SQL Server 2012 Licensing Datasheet & FAQ

Published: March 7, 2012

Business Intelligence, a new product edition,

Product Overview providing premium corporate and self-service
SQL Server 2012 is a significant product release, BI
providing Mission Critical Confidence with Standard for basic database, reporting and
greater uptime, blazing-fast performance and analytics capabilities
enhanced security features for mission critical
The main editions are now offered in a
workloads; Breakthrough Insight with managed
consistent, tiered model which creates greater
self-service data exploration and stunning
consistency across editions, features and
interactive data visualization capabilities; Cloud
licensing. Enterprise Edition will include all
On Your Terms by enabling the creation and
features available in SQL Server 2012. The
extension of solutions across on-premises and
Business Intelligence Edition will include premium
public cloud. SQL Server 2012 is a Cloud Ready
BI features as well as all of the Standard Edition
Information Platform.
features.
Editions overview *Note: SQL Server 2012 will continue to be available in Developer, Express
and Compact editions. Web Edition will be offered in a Services Provider
License Agreement (SPLA) model only. Datacenter Edition is being retired
The SQL Server 2012 Editions have been with all capabilities now available in Enterprise. Workgroup and Small
streamlined to better align with how customers business Editions are also being retired.

are deploying applications and solutions. SQL

Server 2012 will be released in 3 main editions*:
SQL Server 2012 Licensing Options
Enterprise for mission critical applications SQL Server 2012 will continue to offer two
and large scale data warehousing licensing options one based on computing
power, and one based on users or devices. In the To license a physical server, you must license
computing power-based license model, however, all the cores in the server with a minimum of 4
the way we measure power will shift from core licenses required for each physical
processors to cores. Core-based licensing processor in the server.
provides a more precise measure of computing Core licenses will be priced at the cost of a
power and a more consistent licensing metric SQL Server 2008 R2 (EE/SE) processor license.
regardless of where the solution is deployed AMD systems have different requirements;
across on-premises, virtual and cloud scenarios. see SQL Server 2012 Quick Reference Guide.
Enterprise Edition (EE) will be licensed based
on compute capacity measured in cores How to license
Business Intelligence (BI) Edition will be 1. License all of the physical cores on the hardware
2. A minimum of 4 core licenses are required per
available in the Server + CAL model, based on
physical processor
users or devices
Standard Edition (SE) offers both licensing
models to address basic database workloads
PHYSICAL
CORES IN THE 1 2 4 6 8
Licensing PROCESSOR:
Pricing**
SQL Server 2012 Options CORE LICENSES
Description 4 4 4 6 8
Editions Server Core REQUIRED
Open NL (US$)
+ CAL Based
High end
Enterprise
datacenter, data
$6,874 per Core
Server and Client Access License (CAL)
warehousing and
BI capabilities Licensing
The Business Intelligence and Standard
Main Enterprise BI and
Editions Business High Scale $8,592 per Editions will be available under the Server and
Intelligence Server*
Analytics
Client Access License (CAL) model.
Basic database and
$1,793 per Core, This licensing model can be used when the
Standard
BI capabilities or $898 per
number of users can be readily counted (e.g.,
Server*
Client
Access to SQL internal database applications).
Access
Server databases $209 per CAL
License
licensed per server To access a licensed SQL Server, each user
(CAL)
* Requires CALs, which are sold separately must have a SQL Server CAL that is the same
**Pricing is for demonstrative uses only version or newer (for example, to access a
SQL Server 2008 SE server, a user would need
a SQL Server 2008 or 2012 CAL).
Core-Based Licensing
The Enterprise Edition and Standard Edition of Each SQL Server CAL can provide access to
SQL Server 2012 will both be available under multiple licensed SQL Servers, including the
core-based licensing. Core-based licenses will new Business Intelligence Edition as well as
be sold in two-core packs. Standard Edition Servers and legacy
Enterprise Edition Servers.
Core based licensing is appropriate when
customers are unable to count users/devices, The SQL Server 2012 CAL price will increase
have Internet/Extranet facing workloads or by about 27%.
systems that integrate with external facing How to license
1. License each individual server with a SQL Server
workloads. license
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 2. License each user or device accessing the server additional SQL Server licenses.
with a SQL Server CAL
SQL Server 2012 CALs can be used to access any
SQL Server database licensed per server, regardless How to License VMs with Core Licenses
1. License the virtual cores in each virtual machine
of platform or edition.
2. There is a minimum of 4 core licenses required for
each virtual machine
VM1 VM2

