LICENSING MANAGEMENT SERIES

A Guide to Assessing SQL Server Licensing

May 2011

This document gives Microsoft Volume Licensing customers of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 an
overview of the licensing requirements, as well as guidance on how to assess the licenses needed.
(For those licensed under any other version of SQL Server, please refer to the appropriate Product Use
Rights (PUR) document or End User License Agreement (EULA) for guidance.)
The Software Usage Tracker, a tool in the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit, collects and
reports server and agent use of common deployment scenarios for SQL Server products. Using the data
from this tool, along with the step-by-step instructions on the pages that follow, can help you calculate the
number and type of processor licenses, or server and client access licenses (CALs), that you need.

Terms of Use
This document is for informational purposes only and is subject to change. It cannot be considered a source of definitive
Microsoft licensing guidance.
This does not supersede or replace your use rights to any product as defined in the Microsoft Volume Licensing agreement
under which it was acquired, and/or the Microsoft Volume Licensing Product List document and the Microsoft Volume
Licensing Product Use Rights (PUR). Product licensing, program licensing, and business rules are subject to change.

Contents
Microsoft SQL Server Licensing Requirements ............................................................................. 1
Server and CAL Licensing .............................................................................................................................. 2
Server licenses ........................................................................................................................................... 2
CALs ........................................................................................................................................................... 3
Per-Processor Licensing ................................................................................................................................. 5
Licensing physical processors .................................................................................................................... 5
Licensing by virtual machine ....................................................................................................................... 6
Additional Licensing Considerations ............................................................................................................... 6
License mobility .......................................................................................................................................... 6
Passive failover rights ................................................................................................................................. 7
Version and edition: Upgrades and downgrades ........................................................................................ 7
Note on mixed licensing environments ....................................................................................................... 8
SQL Server 2008 R2 Developer ................................................................................................................. 8

How to Assess Your Licensing Requirements ............................................................................... 9

1 Set Up Your MAP Scan .............................................................................................................................. 9
Guidelines to ensure a more accurate usage count ................................................................................. 10
2 Generate Relevant Reports ...................................................................................................................... 11
3 Count Server Licenses and CALs Required ............................................................................................. 14
Assess instances of SQL Server running in the physical machine or OSE .............................................. 15
Assess instances of SQL Server running in the VM or virtual OSE .......................................................... 16
Associate virtual OSEs with physical servers (machines) ........................................................................ 16
Count licenses: Optimizing license counts for physical and virtual OSEs ................................................ 17
Count CAL requirements .......................................................................................................................... 18
Make manual adjustments ........................................................................................................................ 18
4 Count Processor Licenses Required ........................................................................................................ 19
Assess instances of SQL Server running in the physical machine or OSE .............................................. 20
Assess instances of SQL Server running in the VM or virtual OSE .......................................................... 21
Associate virtual OSEs with physical servers (machines) ........................................................................ 21
Count virtual processors ........................................................................................................................... 22
Count licenses: Optimizing license counts for physical and virtual OSEs ................................................ 23

References and Resources ............................................................................................................. 25

References .................................................................................................................................................... 25
License Management Series......................................................................................................................... 26

Microsoft SQL Server Licensing Requirements

SQL Server is sold through multiple distribution channels. This guide focuses on SQL Server licenses
available through Volume Licensing as shown below.
Select
License/
Select
Plus

Open
Programs

Retail Full
Packaged
Product
(FPP)

OEM

Services
Provider
License
Agreement
(SPLA)

ISV Royalty
(ISVR)

Enterprise
Agreement
(EA)

Enterprise
Agreement
Platform
(EAP)

SQL Server
2008 R2
Datacenter
(Premium
Edition)

SQL Server
2008 R2
Enterprise

SQL Server
2008 R2
Standard

SQL Server
2008 R2
Web

SQL Server
2008 R2
Workgroup

SQL Server
2008 R2
Developer

SQL Server 2008 R2 editions are licensed either through the server license and client access license
(CAL) model or the per-processor licensing model. With the exception of SQL Server 2008 R2 Datacenter
and SQL Server 2008 R2 Web (which are only licensed by processor), you may choose the licensing that
best fits your specific business needs.
Before you run any instance of the server software under a software license, you must assign that license
to one of your physical servers. That physical server then becomes the licensed server for that particular
server software license. You may assign other software licenses to the same server, but you may not
assign the same license to more than one server. A hardware partition or blade is considered to be a
separate server.

