Finding old SQL Server licenses we own

Question

Hello,

We purchased Microsoft SQL Server many years ago. This sever was decommissioned, but the license was never removed. We would like to reinstall the license on a new server, but have no record of this license number. How can we go about finding the licenses that we own from Microsoft? Is there a phone number or email to contact the Microsoft Licensing Department for assistance?

Thank you.

Answer 1

For installation as such, you don't need any license number. But if your installation media is not pre-pidded, you may need the PID. However, if you are license-audited, and you don't have your license papers in order, the situation can become awkward.

However, I am not sure that this old license is of much value. Because that license is for the version of SQL Server you installed back then, and I really hope that you are installing SQL Server 2022, the recent version. But for this, you need a new license. I don't know if there is an "upgrade price", but that would typically be from the most recent version, not from a version "many years ago".

As for what phone number to call, you could try with your local Microsoft subsidiary, but since licenses are often sold through resellers, I am not sure how of much help they can be.

Answer 2

The license is just sheet of paper with an activation key. You are responsible for keeping track of it. The activation key is the what is used to license an instance of sqlserver. If you have the key, you can open a ticket to verify its valid.

note: most methods to retrieve the activation key, involve inspection of the server that hosted the sql instance. I don't believe you can look it up, if you don't have the server.