We currently have 10 PCs in the office with Office 2010 Home and Business license.

We are planning to get a RDS server and users will need to use Office on their PC and on the RDS server.

For each user, do I need 1 x Office 2010 volume license or do I need to get 2 x Office 2010 volume license as the user will need to use Office on their PC and on the RDS server?

Will the Office 2010 Home and Business licenses be wasted once I purchase new Office 2010 volume licenses?

Thanks

Hi,

Not sure what exactly you mean by "use Office on their PC and on the RDS server". As far as I know, the number of licenses required will be determined by the computers accessing Office, server installation does not require a license.

For example, you will need 10 Office licenses for an organization with 10 company owned computers accessing 10 RDS sessions.

More reference about licensing Office on Remote Desktop Services: http://blogs.technet.com/b/uspartner_ts2team/archive/2010/08/16/licensing-office-on-remote-desktop-services.aspx

Regarding your second question, a retail license (Office 2010 Home and Business) cannot be used for a RDS session, and we cannot convert the existing retail license to volume license.

For more information about RDS licensing, I would suggest you consult with an authorized reseller in your area.

Regards,

Ethan Hua
TechNet Community Support

"For example, you will need 10 Office licenses for an organization with 10 company owned computers accessing 10 RDS sessions."

So if a user uses Office on a company owned PC and on a RDS server, do I just require 1 Office license and not 2?

Thanks

"For example, you will need 10 Office licenses for an organization with 10 company owned computers accessing 10 RDS sessions."

So if a user uses Office on a company owned PC and on a RDS server, do I just require 1 Office license and not 2?

Yes, for the "classic" licensing mode (i.e. per-device) for VL Office editions, the "access device" needs an Office license entitlement, and no license assignment is needed for that same device to use Office via RDS.

The existing licenses for Office H&B become idle/spare, since H&B "is a Retail edition and is not permitted for network use"

http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/briefs/winserv2012-rds.aspx

A similar principle applies for Office365ProPlus licensing (except Office365ProPlus is licensed on a per-user basis)