You may reassign a license to another physical server once every 90 days. However, you may not
reassign an OEM license unless you first acquire Software Assurance (SA) for it.
On the other hand, you may move as often as you want a virtual instance of SQL Server to another server
that is properly licensed to support it. To track this, Microsoft recommends that you keep a current record
of all assigned servers, license type, SA coverage, and the date the server was assigned or reassigned.
For more information on licensing and virtualization, refer to Licensing Microsoft Server Products in Virtual
Environments.1

Server and CAL Licensing

When licensing SQL Server under the server and CAL model, you purchase a server license for the
server and client access licenses (CALs) for each device (Device CALs) and/or user (User CALs)
accessing or using the services or functionality of SQL Server. A CAL is not software; it is a legal
document granting access.
The server and CAL model is appropriate when you can count your users or devices, or when the number
of users and devices is low enough that the cost is lower than licensing by processor.

Server licenses
Server licenses for SQL Server 2008 R2 are available for Enterprise, Standard, and Workgroup editions.
Unlike other products following this licensing model, Microsoft does not offer an External Connector
license for SQL Server.

Running Instances and Virtualization

Standard and Workgroup Editions. Each server license for these editions permits you to run
unlimited instances of the software in one OSE or virtual machine (VM). To run the software in
additional OSEs or VMs, you require additional server licenses.

Enterprise Edition. Each server license for the Enterprise edition permits you to run unlimited
instances of the software in up to four OSEs or VMs.

microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9ef7fc47-c531-40f1-a4e9-9859e593a1f1

SQL Server Licensing Requirements

CALs
CALs are available for each edition of SQL Server 2008 R2 shown below.
Product

Applicable CALs

SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard and

Enterprise

SQL Server 2008 R2 CAL.

Windows Small Business Server 2011 Premium Add-on CAL Suite

(for any user or device that is accessing instances of the server

software that are within an SBS domain).
SQL Server 2008 R2 Workgroup

SQL Server 2008 R2 CAL.

SQL Server 2008 R2 Workgroup CAL.
Windows Small Business Server 2011 Premium Add-on CAL Suite

(for any user or device that is accessing instances of the server

software that are within an SBS domain).

A user CAL allows the user to access SQL Server from any number of devices. A device CAL allows any
number of users to access SQL Server from that device. In addition:

A given user or device needs only one SQL Server CAL to access any number of SQL Server
instances in the organization. Note that users or devices accessing SQL Server components, such
as Reporting Services, require CALs.

SQL Server CALs can be used to license any platform of SQL Server: 32 bit, 64 bit, and IA64.

The CAL requirements are the same for VMs as they are for physical servers.

CALs permit access to instances of earlier versions, but not later versions, of SQL Server.

Multiplexing
If the SQL servers in your organization have been licensed using both server and CAL and Per processor
licensing models, then check for any multiplexing scenarios in your organization and ensure that you are
licensed correctly:
For example if a SQL Server in your organization is licensed per processor and there is direct or indirect
access between this server and another SQL Server in your organization that is licensed Server-CAL,
then all the users accessing the SQL Server that is licensed per processor need SQL Server CALs. In this
scenario, the SQL Server that is licensed per processor is considered to be a multiplexing device.
Use of hardware or software that reduces the number of devices or users that directly access or use the
software (multiplexing, or pooling) does not reduce the number of CALs required, as illustrated on the
next page.

SQL Server Licensing Requirements

As illustrated to the right, a

SQL Server CAL and
Windows Server CAL are
required for each distinct
device or user that is
connected to the pooling
software or hardware front
end.

The number of tiers of

hardware or software
between SQL Server and
the user or devices that
ultimately use its data,
services, or functionality
does not affect the number
of CALs required.

Manual transfer of data

from employee to employee
does not require a CAL for
the receiving employee.
For example, if an employee
sends a Microsoft Office
Excel version of a SQL
Server report to another
employee, the receiving
employee does not require
a CAL (as long as the report
does not access a server
running SQL Server in
some way).

