A Justification for Server CALs?

bourne.again asks: "I'm a bit confused about server client access licenses (CALs). I've looked at it from every angle I can think of, but I'm still stumped. I can't think of any justification for CALs other than greed. If you think about it, requiring CALs means that it is possible to buy a copy of a Windows server OS that can run on a server, but can't actually server anything because it has no CALs. That's a bit ridiculous. The same goes for per-cpu licenses. Shouldn't it just be per machine? An extra CPU doesn't allow you the full capabilities of a second machine. It's still just one server/workstation. Can somebody enlighten me on this, please? Why should we pay for server software, and pay per client too?"

Thoughts on per-CPU licensing...

[TeknoHog]

In many cases, a machine with a single more powerful CPU can replace a multiproc machine. Also in many cases, a single more powerful machine can replace many less powerful machines. Moreover, regarding a dual-core CPU as one when it comes to licensing is strange, since it's more or less two CPUs stuck on a single piece of silicon.

A more sensible licensing scheme might take into account actual computing power, networking capacity, etc. Of course, the pricing of replicatable goods is completely arbitrary. It has nothing to do with economics that deals with the distribution of scarce resources.