How many logical cores supported by SQL Server 2022 Standard Edition without purchasing more cores?

Question

I am looking at purchasing Microsoft SQL Server 2022 Standard Edition to run on premise. When researching the editions online I can see that there is a maximum core count of 24 logical cores per instance. And then when I look at the pricing page (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sql-server/sql-server-2022-pricing) for SQL Server 2022 Standard it is listed as two options: 1. Standard - per core, and 2. Standard - server.

Currently I am thinking I should be targeting 'SQL Server standard - server', but I want to know with this exact version, how many logical cores can be utilized by SQL Server Standard - server edition? What are the minimum cores supported? Are there a different amount of cores that are supported between the Database Engine and Analysis Services?

What is the difference between Microsoft SQL Server 2022 Standard - per core, and Microsoft SQL Server 2022 Standard - server (as shown separately on the SQL Server 2022 pricing page linked above)? I am not looking for pricing information, but instead about the SQL Server minimum cores utilized.

My current understanding is that SQL Server 2022 Express edition can utilize 4 cores maximum. Logically thinking, then I would expect SQL Server Standard edition to support at minimum 4 cores.

Note: I was directed here after speaking to the Microsoft Sales department. They advised to submit a question here to get this answered. At this point I have spoken to 5 different people at Microsoft, between the Sales Dept and the Technical Support Dept. And I have spoken to two Microsoft Certified Partners who have given me conflicting information. I am here to try to obtain a clear and consistent understand from Microsoft before proceeding to work with any Microsoft Certified Partner to make the purchase of the license.

I have already read a lot of the documentation before calling in Microsoft and coming here to submit a question. Including the compute capacity limits by edition page: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/sql-server/compute-capacity-limits-by-edition-of-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver16

Answer 1

They sent you here? Guess what? For licensing questions we usually wave our hands and say that this is a technical forum, and licensing is legalese. Way over our heads.

I will need to admit that I have never heard of Standard-Server and Standard-Per Core. I know this distinction exists for Enterprise Edition, but I never heard about it for Standard.

Anyway, on https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/sql-server/editions-and-components-of-sql-server-2022?view=sql-server-ver17#scale-limits it says:

Limited to lesser of 4 sockets or 24 cores

And I take this to mean whichever pricing model you go for.

I checked the pricing page you linked to. The "Server" seems cheaper, but pay attention to the footnote:

Client access licenses (CALs) are required for every user or device accessing a server in the Server + CAL licensing model. See the product use rights for details.

So only if you need a very small amount of CALs, 12 or less, Server does not seem like a good deal. I should hasten to add that this is my understanding of that page after having spent less than five minutes on it.

Are there a different amount of cores that are supported between the Database Engine and Analysis Services?

According the page above, the Database Engine and Analysis Services have the same limits. It does not say that it would be the same 24 cores. But if you have a 48 core machine, you may have to play some affinity tricks to have them to use different cores.

Answer 2

as stated this not the place to get binding information about SQLServer licensing. But for SQLServer Standard there are 2 license models

Server + Cal. In this model, you buy a license for the server (does not matter the number of cores). Standard only supports a max of 24 core, so only 24 can be allocated. And then every device that connects directly or indirectly (say it calls an api that calls SQLServer) must have a cal license. This can make sense if you have a small office and limited number of desktop users that access the database.

For a web server application, every browser device needs a cal, so it can not be used for internet applications. for an intranet application, remember mobile devices need a cal also.

from the price list, the SQLServer 2022 retail price is $989 for the server license and $230 per cal.

Server pre core. In this model you just pay for SQLServer and can have unlimited number of devices connect (no license required for users). The pricing is based on the physical number of cores of the server. The license is sold as core 2-packs (two core licenses), and you need to buy enough packs to cover the number of core the server has.

The retail price is $3945 for a 2-pack. for example for a 16 core server, you need 8 2-packs for $31,560. (though you should be able to get a discount).

again SQLServer standard only supports 24 cores max, so for a 32 core server you only need to buy 24 core licenses (12 2-packs).

also there is a minimum number of 4 core licenses requirement. so if you had a 2 core server you need to buy 2 2-packs. while there aren't many 2 core servers, this comes in effect when licensing SQLServer for a virtual machine. You need to license for the number of core the VM has, but still need min 4 core licenses.

So if you have 32 core server and only want to license 4 cores (minimum core) at $7890, you could host SQLServer in a virtual machine or container with 4 or less cores.

when comparing SQL Express to SQL Standard, you compare the maxes, not mins and supported features. Express supports max 4 cores, 1.410gb memory and 10gb database size. Standard support max 24 cores, 128gb memory and 524pb database size.

for express the max memory and database size are perhaps the most limiting. for example I run SQLServer developer in a container on my Mac laptop and give it 8gb memory and 8 cores.

Answer 3

In the comment above this is important especially if you are looking at virtual servers.

"Limited to lesser of 4 sockets or 24 cores"

sql server 2022 standard will only address 4 sockets, so if you set up 6 sockets with 2 cores each the instance will address 8 cores not 12 cores.

This whole area, licensing/sockets/cores especially for virtual servers, is a nightmare. Be sure to check that the setup you end up with has been reviewed by someone who knows the rules.