Using SQL Server 2014 (Developer Edition) in the test environment of a company is legal or not?

zzzgd 1 Reputation point
2021-03-12T11:04:39.443+00:00

Although I have seen in some announcements that the SQL SERVER Developer Editioncan be used in the development and test environment,

But I am not sure it is legal or not for me to install SQL SERVER Developer Edition in the company's test environment.

So My boss asked me to confirm it.

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. Vaibhav Chaudhari 38,576 Reputation points
    2021-03-12T11:43:28.42+00:00

    Yes, dev edition can be used for testing and demo purpose.

    See the similar question and answer confirmed by Microsoft team member

    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/124164/can-we-install-sql-server-developer-edition-in-our.html

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    Please don't forget to Accept Answer and Up-vote if the response helped -- Vaibhav

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  2. Shashank Singh 6,246 Reputation points
    2021-03-12T11:52:18.68+00:00

    I have answered a similar question see the link below

    can-we-install-sql-server-developer-edition-in-our.html

    Quoting from licensing guide

    There is one more detailed licensing guide which says

    SQL Server Developer Edition may not be used in a production environment or with product data. Any test data that was used for design, development, or test purposes must be removed prior to deploying the software for production use.

    Keep this in mind before you proceed.

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  3. Cris Zhan-MSFT 6,601 Reputation points
    2021-03-15T07:28:58.8+00:00

    Hi,

    The SQL Server Developer edition includes all the functionality of Enterprise edition, but is licensed for use as a development and test system, not as a production server. SQL Server Developer is an ideal choice for people who build and test applications.

    Quoting from SQL Server 2019 Licensing Guide:

    Note: A production environment is defined as an environment that is accessed by end-users of an application (such as an internet website) and that is used for more than gathering feedback or acceptance testing of that application. Other scenarios that constitute production environments include:
    • Environments that connect to a production database
    • Environments that support disaster-recovery or backup for a production environment
    • Environments that are used for production at least some of the time, such as a server that is rotated into production during peak periods of activity

    It is rare that someone whose primary role is designing, developing, or testing software would also qualify as an “end user” of the software.

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