Baffled by which SQL edition/licenses to buy?
Our business has a single live server running SQL that powers three database-driven web sites (1 x 200mb mdb file, plus 2 x 15mb mdb files). These currently run SQL2005 Workgroup, and we have SQL 2008 Developer Edition on a single development machine which is provided via the Microsoft Partner agreement.
We need a new server, so as part of this process we will upgrade SQL to either 2008 or 2012. I'm guessing it makes more sense to jump to 2012 to prolong how soon we need to upgrade next time...?
First off, am I right in thinking that I only need Standard Edition if we don't do any BI work? We just access SQL using SSMS and use T-SQL/SP's to perform CRUD work/backups. The MS site says Standard is for non-critical databases. For me it is critical(!) but I assume it means when no failover clustering is being used, which we currently don't do?
So if Standard is the right edition, do I need 1 x Server license + 1 x CAL (for the developer to log in via SSMS), or does our Developer Edition negate the need for the CAL?
Next up, how the heck do I actually buy it? I've asked three so-called software resellers (found on MS PinPoint) to clarify the above and haven't even had a reply...!
I used Microsoft License Advisor with these options:
The resulting price comes to £757.97 ($1,199.10 USD) assuming I don't need Software Assurance and haven't specified a pricing band (whatever they are...).
Is anyone aware of a UK-based reseller who can provide SQL at anywhere near this price (if the price is indeed correct for my needs?). If this price to purchase SQL is correct, how come UK hosting companies like Rackspace and Memset charge £195 per month for a SQL standard license?
We need a new server, so as part of this process we will upgrade SQL to either 2008 or 2012. I'm guessing it makes more sense to jump to 2012 to prolong how soon we need to upgrade next time...?
First off, am I right in thinking that I only need Standard Edition if we don't do any BI work? We just access SQL using SSMS and use T-SQL/SP's to perform CRUD work/backups. The MS site says Standard is for non-critical databases. For me it is critical(!) but I assume it means when no failover clustering is being used, which we currently don't do?
So if Standard is the right edition, do I need 1 x Server license + 1 x CAL (for the developer to log in via SSMS), or does our Developer Edition negate the need for the CAL?
Next up, how the heck do I actually buy it? I've asked three so-called software resellers (found on MS PinPoint) to clarify the above and haven't even had a reply...!
I used Microsoft License Advisor with these options:
The resulting price comes to £757.97 ($1,199.10 USD) assuming I don't need Software Assurance and haven't specified a pricing band (whatever they are...). Is anyone aware of a UK-based reseller who can provide SQL at anywhere near this price (if the price is indeed correct for my needs?). If this price to purchase SQL is correct, how come UK hosting companies like Rackspace and Memset charge £195 per month for a SQL standard license?
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ASKER
Fantastic answers above - that's really cleared up the confusion. Microsoft should just replace their licensing details and just link to this page instead...!
Thanks very much,
Thanks very much,
ASKER
Fantastic clarity - thanks very much. I've learned more from you guys than from all of the Microsoft 'guides' put together... :-)
ASKER
If my app is web facing, then only ASP.NET is interacting with it, and that could be one person every hour, or 200 people. I've no way of knowing, and have 9000 users in my web application. Nobody except the developer will ever access SQL from the back-end, so I assume we need a core/processor licence. The only pricing examples in the MS docs assume you are a team of developers working on a central server. There is no mention of web-facing database apps anywhere.
There is a developer edition of 2012, I got it from MS a while back. The hard bit for me is that our old server that's being replaced is a dual-core unit, and the new one is likely to be quad-core. So I think according to the license docs I need 8 core licenses for that.... It's so confusing!
I've still not had any reply from any UK reseller! You would think there is no global recession...!