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Keep Up With MS Packaging
One of the things about we can count on in Microsoft Packaging and Licensing is that it will change. I was recently shocked to find out that some of the SQL Server 2008 R2 licensing works out well in my favor.
I’m not going to be quoted here as representing Microsoft. So, when the software police come, don’t pull this up. Call your Microsoft representative to get their interpretation of their licenses.
Here is one surprise to me…SQL Server 2008 R2 Developers edition is the same as the Enterprise edition. The only limitation is that it is licensed for a single developer, and will be constrained to the capabilities of the operating system on which it operates. Don’t go thinking you can legaly put this in a production environment. My point is that it is no longer scaled back regarding capability. The last release I reviewed closely (2005) only allowed two CPUs and restricted memory, etc.
The point is, don’t count on the capabilities of a particular version of SQL Server to be the same from one release to the next. Be sure to compare and purchase the version that provides the best fit for the environment where you are deploying it.
For one of my customers I found the purchase of 10 SQL Server Developer Licenses for their QA server provided the reduced cost and more capabilities than purchasing a 2 CPU license of SQL Standard. My Microsoft representative confirmed this to be a valid use of the licenses for the QA scenario.
One neat thing about using the Developer Edition of SQL Server; if you ever find you need to upgrade a machine configured with a developer license ,you can do so without re-installing SQL Server. You can simply upgrade the license(s) for that machine and use it legitimately as a production machine.
I’d be interested to hear how you configure the servers for your business. What versions of SQL Server to you deploy (web, small business, standard, enterprise, embedded, Data Center), and for what purpose. Send your comments to me at btaylor@sswug.org.
Cheers,
Ben