SQL Server Licensing – Some Important Information
With all the work around the cloud – be it on-premise, hybrid, public or private clouds, it’s important to understand the impact your environment can have on your software licensing.
First, the easiest perhaps of the mix is a vendor-provided cloud where you’re essentially renting time on a server – and can include SQL Server in that mix. With Azure, this might be WASD, or might be a VM with SQL Server. With Amazon RDS or VMs, you get the same type of thing – the licensing is baked into the overall licensing for the server.
Next though, if you’re working with your own servers, or with hybrid solutions, you may be facing a mixture of licensing environments as well. Take a look at this article for some additional information and pointers, but suffice to say it’s probably a solid idea to take a step back and determine your best route for licensing.
Software Assurance is a big direction for Microsoft, and can certainly simplify things quite a lot – but make sure you understand the costs and benefits so you know what you’ll be receiving, what it covers and how you use it.
Some key considerations you’ll want to have your arms around include:
– Are you building out VMs and do you anticipate moving around those VMs on different systems (as would be the case optimizing your usage of those servers)?
– What licensing mode are you most interested in? (Cores, CALs, etc.)
– Are you going to be using Software Assurance?
– What application requirements do you have (are you required to maintain licenses for applications you may have installed that need it)?
– What are your development needs? Are there SQL Servers that have to be licensed there or are you using developer licenses?
Make sure you talk with a licensing expert – upgrades can impact your licensing requirements in some cases, and you want to be crystal clear on requirements.
How do you approach and keep up with licensing requirements?
Drop me a note or comment here and let me know.