All physical cores of Host server on premise is licensed with "SQL Server Enterprise"- Can we use SA benefit unlimited virtualization to license VM deployed on licensed Server with "Azure arc enabled SQL server" .

Question

All physical cores of Host on premise server is licensed with "SQL Server Enterprise".

Can we use SA benefit "unlimited virtualization" to license VM deployed on licensed Server with "Azure arc enabled SQL server" ?

or we will need to buy additional "on prem" license to utilize Azure hybrid benefit and license SQL with with minimum 4 cores / VM ?

Answer 1

The Software Assurance (SA) benefit "unlimited virtualization" allows you to run an unlimited number of virtual machines (VMs) with SQL Server Enterprise on a licensed host, as long as all physical cores on the host are licensed with SQL Server Enterprise Edition and active Software Assurance. This is applicable for on-premises deployments.

However, when it comes to Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server, the licensing model is slightly different. Azure Arc allows you to use the Azure Hybrid Benefit (AHB) to save on licensing costs. With the AHB, you can use your on-premises SQL Server licenses with Software Assurance to run SQL Server on Azure Virtual Machines or Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server.

To utilize the Azure Hybrid Benefit, you'll need to license the virtual cores in the Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server VMs. The minimum requirement is to license at least four virtual cores per VM. Note that this is separate from the unlimited virtualization benefit for on-premises deployments.

Answer 2

Hi Ajit,

Welcome to Q&A Forum; this is a great place to get support, answers, and tips.

Thank you for posting your question; I'll be more than glad to help you out.

If I understood your question correctly, you already have a fully licensed host on-premises... so you do not need to buy additional licenses.

Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server has a feature/option that you can use - if you do not already have a fully licensed environment - to rent those licenses...

In an easy speech, Azure Arc-enabled SQL Server is only a connector that connects your on-premise SQL Server to Azure in order to administer your environment from the Azure portal...

If you want to benefit from Azure Arc, then it is only the centralized management pane for SQL Server... to use Azure Arc, you do NOT need to buy additional licenses!

I hope my answer is helpful to you,

Your

Bjoern Peters

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