Is a computer installed with SEPM protected?

Hi all,

This is my first time deploying SEP 14 for my company.

Already in touch with the vendor to acquire licenses for SEP 14 with 3 year essential support.

I have 3 clients that need protection: a file server and two employee computers.

I also intend to run SEPM on the file server itself. All will be dark network clients as they do not regularly connect to the internet.

The only question there lies: does the file server itself, which is provisioned with SEPM require a client to be installed on it before it can receive the same amount of protection as the other clients? In that case, should the number of licenses I provision be 2 or 3?

Looking forward to everyone's responses. Thanks!