VM with 4 Virtual Cores VM with 6 Virtual Cores

4 Core licenses required 6 Core licenses required

Virtualization Licensing - Cloud

Optimized
SQL Server 2012 will offer expanded virtualization How to License VMs with Server + CAL
rights, options and benefits to provide greater 1. License each VM with a Server License
flexibility for customers deploying in virtual 2. License each user or device with a CAL
environments. There will be two primary
virtualization licensing options in SQL Server
2012: The ability to license individual virtual
VM1 VM2
machines and the ability to license for maximum
virtualization in highly virtualized and private
cloud environments. VM with SQL Server Business VM with SQL Server Standard
Individual Virtual Machines Intelligence Edition
1 Server license required + CALs
Edition
1 Server license required + CALs
As hardware capabilities grow, it will become
more common for each database to use a
fraction of its servers computing power.
When deploying databases on Virtual
Machines (VMs) that use just a fraction of a
physical server, savings can be achieved by High Density Virtualization
licensing individual VMs. Further savings can be achieved by operating
a database server utility or SQL Server private
To license a VM with core licenses, purchase a
cloud. This is a great option for customers
core license for each virtual core (virtual
who want to take advantage of the full
thread) allocated to the virtual machine
computing power of their physical servers and
(minimum of 4 core licenses per VM).
have very dynamic provisioning and de-
To license a single VM with a server license
provisioning of virtual resources.
(for Business Intelligence or Standard only),
Customers will be able to deploy an unlimited
buy the server license and buy matching SQL
number of VMs on the server and utilize the
Server CALs for each user.
full capacity of the licensed hardware.
Each licensed VM covered with Software
They can do so by fully licensing the server (or
Assurance (SA) can be moved frequently
server farm) with Enterprise Edition core
within a server farm or to a third party hoster
licenses and Software Assurance based on the
or cloud services provider without buying
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 total number of physical cores on the New server licenses for SQL Server
servers. SA then enables the ability to run an Enterprise Edition in the Server + Cal
unlimited number of virtual machines to model will only be available for purchase
handle dynamic workloads and fully utilize the through June 30th, 2012, after which they
hardwares computing power. will no longer be available for purchase.
Customers cannot license for unlimited EA/EAP customers that buy SQL Enterprise
virtualization with SQL Server 2008 R2 EE Edition Servers will have until their next
Server + CAL. This was only a temporary use EA/EAP renewal after June 30th, 2012 to
right grant with SA. purchase additional server licenses to
complete currently planned projects. After
Licensing SQL Server private cloud:
that, all new SQL Server Enterprise Edition
1. License all the physical cores on the server with
Enterprise Edition core licenses and SA deployments must be purchased per core.
2. Deploy an unlimited number of VMs All existing SQL Server Enterprise Edition
Example licenses under the Server + CAL model with
Software Assurance current when SQL Server
What you License What you Deploy
Physical Cores w/EE+SA Unlimited VMs (example 6)
2012 launches can be upgraded to SQL Server
2012 at no additional cost, and SA can be
VM1
maintained (in the server + cal model) to
provide access to future software updates.
Single Server, 2 physical VM2 These Legacy Enterprise Edition Servers
processors, 6
cores/processor (12 total) remain licensed under the Server + CAL
VM3 model and require the appropriate version
of the SQL Server CAL for users or devices.
Legacy SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Edition
VM4
Server deployments licensed in the server +
What to Buy:
CAL model will be subject to a 20 core per
VM5 server license maximum. This core
12 SQL Server Enterprise
Edition core licenses + SA maximum applies both to new server licenses
VM6 and to prior version server licenses upgraded
to 2012 with SA. If you purchased SQL Server
2008 R2 Enterprise Edition in the Server + CAL
model with Software Assurance and at the
launch of SQL Server 2012 are running on a
server with > 20 physical cores, contact your
Transition to the New Licensing Models
Microsoft representative for help transitioning
In order to facilitate a smooth transition to the to the new licensing model.
new editions and licensing, Microsoft is offering
Legacy SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Edition
several options. These are designed to help
Server licenses are still considered licensed
enable customers to plan for the future while
under the Server + CAL model but have the
protecting their current investments.
new core limit to allow customers to upgrade
their existing deployments and have some
Enterprise Edition Server + CAL Licensing near term deployment options to finish

