Licensing - CAL necessary to use AD to sync users with O365?

Question

So does anybody have any paper or article that confirms the information that Windows Server CALs are not necessary when using Azure Active Directory to sync users with Office 365?

Thanks in advance,

Haniel G.

rhelm2024 · Answer

&nbsp;*As an exception, users do not need Windows Server CALs when accessing the server software solely to sync between an Active Directory infrastructure running on Customer’s Licensed Servers and Azure Active Directory&nbsp;Microsoft Volume Licensing Product Terms (Worldwide English, July 2018) p. 46In the Windows Server section under "3.1 Server Software Access"http://www.microsoftvolumelicensing.com/Downloader.aspx?documenttype=PT&amp;lang=English

vasilmichev · Answer

Um, what gave you the idea that the opposite can be true? CALs are needed when you are accessing a service, in the case of DirSync the user does nothing like this. And to access any O365 related service, they need the corresponding O365 license, not CALs.

haniel gomes · Answer

Maybe I didn't express myself correctly, but I'm referring to the synchronization of&nbsp;local users (which use Windows Server on their on-premises datacenter) to O365, which is in the cloud. Since Windows Server is involved, Windows Server CALs could be a requirement.

max fritz · Answer

Azure AD Connect does not inherently require any licensing; it is a free tool from Microsoft that synchronizes objects. As Vasil pointed out though, to use the Office 365 services, users will need subscription licenses. For your local AD objects/environment/server, you of course need to license that properly, which would involve CALs. I'd recommend speaking with your Microsoft Rep or a Licensing Vendor if you're unsure of your CAL requirements on premises.

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Licensing - CAL necessary to use AD to sync users with O365?

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