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Licensing always on

Nikola Miljkovic 0 Reputation points
2023-04-07T06:46:45.3766667+00:00

Hello,

I am hoping to get some clarification on MS SQL licensing.
I have read documentation regarding SQL licensing and software assurance.
Please correct me if I am wrong, but in case of Always on cluster, if secondary replica is not used for read (marked as not read), then it is a passive replica and we don't need to license it. Is this the same for both SQL Standard and SQL Enterprise?
Also, if secondary replica is configured with Synchronous-commit and Automatic failover, is this still considered a passive replica?

Kind regards,
Nikola

SQL Server
SQL Server
A family of Microsoft relational database management and analysis systems for e-commerce, line-of-business, and data warehousing solutions.
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  1. Erland Sommarskog 107.2K Reputation points
    2023-04-07T21:22:33.3133333+00:00

    I seem to recall that you don't need to license a passive replica. At least for Enterprise.

    However, this is a technical forum, and this not a place where you can get authoritative answers about licensing. You need to contact your local Microsoft representative.

    You can also call 1-800-426-9400, Monday through Friday, 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. (Pacific Time) to speak directly to a Microsoft licensing specialist.1

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