SQL Server Licensing Requirements

Per-Processor Licensing
To help alleviate the complexity of licensing, you can license SQL Server by processor. In this model, you
do not need to purchase CALs because the license includes access for an unlimited number of users or
devices to connect from either inside or outside the firewall, including users or devices that do not belong
to the licensed entity. If you license by processor, you need to license each OSE running SQL Server or
any of its components-for example, Analysis Services. For SQL Server running in physical OSEs, you
must license all the physical processors.
Processor licenses for SQL Server 2008 R2 are available for Datacenter, Enterprise, Standard, Web, and
Workgroup editions.
License SQL Server by processor when:

You cannot or do not want to count users or devices.

The number of users or devices is great enough that licensing per processor is more cost effective
than the Server and CAL model. (Processor licenses cost the same regardless of the number of
cores in the processor.)

SQL Server is being used for external-facing Web sites or applications.

SQL Server 2008 R2 Datacenter requires that all the physical processors on the server are licensed
and at least two processor licenses are assigned to the server.

Running Instances and Virtualization

The number of VMs or OSEs in which you may run instances of SQL Server 2008 R2 under the perprocessor model depends upon the edition you license and whether you license all of the physical
processors with processor licenses.

Licensing physical processors

If you license all the physical processors on the server-that is, one processor license per physical
processor-you may run SQL Server 2008 R2 in the following number of OSEs or VMs:
Edition

# of OSEs on which you can run SQL Server

SQL Server 2008 R2 Datacenter

Unlimited. (The Datacenter edition requires that all the

physical processors on the server are licensed and at
least two processor licenses are assigned to the
server.)

SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise

Up to 4 OSEs per license.

SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard, Workgroup, and Web

Physical OSE only.

SQL Server Licensing Requirements

Licensing by Virtual Machine

If you license VMs, you will need to know the number of logical processors supporting each VM (data
point A) and the number of cores or threads per physical processor or socket (data point B). Typically,
each logical processor is the equivalent of one core or thread.
With those numbers, for basic virtualization scenarios, use the information and formula below (illustrated
in the table) to determine how many processor licenses you need for each VM:

A: number of logical processors supporting the VM.

B: Number of cores (if hyperthreading is turned off) or threads (if hyperthreading is turned on) per
physical processor.

Formula:
A B = Number of processor licenses required.
Round up fractional results to the next whole number.
B: Number of cores or threads per physical processor or socket

A: Number
of logical
processors
supporting
the VM

Note: This table is useful for only basic virtualization scenarios.

Additional Licensing Considerations

License mobility
A server farm may consist of up to two data centers located in time zones that are within four hours of one
another, or within the European Union (EU) or European Free Trade Association (EFTA). License
mobility:

Within a server farm. You may move properly licensed running instances of SQL Server 2008 R2
Enterprise and Datacenter freely across servers. (There is no 90-day minimum period before
reassignment of licenses.)

In different server farms. You may reassign SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise and Datacenter server
licenses to any of your servers located in different server farms, but not on a short-term basisthat
is, not within 90 days of the last assignment.

SQL Server Licensing Requirements

Under the server and CAL model. You may move SQL Server2008 R2 Enterprise licenses
amongst the servers in your server farm freely and as often as you want without the 90-day
restriction on reassignment.

Under the per-processor model. Count the greatest number of physical processors that may
support running instances of SQL Server at any one time across the server farm. If you are not sure
about which physical processors support SQL Server, count all the processors. Assign this number
of licenses to the server farm.
You may run an unlimited number of instances of:
SQL Server 2008 R2 Datacenter in an unlimited number of OSEs.
SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise in a number of OSEs equal to four times the number of licenses
assigned.

Note: Each datacenter may be part of only one server farm. You may reassign a datacenter from one
server farm to another, but not on a short-term basis--that is, not within 90 days of the last assignment.

Passive failover rights

If you are licensed to use SQL Server, you are allowed to run a certain number of instances of the
software for passive failover support without having to license these instances separately. You may run
the passive failover instances on a server other than the licensed server.
For any OSE in which you run instances of SQL Server, you may run up to the same number of passive
failover instances in a separate OSE for temporary support. For processor licensing, however, the number
of physical and virtual processors used in that separate OSE must not exceed the number of physical and
virtual processors used in the corresponding OSE in which the active instances are running.

