Action is needed as Microsoft announces significant changes to SQL Server licensing models
With the upcoming release of SQL Server version 2012 (FKA “Denali”) Microsoft has announced some significant changes to the licensing. The announced changes call for re-evaluation of your current server deployment and licensing plans - especially if you are utilising a lot of Virtual Machines.
The concrete conversion of existing licenses will in many cases be subject to individual negotiations between the customer and his MS sales representative.
Business Intelligence customers might be able to reduce costs to the extent that the new Business Intelligence Edition can replace Enterprise licenses.
The increase in SQL Server licensing costs depends upon your current portfolio your pricing conditions the outcome of your upgrade negotiations with MS.
The most important changes to consider seems to be
1.reduction of available editions
2.change from CPU based licensing to Core based licensing
3.new Business Intelligence Edition
Source:
http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/future-editions/sql2012-licensing.aspx
Price raises
The new pricing model changes the existing processor licenses to 4 (8 if Datacenter Edition) Core Licenses per processor. This implies overall increase in costs for new licenses for all modern servers unless action is taking.
The SQL Server 2012 CAL price will increase by about 27%.
2 Licensing Models – Computing Power and Users
Computing Power
With the release of SQL Server 2012, the licensing for computing power will be core-based.
1. Enterprise and Standard will be available under core-based licensing. Cored-based licenses will be sold in two-core packs. The Standard Edition will also be available as a Server+ CAL licensing option.
2. To license a physical server, you must license all the cores in the server, with a minimum of 4 core licenses required for each physical processor in the server.
Licensing by users - Server + CAL licensing
The Business Intelligence and Standard Editions will be available under the Server + Client Access License (CAL) model.
1. This licensing model can be used anytime the number of users can be readily counted (e.g., internal database applications).
2. To access a licensed SQL Server, each user must have a SQL Server CAL that is the same version or newer (for example, to access a SQL Server 2008 SE server, a user would need a SQL Server 2008 or 2012 CAL).
3. Each SQL Server CAL can provide access to multiple licensed SQL Servers, including the new SQL Server 2012 Business Intelligence Server as well as prior versions of the Enterprise Servers.
4. To help with the transition to the new licensing model, the SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Edition will be available under the Server + CAL model through June 30, 2012.
5. All existing licenses of the Enterprise Edition in the Server + CAL licensing model with Software Assurance (SA) can be upgraded to SQL Server 2012, and SA can be maintained to provide access to future software updates.
6. Licenses of the Enterprise Edition in the Server + CAL model that are upgraded to SQL Server 2012 and |
beyond will be limited to server deployments with 20 cores or less.
Database virtualization
With databases that use just a fraction of the compute power of a physical server, you can save by licensing individual database Virtual Machines (VMs).
1.To license a VM with core-based licenses, simply pay for the virtual cores allocated within the virtual machine (minimum of 4 core licenses per VM).
2.To license a VM under the Server + CAL model (for the Business Intelligence and Standard Editions of SQL Server 2012), you can buy the server license and buy associated SQL Server CALs for each user.
3.Each licensed VM that is covered with Software Assurance can be moved frequently within your server farm or to a third party hoster or cloud services provider.
4.Servers fully licensed with Enterprise Edition Core licenses with Software Assurance allow you to deploy an unlimited number of database VMs on the server (or server farm) in a heavily consolidated virtualized deployment to achieve further savings.
3 editions only – Standard, Enterprise and BI
The number of editions has been reduced to 3.
The new editions
The new editions will be aimed at these segments:
Enterprise is meant for mission critical applications and data warehousing.
Business Intelligence (new) is meant for premium corporate and self-service Business Intelligence capabilities. Please note that the BI Edition supports PowerPivot on SharePoint – which previously required an Enterprise license.
Standard is meant for basic database capabilities, reporting and analytics.
The Business Intelligence edition will include all of the Standard Edition’s capabilities, and Enterprise will include all of the Business Intelligence Edition’s capabilities.
Continued special editions
The existing Web Edition will be offered only to hosters via the Services Provider License Agreement (SLPA).
Developer, Express and Compact Editions will also continue to be distributed without licensing or pricing changes.
Microsoft will continue to offer a range of appliances including Parallel Data Warehouse, a BI appliance, and a database consolidation appliance.
Retired editions
These three editions will be retired:
Datacenter – its features will now be available in Enterprise Edition
Workgroup – Standard will become the edition for basic database needs.
Standard for Small Business – Standard becomes the sole edition for basic database needs. |