SQL Server Licensing - simplified explanation

Licensing is not part of our job as SQL Server Administrators but it’s better to have knowledge with it. We might become accidental CFO’s someday at least we have a glimpse how bloody purchasing Microsoft software’s can be.

Licensing rules simplified by  Brent Ozar: 

1. If you query it, you have to license it.

2. “It” means the Windows environment – all of the processor cores that Windows sees. (Things get a little weirder under virtualization.)

3. Running a backup or a DBCC is considered querying.

4. If you license it, and you pay Software Assurance, you get exactly one free standby server of equivalent size. (Standby means you’re not querying it.)

5. Standard Edition costs about $2k USD per core, but caps out at 16 cores and 128GB RAM (for SQL 2014, or 64GB for 2012).

6. Enterprise Edition costs about $7k USD per core.

7. Software Assurance is an additional annual fee that gives you free upgrades as long as you keep paying for it.

Editions:

Express – Its Free

Web – Hosting only

Developer – Its free

Standard – License is per core and available in 2 core packs. So you always buy 2 core pack. $3717 2 core pack. Since the standard is quad core shell out ($3717*2) = $7434 or P319,000.00  Unlimited client connectivity

Standard + CAL -  Payment of $931 per core  then per user $209 Since the standard is quad core again shell out $931 per 2 core pack. = $1862 or P80,000  User connectivity not unlimited $209 or P8987  per client license.

Enterprise edition gives us Unlimited usage but per core license. $14,256 per 2 core packs.  Since standard is quad core again we’ll buy 2 packs of $14,256 = $28,512 or P1,226,016.