A: Microsoft is notorious for having some of the most complicated licensing practices around. So much so that Microsoft even offers exams and certifications regarding licensing for small businesses or large organizations (https://partner.microsoft.com/40029101). Licensing options can also change, so please refer to the Microsoft Licensing website for the latest information. The two general Microsoft licensing constructs that you will be dealing with are Server Licenses and Client Access Licenses (CALs). CALs can be further broken down into two types: User CALs and Device CALs.
Licensing SharePoint 2010 can be rather complex, so it is important to get a handle on this quickly. To get started, you will need to know the answers to the following questions:
Which edition of SharePoint does my company need?
Who are my end users?
How many servers will actually run SharePoint?
How many people or devices will access SharePoint...