RDP Licensing suddenly popped up with a Windows Server key which worked before

The sequence of the events.

I installed Windows Server Datacentre on Hetzner VPS using Hetzner Windows ISO. It worked straight away.

I activated it using a key from my old MSDN subscription.

Next day I decided to move VPS to an US provider and deactivated/unlinked the key.

I installed Windows Server Datacentre 2012R2 from my old MSDN ISO. I never used it before. Activated it using same key. All is fine

However could not RDP. Found this article: https://www.vultr.com/docs/windows-custom-iso-with-virtio-drivers (scroll down to Getting Windows RDP to Work)

Installed Remote Desktop Session Host server role.

After reboot I got message popup Remote Desktop Licensing mode is not configured. I ran RD license diagnoser and got this:

Evidently my license key is good enough to have RDP (since it worked on Hetzner VPS).

Do I really need to have RD Session Host role? (all Windows I installed before had RDP out of the box)

If yes - how do I fix the licensing error without buying additional licenses?

If no - how do I RDP without having RD Session Host role?

EDIT: the vultr article is misleading. the dude who wrote it probably hit the same issue as me - installed windows server but could not RDP. Instead of simply changing firewall rule he embarked on the whole new level of pain and expense by starting using RD Session Host, AND he wrote an article so other people can share his pain and waste their money (not sure if it was conscious decision).

So if anyone gets the same problem, here is the solution - tick Public checkbox:

Having a valid Windows Server License has nothing to do with Remote Desktop Licensing, this has to be bought separately (In shops: User CAL / Device CALs, depending on your usage model).

A windows server without this role installed works, but only allows two concurrent user sessions active. When a third user tries to connect via RDP to that server, a dialog pops up "please choose a session to disconnect". That is where remote desktop licensing pops in.

If you need this, you need to install a license server somewhere in your network, assign the bought CAL (client access licenses), to the license server, and tell every remote desktop session host where to find the license server.

If you do not need this, simply remove the Remote Desktop Session Host Role from your server. You do not need to install this role in order to be able to open a RDP session to your server.

This is probably a good start to read about remote desktop licensing...

I'm the Technical Editor at Vultr.com. Thank you for pointing out the gap in our documentation, we've updated it with more information.