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 currently planned projects under the Server + If customers do not perform the self-
CAL model for the SQL Server Enterprise inventory, they will receive a value of 4 core
Edition. licenses for each Standard and Enterprise
Moving forward, customers who would have Edition processor and 8 EE core licenses per
purchased new EE server licenses can: Datacenter Edition processor.
purchase SQL BI server licenses for business
intelligence, purchase SQL EE per core for
high-scale database or data warehouse, or PHYSICAL
CORES IN THE 2 4 6 8 10
maintain legacy EE server licenses for existing PROCESSOR:
projects requiring 20 cores or less. RENEW ENTERPRISE
OR STANDARD 4 4 6 8 10
CORES:

RENEW DATACENTER
SQL Server Processor licenses under SA INTO ENTERPRISE 8 8 8 8 10
moving to Core-based Licensing CORES:

Customers with processor licenses under SA

will receive rights to upgrade to SQL Server
2012 at no additional cost. At the subsequent License Transition Summary
renewal, the customer will have the
opportunity to renew into core licenses.
SQL Enterprise and Standard processor
licenses under SA are valued at a minimum of
4 core licenses per processor or the actual
number of cores in use. SQL Server
Datacenter processor licenses are valued at a
minimum of 8 EE core licenses per processor
or the actual number of cores in use.
At the end of the current agreement term, Customers with Enterprise Agreements
customers should do a self-inventory of Customers in existing Enterprise Agreements,
systems currently running SQL Server, EAPs and EASs will be able to continue to
documenting the number of cores in each purchase processor licenses and Enterprise
processor in use with a SQL Server processor Edition server licenses through the end of
license covered with Software Assurance. This their term.
will enable customers to receive the Customers purchasing processor licenses
appropriate SQL Server 2012 use rights through the end of their term will continue to
moving forward and will determine the core need to calculate the number of licenses
license exchange eligibility at renewal. required for a deployment based on the 2008
Customers should do this self-inventory using R2 processor use rights.
the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Customers with an EA or EAP do have the
Toolkit or other inventory tools and processes option to add core licenses mid-term to their
to accurately archive a time/date stamped agreement for future purchases and should
inventory of hardware tied to SQL Server contact their reseller or Microsoft account
installations. team for more information.

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 All servers licensed with SQL Server 2012 Customers should select the right edition
Enterprise Edition server + CAL licenses will be depending on usage:
subject to the 20 core server limitation. o Enterprise for mission critical
The same process as outlined above will be applications and large scale data
followed at the end of term. warehousing
o Business Intelligence for premium
Planning for SQL Server 2012 corporate and self-service BI
Customers planning to deploy SQL Server 2012, o Standard for basic database, reporting
either through upgrades or new licenses, should and analytics capabilities
remember:
Consolidation and virtualization are the best
Renewing Software Assurance (SA) is the best ways to maximize efficiency of hardware and
way to protect investments and provide control the size, computing power and more
access to new versions as well as Deployment granularly manage cost of your deployments.
Planning Services and technical assistance.
EAP will continue to offer customers the best
value, including discounts of up to 40% on For additional information on Microsoft SQL Server 2012, go to the
new EE and BI server licenses. SQL Server website at: http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver

This guide does not supersede or replace any of the legal documentation covering SQL Server 2012 product use rights.
Specific product license terms are defined in the product Software License Termsor in the case of Microsoft Volume
Licensingin the Microsoft Volume Licensing agreement under which the software was acquired and/or the Microsoft
Volume Licensing Product Use Rights (PUR). This datasheet is not a legal use rights document. Program specifications and
business rules are subject to change.

