Microsoft's
SQL Server 2012 was released to manufacturing this
month.The launch event can be 'attended' at sqlserverlaunch.com and 180 day trial versions are available from here.
Editions
Microsoft's
SQL Server 2012 offers 3 principal editions , in an effort to
simplify purchasing decisions and align editions with common
deployment scenarios.
Enterprise
[Full Features set]
Business
Intelligence [same features as Standard + 'premium BI
features' useful to corporates]
Standard
[includes database reports and analytics capabilities]
In
addition to the above principal editions SQL Server 2012 specialised
editions are also available
Developer
[for non-Production use: demo's, testing and development , not
free ]
Express
Compact
Web
Edition [for hosting
and Value-added
IT
providers – service
providers
.]
All
editions are offered on 64-bit and 32-bit windows architectures.
Typically
you would run SQL Server 2012 under Windows Server 2008 R2 operating
system.
This
could be either a standalone server or virtual machines instance running under the Hyper-V
role.
Licensing
Licensing
models for SQL Server 2012 are as follows
Computing
Power [Core
based Licensing]
The
number of physical cores is used as the metric of 'Computing Power'
Number
or Users/Devices [Server
+ CAL]
Enterprise
Edition
will be licensed via on Computing Power only [after June 2012]
Business
Intelligence Edition
will be available per 'Number or Users/Devices' model.
Both
licensing models will be available for Standard
Edition.
Computing
Power [Core
based Licensing]
SQL
Server 2012 licensing for Computing Power is based on the number of
physical cores. a shift away from processor based licensing model
seen in previous versions of SQL server.
You
are required to license all cores with a minimum
of 4 cores licenses required per processor.
So
a notional 5 core processor would require 5 licenses and a single
core processor would require 4 licenses!
To
calculate the required license when using this model you multiply the
number of cores by the core factor.
Recent
information from Microsoft would illustrate
core licence cost as follows...
Enterprise
Edition Per Core License USD $6874
Business
Intelligence
Per Server License USD $8592
[CAL's sold separately]
Standard
Edition Core Server License USD $1793
If
you plan on using Business
Intelligence Edition
and you are more comfortable with Core based Licensing then
Enterprise
Edition
would be a more appropriate purchase for you.
Number
or Users/Devices
[Server and Client Access Licensing]
If
you can easily count the number of clients that will access SQL
Server thaen this is an appropriate licensing
model for you. You may for example have a set number of applications
that interact with SQL Server for some transaction processing. In
this licensing model you must license each individual SQL Server ,
further to access a SQL Server the client
must have a relevant CAL (in the same version or greater!)
A
SQL Server 2012 CAL can access any licensed SQL Server including
legacy Enterprise Editions.
Recent
information from Microsoft would illustrate
Client Access License cost as USD $209
Virtualisation
+ Licensing
Figuring
out the licensing for virtual environments gets interesting. The same
2 licensing models apply but your decision will be based on your
actual requirements. The per core licensing is a direct response to
the fact that many organisation are now running up multiple virtual
machine instances – operating a 'private /corporate cloud' ; either
managed directly or outsourced.
SQL
Server 2012 offers more flexibility for customers deploying to
virtual environments. You can license the physical server with
Enterprise Edition core licenses and include Microsoft
Software Assurance
- which will allows for certain amounts of running up and tearing
down of environments with out affecting licensing.
When
calculating core license cost for VM instances the 'core factor'
mentioned above does not apply -but
each VM requires a 4 core licence minimum
(a VM with 4 virtual cores
requires 4 core licenses , a VM with 4 virtual cores requires 6 core
licenses , a VM with 2 virtual cores requires 4 core licenses)
A
four processor/CPU server with four cores per
processor that is fully
licensed with sixteen core licenses will
allow you to run SQL Server software in up to sixteen
Virtual Machines.
You
can also individually license each Virtual Machines (VM instance)
-the only option for Standard Edition on a virtual environment.
Further you can go the Server License per VM and individual CAL per
user route
As
stated your actual usage scenario needs to be assessed, it is common
to have multiple virtual database servers used by Test, UAT,
Development, Build, Pre-Production etc.
Microsoft
Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA)
If
you provide hosted application of software services to your customers
you should consider volume licensing under the Microsoft
Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA).An
example of such services would be offering a line of business
application whereby you
and not your customer are the licensee or the Microsoft product.
Who
can help you make the correct decisions?
Pinpoint.Microsoft.com
should be used to determine best fit Microsoft
Partners.
I
recommend that you find Microsoft Partners that have a 'Data
Platform' competency.
Independent
consultants,
such as myself, can help you clarify your current and potential
requirements ,], determine what technology is best suited to your
business and access how any purchases could impact your current IT
investments. There are definite questions you should put to
potential providers BEFORE you commit your hard earned money.
Your
IT professional or an appointed 'champion' in your organisation
should prepare a list of questions for an initial consultation –
many partners will provide an assessment for free.
Your
chosen database technology is a foundation for your business and will
have a directly effect on customer experience.
As
with any major purchase correct procedures, oversight and due
diligence are paramount.
When
making a decision on the database platform for your organisation a
number of factors will influence your decision.
Current
or planned IT infrastructure investments and associated
compatibility
The
maturity of the product line.
Any
costs associated with training employees.
The
Actual and specific features that will be of benefit to your
business
The
uptime/availability required by your customers (24/7 or Business 9
to5 , Is downtime allowable/planned
Any
MIS /BI capabilities does your organisation need to support
decisions?
What
sort of integration scenarios does your organisation need?
Availability
of employees or IT partners with a level of competence in the
technology
The
suitability of the technology to any product roadmap or business
strategies.
Recommended
Further Reading & Resources?
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Cumulative update package 1 for SQL Server 2012
