SQL Server 2012: Edition and Licensing Implications Overview

Overview

SQL Server 2012 is around the corner and with it some substantial changes, changes that come in the form of an additional edition, features and licensing.  Many things have already been said about the licensing changes and their impact on pricing.  But they have been things said in the form of an opinion, opinions that have mentioned how detrimental the new model is to AMD, and how beneficial it is to Intel, and so on. But, after all they are opinions, that does not discredit them but it is more driven on feeling.

Let’s look at the facts:  SQL Server 2012 will be released in 3 main editions:

• Standard
• Business Intelligence
• Enterprise

This by no means defines those are the only offerings. The Developer, Express and Compact Editions are still available.  Another change here is around Web Edition, this will be available through Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA).  There are three editions being retired, Workgroup, Small Business, and Datacenter Edition (all capabilities are rolled into the Enterprise Edition).

The licensing is tied to the edition you are purchasing, and it also identifies the other changes that are coming along as part of that offering.

The first thing to note on the chart above is under Licensing Options, we have Server + Client Access License (CAL) and the other is Core Based.  In that, you notice the change from Processor to Core Based, and the question perhaps is what does this mean?

Here is a Summary of what the Licensing Options could mean for you.

Server + CAL

Based on the information provided by Microsoft and by the chart above, both the Standard and Business Intelligence editions are available under this licensing model. This model gives you the ability to use it when the number of users is known.  As identified by products that have used this model before, and SQL Server is in that list, each user needs to have a SQL Server CAL in the same version or newer to the version of SQL Server being accessed.   There is also a projected increase on the price of the SQL Server 2012 CAL of about 27%.  The SQL Server 2012 CAL can be used to access any SQL Server database licensed per server, it does not matter which platform or edition it is.

Core Based

This is an interesting take on modifying the per-Processor licensing of the past versions.  This is available for the Standard and Enterprise editions of SQL Server 2012. This licensing model is ideal when the user count is unknown, for example Internet facing workloads. The change here is instead of licensing the processor, you license the core.  There is a process to understand here, that is the minimum number of cores to license is 4, therefore if the processor has 1 core, you still license 4.  Core licenses are stated to be at a cost of a quarter of the cost of a current processor license.

The path to SQL Server 2012

The impending questions are along the lines of, now what?   Or perhaps, I have an existing agreement, what do we do?

The transition to this new licensing model and the implications with Enterprise Edition are to be seriously considered from a point of impact. With that stated, we need to consider existing Enterprise Edition Server + CAL licensing and the transition to Core Based, and also the existing Processor licensing move to Core Based.  Let’s examine the possible paths, and also the facts about each.

Enterprise Edition Server+CAL under EA/EAP

• New licenses under the current model are available through June 30^th, 2012 (That is the end of the Microsoft Fiscal Year).  However, for EA/EAP customers this is available for the next renewal following the June 30^th, 2012 date.  After this, all licensing for Enterprise Edition will be Core Based.

Enterprise Edition Server+CAL under Software Assurance (SA)

• All existing licenses can be upgraded to SQL Server 2012 at no additional cost.
• SA is maintained in the Server+CAL model providing access to future updates.
• This is known as Legacy Enterprise Edition Server, and as such will have specific limitations.
• This model, Legacy, is subject to a 20 core per server license max, this applies to prior and new servers

Processor licenses in Software Assurance (SA)

• All existing licenses can be upgraded to SQL Server 2012 at no additional cost.
• Processor licenses will be exchanged for core based; customers can renew the SA on core based licensing.
• Enterprise and Standard Processor licenses under SA will be exchanged to a minimum of 4 core licenses, or for the actual number of cores being used.
• Datacenter Processor licenses will be exchanged for a minimum of 8 Enterprise Edition core based licenses or for the actual number of cores being used.
• When the agreement reaches the end of the term, customers need to do a self-inventory of systems running SQL Server and document the number of actual cores in each processor being used with a SQL Server processor license that is covered under SA.  This is to assist in getting the correct number of core licenses to support their current environments.
• If the self-inventory is not performed then the number of licenses will be the standard number defined as minimum for the exchange.  4 core licenses for each Standard and Enterprise Processor license and 8 Enterprise Edition core licenses for each Datacenter Edition processor license.

Summary

As you can see there are substantial changes that are coming with the release SQL Server 2012.  It is very important to plan ahead and to also work with us to assist in your existing deployments to conduct SQL Server Assessments that would assist you in having the self-inventory to leverage the transition to the new licensing models, as well as identifying potential optimizations that can be done to your system in preparation for upgrade and appropriate sizing of your architecture.

Sources
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Website
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Licensing Datasheet
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 FAQ