Version and edition: Upgrades and downgrades

Version
upgrade

Description

Eligibility

Move from an earlier

version (such as SQL
Server 2008) to a later
version (such as SQL
Server 2008 R2).

If your existing SQL Server license is:

Covered by Software Assurance (SA), you are automatically

licensed to upgrade to the corresponding SQL Server 2008 R2

edition.
Not covered by SA, you must purchase a new full license for the

SQL Server 2008 R2 edition that you want.

Version
downgrade

Deploy an earlier version

in place of a currently
licensed later version.

Downgrade rights are granted for all licenses (with or without SA)
acquired through Volume Licensing.

Down-edition
right

Deploy a lower edition

(such as Standard) in
place of a higher edition
(such as Enterprise).

If you are licensed for:

Datacenter edition, you may deploy the Enterprise or Standard

edition in its place.

Enterprise edition, you may deploy the Standard edition in its place.

SQL Server Licensing Requirements

Edition
step-up

Move from lower edition

(e.g., Standard) to higher
edition (e.g., Enterprise).

If the lower edition is covered by SA, acquire the SA Step-Up SKU to

move to the higher edition. Step-ups are available from Workgroup to
Standard, Standard to Enterprise, and Enterprise to Datacenter.

Note: When using version downgrade or down-edition rights, the product use rights for the originally
licensed version or edition still apply.

Note on mixed licensing environments

If the SQL Servers in your organization have been licensed variously under both the server and CAL
model and by processor, check to see if there are any multiplexing scenarios, and then make sure that
your servers are licensed correctly.
For example, if a SQL Server in your organization is licensed per processor, and there is either direct or
indirect access between this server and another SQL Server that is licensed using the server and CAL
model, then all users accessing the SQL Server that is licensed per processor need CALs. In this
scenario, the SQL Server that is licensed per processor is considered as a multiplexing device.

SQL Server 2008 R2 Developer

SQL Server 2008 R2 Developer is licensed by user. The software may be used by the licensed users only
to design, develop, test, and demonstrate your programs. You may not use the software in a production
environment. The licensing analysis for Developer edition is not covered in this document.

SQL Server Licensing Requirements

How to Assess Your Licensing Requirements

To help you assess licensing requirements for SQL Server 2008 R2, Microsoft has developed a Software
Usage Tracker. Part of the Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit, it collects and reports
server and client use of common SQL Server deployments.
This section includes step-by-step instructions to help you generate usage reports and explains
specifically how to use them to help determine your SQL Server licensing obligations. To do this, follow
these four broad steps:
1. Set up your MAP scan.
2. Generate relevant reports.
3. Count server licenses and CALs required.
4. Count processor licenses required.
Completing this assessment requires network administration expertise and permissions as well as
licensing expertise. If licensing compliance and network administration responsibilities fall to different
people in your organization, they will need to work together to complete this assessment correctly.
Note: It is important to understand that the Software Usage Tracker only provides a software usage
report; it does not create a licensing report. And although the guidance offered in this section may be
helpful, it is not definitive. It does not replace or supersede your use rights as legally defined in your
PUR document.

1 Set Up Your MAP Scan

In this first step, you will tell MAP what to scan. To complete it, you need server administration expertise
and permissions.
1. Download the MAP Toolkit from www.microsoft.com/map.
2. To configure your MAP deployment, follow the Getting Started Guide and Software Usage Tracker
Guide instructions built into the MAP installation.

Guidelines to ensure a more accurate usage count

If licensing compliance falls to others in your organization, you may want to work with them to make sure
you consider the points below in the scan you set up.
Make sure your configuration is complete. MAP only scans usage on servers and network segments
identified during configuration. Incomplete configuration will give you incomplete results.
Scan over a time period when your OSE is running the maximum number of servers and VMs.
MAP only counts servers running at the time it scans. If the number of users and devices fluctuates
seasonally, run the scan in your busiest season.
Scan servers with different license obligations separately.

Configure your network scan range to take licensing variations of products into account. The
Software Usage Tracker Guide explains how to exclude network segments or specific devices from
the scan.

Scan servers that are licensed under the server and CAL licensing model separately from servers
that are licensed by processor licensing model.

Exclude servers subject to different licensing obligations, like development or test servers licensed
under the MSDN developer program.

