If I want to set up a smart client application where I have, let's say, 30 clients accessing SQL Server 2005 on our machine (I know I need 30 licenses).

Does that mean, though, getting your ES license packs as well as the User CALs from Microsoft (60 licenses)?  Thus about $150 per license from them and about $25 per license from you?

And I guess the ES license has to be renewed every year but the User CALs don't?

Thanks

So I need 30 ES CALs and 30 SQL Server CALs.

I guess I would also need 30 Windows Server 2003 User CALs in that scenario? 

Just as a background we have this windows desktop application used by different schools that is written in VFP with a VFP backend. Students can access their account information through the web.  Basically it is an asp web application also with VFP back-end.  On a daily basis the schools just upload and download the tables over FTP with SSL to sync the application data with the web.  

We want to create a new version of the Desktop and Web app using Strataframe.  Data synchronization will become an issue. 

So we were thinking: (option 1) create an administrative smart app that accesses their data on our server through ES.  Then the web application can also access that data.  If a school decides that they don't want to go that route (some want to keep their data on their own server, and synchronize it with the data   on our server for the students to access--don't ask why, I don't get it either), we can set them up on SQL Server Express so they can run the program as a standalone app. The web app would run in a disconnected fashion, needing some kind of synchronization mechanism again through ES.

(option 2) Create the the student side and administrative sides strictly as web apps.   Since the administrator would not log on as anonymous, you still get stuck with the licensing issue.  They would still have to run reports and set up account parameters, and we would still need a way to send the data back to the school so they can update their internal systems. So that would require at a minimum some kind of service running on the desktop that syncs data at specific intervals. So definitely still can't get around the licensing thing.

Any thoughts on which licensing scheme might work best in these situations?  We're talking about 120 administrative users from different schools and then 1000's of students accessing the data through the web.

Thanks for any suggestions.