2012 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

This document is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.

Frequently Asked Questions

SQL Server 2012 Editions and Licensing
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Table of Contents

SQL Server 2012 Editions .......................................................................................................... 8

1. What is new in SQL Server 2012? ......................................................................................................................................... 8
2. Can you describe the product editions offered with SQL Server 2012? ................................................................ 8
3. What about other editions currently available in SQL Server 2008 R2 such as Datacenter, Workgroup
and Standard for Small Business Editions? ................................................................................................................................ 8
4. What is the full list of editions that will be available with SQL Server 2012? ...................................................... 8
SQL Server 2012 Licensing ........................................................................................................ 8
5. What are the key licensing changes with SQL Server 2012? ...................................................................................... 8
6. When will these changes come into effect? ..................................................................................................................... 9
7. Are there any virtualization or cloud-related licensing benefits with SQL Server 2012? ................................ 9
8. Could you explain why you are making these changes? ............................................................................................. 9
9. Will other Microsoft products move to core-based licensing as well? .................................................................. 9
10. Will the licensing changes be accompanied by an increase in pricing? ........................................................... 9
11. Can I buy core-based licensing for the Business Intelligence edition?........................................................... 10
12. Can I use the same CAL for the Business Intelligence and Standard editions? ........................................... 10
13. I have Software Assurance, do I have to pay more to upgrade to SQL Server 2012?............................... 10
14. I recently signed up for an Enterprise Agreement (EA)/Enrollment for Application Platform (EAP).
What do these changes mean for me? ..................................................................................................................................... 10
15. How do I migrate from processor licenses to core licenses? What is the migration path? .................. 10
16. How will SQL Server processor licenses with SA be exchanged for SQL Server 2012 core licenses?
How will I (and Microsoft) determine the number of cores that I am owed? ............................................................ 11

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SQL Server 2012 Editions
1. What is new in SQL Server 2012?
SQL Server 2012 will provide Mission Critical Confidence with greater uptime, blazing-fast performance
and enhanced security for mission critical workloads; Breakthrough Insight with managed self-service
data exploration and stunning interactive data visualizations capabilities; Cloud On Your Terms by
enabling the creation and extension of solutions across on-premises and public cloud.

2. Can you describe the product editions offered with SQL Server 2012?
Three main editions, namely Enterprise, Business Intelligence and Standard, will be available:
Enterprise for mission critical applications and data warehousing
Business Intelligence (new) for premium corporate and self-service Business Intelligence capabilities
Standard for basic database capabilities, reporting and analytics
The Business Intelligence edition will include all of the Standard Editions capabilities, and Enterprise will
include all of the Business Intelligence Editions capabilities.

3. What about other editions currently available in SQL Server 2008 R2 such as
Datacenter, Workgroup and Standard for Small Business Editions?
With the release of SQL Server 2012, the following three editions will be retired:
Datacenter its features will now be available in Enterprise Edition
Workgroup Standard will become our edition for basic database needs
Standard for Small Business Standard becomes our sole edition for basic database needs

4. What is the full list of editions that will be available with SQL Server 2012?
Enterprise, Business Intelligence and Standard will be our main editions. The Web Edition will be offered
only to hosters via the Services Provider License Agreement (SLPA). Developer, Express and Compact
Editions will also continue to be distributed without licensing or pricing changes. We also offer a range of
appliances including Parallel Data Warehouse, a BI appliance, and a database consolidation appliance.

SQL Server 2012 Licensing

5. What are the key licensing changes with SQL Server 2012?
With SQL Server 2012, we will offer the following licensing options:
Core-based Licensing for Enterprise
Server + CAL licensing for Business Intelligence
Choice of core-based licensing or Server + CAL licensing for Standard

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6. When will these changes come into effect?
Licensing changes will come into effect at the general availability of SQL Server 2012. Microsoft SQL Server
2012 will release on April 1st, 2012.

