SQL LICENSE

Question

I have SQL server on VM and i need to calculate the number of core to determine the needed license,

Please check the attachment how can I determine the amount of cores which need to be licensed because its very confusing me

Answer 1

Hi @Ahmed Maher Abdelsalam ,

Server + CAL or Per Core are the software licensing options. It must be noted however that the Enterprise edition is only available under the Per Core model.

If you choose Per Core licensing option, licenses must be assigned to all of the physical cores on the server, when running SQL Server in a physical environment. A minimum of four core licenses per physical processor are required, with licenses being sold in packs of two.

For example, SQL Server has two processors, each with six cores:

1.Ascertain how many cores there are per processor (keeping in mind the minimum requirement of four cores per processor)
2.Count the total number of cores
3.A total of twelve cores are present, therefore 6 SQL Server Per Core licenses (packs of 2) are required.

From your screenshot, you have two processors, each with 15 cores. So the total of thirty are present, therefore 15 SQL Server Per Core licenses (packs of 2) are required.

Please refer to the blog An Introduction to Microsoft SQL Server Licensing to better understanding this.

If you have further license question, suggest you consult professionals in this area. please 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. Or you can go to Volume Licensing Service Center support. Please choose region/language and choose to call or have web. People there will help you more effectively. 

Best regards,
Cathy

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Answer 2

Hello,

On a VM you have to license all available cores, see https://download.microsoft.com/download/B/C/0/BC0B2EA7-D99D-42FB-9439-2C56880CAFF4/SQL_Server_2017_Licensing_Datasheet.pdf => page 2 => Licensing for virtualization and containers

For further question regarding pricing / licensing please contact a Microsoft sales partner or licensing expert.

Call (1-800-426-9400), Monday through Friday, 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM PST to speak directly to Microsoft licensing specialist.

Answer 3

What is output of select @@version if this is enterprise edition you would have to license all 30 cores. If this is standard edition you can use lesser of 4 sockets or 24 cores. If for example you have 2 sockets and each socket has 15 core you use more than 15 cores for sql server. So think wisely.