services”, and structurally: “Base CALs are the minimum requirement for accessing any of the applicable server product’s functionality” while “Access to advanced functionality associated with an Additive CAL requires the appropriate Additive CAL in addition to the Base CAL”.
Microsoft publishes a small number of exceptions: CALs are not required for access by another licensed server, nor to access server software running a Web Workload or an HPC Workload.
Official Microsoft Sources & Downloads
- Client Access Licenses and Management Licenses — microsoft.com/licensing
- Base and Additive CALs — microsoft.com/licensing
- Windows Server 2025 licensing guidance — microsoft.com/licensing
- Microsoft product terms glossary — microsoft.com/licensing
- Windows Server 2025 lifecycle — Microsoft Learn
Every licensing rule quoted on this page comes from the Microsoft sources above. Supplied by SourceIT in Singapore with a GST invoice and local support. For a written quotation, current stock position or delivery lead time, contact our team.
Frequently Asked Questions — Microsoft Windows Server 2025 Device CAL
Does this let me run Windows Server?
No. A CAL grants access to a server, not the right to run one. The server itself is licensed separately, per core, and we list those SKUs too.
Do I need a CAL for every person, or every machine?
That is the choice between User and Device CALs. A User CAL covers one person across any number of devices; a Device CAL covers one device used by any number of people. Microsoft’s guidance is that customers with more devices than users should license users. A shift-work floor sharing a few terminals is usually cheaper on Device CALs.
Can I use my existing Windows Server 2019 or 2022 CALs?
Not against a 2025 server. Microsoft requires the corresponding version of the CAL. 2025 CALs do work against earlier servers, so they are the safe direction to buy in.
Does this cover Remote Desktop?
No, and this is the most expensive mistake in the range. A Remote Desktop Services session needs an RDS CAL in addition to this base CAL. We list RDS CALs separately.
Is there anything that does not need a CAL?
Microsoft publishes a few exceptions: access by another licensed server, and access to server software running a Web Workload or an HPC Workload.
Does going through a web portal avoid CALs?
No. Microsoft’s terms cover indirect access explicitly. Multiplexing through middleware is a common audit finding rather than a way round the requirement.
What warranty applies?
None, and none is implied — a CAL is a licence, not hardware. SourceIT provides local Singapore support and a GST invoice.