7. Are there any virtualization or cloud-related licensing benefits with SQL Server
2012?
SQL Server 2012 will provide a variety of virtualization and cloud benefits that will help customers save
money on database licensing and retain flexibility in their database deployments. Customers can:
License individual Virtual Machines (VM), and when licensing per core, buy core licenses only for the
virtual cores (threads or physical cores) assigned to the VM.
License for high VM density by buying EE core licenses and Software Assurance (SA) for all the physical
cores on the server (or server farm) and deploying any number of VMs on the licensed hardware.
Without SA, VM density is limited to one VM per core with EE.
License for VM mobility across private and public clouds. VM license mobility is an SA benefit. Without
SA, licenses can be moved from one server to another only once every 90 days.

8. Could you explain why you are making these changes?

The changes to SQL Server licensing reflect the evolution of the database industry along with new hardware
deployment practices. Internal customer research with hundreds of customers has shown us that database
customers are comfortable with core-based licensing and consider licensing by core simple and predictable.
There is also great enthusiasm for our virtualization and cloud-friendly licensing to help customers save
money as their deployment practices evolve. With these changes, we will continue to offer industry leading
TCO.

9. Will other Microsoft products move to core-based licensing as well?

We have put in place licensing models that are appropriate for the products based on industry and
customer needs. The changes to SQL Server licensing are based on trends in the database industry and
were developed with just the database business in mind.

10. Will the licensing changes be accompanied by an increase in pricing?

With SQL Server 2012, we are delivering a more powerful Enterprise Edition and a new Business Intelligence
Edition with innovative features. SQL Server customers who benefit from the new capabilities and who
deploy mission critical databases will likely pay more, though we will continue to be the industry TCO
leader.

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 At the same time, we are offering licensing benefits and flexibility to help customers save money and
control costs with virtualization and consolidation. The net price impact to individual customers will vary
based on how they deploy SQL Server 2012, their current capacity and their future needs.
We have been actively engaged in conversations directly with our customers and partners to ensure that
they know how these changes may impact them.

11. Can I buy core-based licensing for the Business Intelligence edition?
Enterprise Edition includes the full capabilities of SQL Server 2012, so a customer who wants to license a BI
Server on a per core basis can do so by buying Enterprise Edition. Enterprise Edition will be the preferred
way to license advanced SQL Server BI capabilities when users are uncountable (e.g., external facing
workloads) or when there is a very large number of users.

12. Can I use the same CAL for the Business Intelligence and Standard editions?
Yes, as with prior releases, there is a single CAL for SQL Server 2012 for access to all the server editions.

13. I have Software Assurance, do I have to pay more to upgrade to SQL Server 2012?
No. All licenses under SA will be able to upgrade to SQL Server 2012 at no additional cost.

14. I recently signed up for an Enterprise Agreement (EA)/Enrollment for Application

Platform (EAP). What do these changes mean for me?
EA and EAP remain the best ways for customers to license SQL Server. EA and EAP offer extended
transitions to help you plan for the new licensing model. Furthermore, EAP offers significant discounts to
help you take advantage of the lowest TCO.

15. How do I migrate from processor licenses to core licenses? What is the migration
path?
Licenses purchased with Software Assurance (SA) will upgrade to SQL Server 2012 at no additional cost.
EA/EAP customers can continue buying processor licenses until your next renewal after April 1st, 2012. At
the next renewal, processor licenses will be eligible to be renewed into core-based licenses sufficient to
cover the cores in use by the processor-licensed databases (minimum of 4 cores per processor for Standard
and Enterprise, and minimum of 8 Enterprise cores per processor for Datacenter).

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16. How will SQL Server processor licenses with SA be exchanged for SQL Server 2012
core licenses? How will I (and Microsoft) determine the number of cores that I am
owed?
You can perform a self-inventory of your environment at the end of your Software Assurance (SA) term
that will provide the basis for your long term SQL Server 2012 use rights and eligibility for renewal into core
licenses. We will provide access to the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit as one way to
help track and document deployments. This tool can help you plan the transition from processor-based
licenses to core-based licenses by counting both processors and cores across your deployments. If you are
not able to document your SQL Server deployments, then your processors will be worth the standard
conversion ratio by edition. We encourage you to work with your Microsoft or Partner representative to
determine an optimal transition plan.

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