CPU Licensing for SQL Server Standard Edition: A Detailed Guide (PS make sure the hardware is fit for purpose)

### Navigating SQL Server Licensing: A Comprehensive Guide

SQL Server licensing can often feel like navigating a maze. With multiple editions and licensing models, understanding your options can save time and money and ensure your database environment is optimized for performance and compliance. Let’s dive into the details.

#### **SQL Server Editions and Licensing Models**

SQL Server offers several editions, each tailored for different workloads and environments. The main editions include:

1. **Enterprise Edition**: For mission-critical applications requiring high performance, security, and availability.

2. **Standard Edition**: Suitable for mid-tier applications and data marts.

3. **Developer Edition**: Free for development and testing purposes.

4. **Express Edition**: Free for lightweight applications.

5. **Web Edition**: Available through the Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA) program.

### **Licensing Models**

Two primary licensing models apply to SQL Server Standard Edition:

#### **1. Per Core Licensing**

- **Definition**: Licenses SQL Server based on the number of physical or virtual cores in your server.

- **Cost**: Approximately **$3,945 for a 2-core pack** as of SQL Server 2022.

- **Usage**: Ideal for environments where counting users or devices is challenging, such as Internet-facing applications.

- **Advantages**: Provides a precise measure of computing power and a consistent licensing metric, regardless of deployment on physical servers, virtual machines, or cloud environments.

#### **2. Server + CAL Licensing**

- **Definition**: Requires a server license for each server running SQL Server, plus a CAL for each user or device accessing the server.

- **Cost**: The server license is around **$989 per server**, with each CAL costing approximately **$230**.

- **Usage**: Suitable for environments with a manageable and predictable user/device count.

- **Advantages**: Offers low-cost access to incremental SQL Server deployments and is easy to manage for smaller environments.

### **Choosing the Right Licensing Model**

- **Per Core**: Best for high-performance, scalable environments with unpredictable user/device counts.

- **Server + CAL**: Best for smaller environments with predictable user/device counts and lower costs for incremental deployments.

### **Additional Considerations**

- **Hardware Compatibility**: Ensure your server hardware is compatible with SQL Server Standard Edition. SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition, for example, is restricted to the lesser of four sockets or 24 cores per instance.

- **Virtualization**: When running SQL Server in a virtualized environment, licensing is based on the virtual cores allocated.

- **Software Assurance**: Purchasing Software Assurance offers benefits like license mobility, version upgrades, and additional support.

### **Licensing Scenarios**

- **High Availability and Disaster Recovery**: Licensing SQL Server for these scenarios requires careful planning to ensure compliance.

- **Application Mobility**: It is crucial to understand application mobility and its specific use cases and deployment models.

- **Non-Production Use**: Different licensing requirements may apply for development and testing environments.

### **Conclusion**

Understanding SQL Server licensing is essential for optimizing costs and ensuring compliance. You can effectively manage your SQL Server environment by choosing the appropriate licensing model and considering additional factors such as hardware compatibility and virtualization. Whether you opt for Per Core or Server + CAL, evaluate your specific needs and workloads to make the best decision.

For more detailed information, consult the official SQL Server licensing guide or speak with your licensing provider or Microsoft account manager.

SQL licence is expensive, and you need to ensure the hardware that the server runs on is suitable

This is my dream DEV/LAB environment. Note this is a laptop, not a Production Server.

Your server, whether physical, virtual or in the Cloud, should have more CPU, RAM and SSD than a laptop, or your database will run slow in production when multiple users and jobs are running in the background.

I had to troubleshoot slow Virtual SQL servers with the same configuration as a laptop sharing an ESXi host with thirty virtual servers with a consolidation of 1:5. The usual response from the Infrastructure guys is that the thirty files and print server run with no complaints.

Q ) Why use laptops as an example of server hardware?

A) Your cloud or virtual server should outperform a laptop.

Users claim that the slow server is valid if it has a lower specification than the laptop or desktop they are using.