Make note of network segments that you exclude due to licensing variations to ensure that you
correctly account for their licensing later. For example, make sure that you have MSDN licenses for
servers licensed under MSDN programs.

How to Assess Your Licensing Requirements

10

2 Generate Relevant Reports

Before you begin, make sure to review the SQL Server Licensing Requirements outlined in the first half
of this guide.
In this section, you run the MAP scan, and then generate three reports on your servers running SQL
Server: SQL Server Assessment, Virtual Machine Discovery, and Inventory Summary reports.
1. Run the MAP assessment.
2. In the Software Usage Tracker, click Inventory and Assessment.
Note: The default date range is 90 days. To change the date range, click Configure Date Range
under Actions.

3. Under Discovery and Readiness, click Microsoft SQL Server Discovery.

4. Under Actions, click Generate Report to create the SQL Server Assessment report (a Microsoft
Office Excel worksheet).

How to Assess Your Licensing Requirements

11

5. Click Virtual Machine Discovery to get an inventory of VMs and guest operating systems.

6. To generate the second report, under Actions, click Generate Report to create the Virtual Machine
Discovery report in Excel.
This spreadsheet gives details on physical servers running VMs and the host-to-guest relationship
for virtualized servers.

How to Assess Your Licensing Requirements

12

7. Under Inventory and Assessment, click Inventory Summary Results to see the summary
information on computers and operating systems that the MAP tool discovers.

8. Under Actions, click Generate Report to create the third Excel report, Inventory Summary.
This spreadsheet gives details on all the physical and virtual machines that MAP inventoried.

How to Assess Your Licensing Requirements

13

3 Count Server Licenses and CALs Required

As suggested earlier, scan the servers that are licensed for SQL Server under the per-processor licensing
model separately from servers licensed under the server and CAL model.
In this section, you will use the reports you generated in the previous section to count the number of
server licenses and CALs you require.
1. In MAP, click View, and then click Saved Reports and Proposals.
2. Open the SQL Server Assessment report, and then open the Database Instances worksheet.
This worksheet details the instances of SQL Server on each physical and virtual server.
3. Select the whole worksheet, and then on the Insert toolbar, click Pivot Table Wizard.
Note: To select the whole worksheet, click any cell within the data table, and press Ctrl+A.
4. In the Create Pivot Table box, click OK.
5. In the Pivot Table Field List, check the
following fields in this order:
i. Computer Name
ii. SQL Server Product Name
iii. SQL Server Edition
iv. SQL Service State
v. Machine Type
6. In the Report Filter, drag the following
fields:
Machine Type
SQL Service State

How to Assess Your Licensing Requirements

14

Assess instances of SQL Server running in the physical machine

or OSE
1. Generate a report with the Report Filter values set to the following:
SQL Service State: Running
Machine Type: Physical

Example
The Computer Name, CE4P-3E32-R2-1.MAP.COM, has two running instances of SQL Server as
shown below:

Machine Type
SQL Service State

Physical
Running

Row Labels
CE4P-3E32-R2-1.MAP.COM
Microsoft SQL Server 2005
Standard Edition
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2
Enterprise Edition
2. Determine the highest edition and latest version of SQL Server running by taking into consideration
the multi-instancing, prior-version, and down-edition rights for SQL Server.
Note: Licenses of SQL Server Enterprise versions before 2008 R2 have prior-version rights but do
not have down-edition rights.
3. Repeat Step 2 above for every value of the Computer Name in the pivot table, and then generate a
summary table as shown below.
Physical OSE Licensing

Computer Name (Physical)

Highest edition and latest version of

SQL Server running in OSE

CE4P-3E32-R2-1.MAP.COM

SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise

Computer B
Computer C

How to Assess Your Licensing Requirements

15

Assess instances of SQL Server running in the VM or virtual OSE

1. Generate a report with the Report Filter values set to the following:
Machine Type: Virtual
SQL Service State: Running
2. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 from the section on the previous page to generate the table below. Record the
highest edition and latest version of SQL Server running in the VM.
Virtual OSE Licensing

Computer Name (Virtual)

Highest edition and latest version of

SQL Server running in OSE

Virtual Server A

SQL Server 2008 Standard

Virtual Server B

SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise

Virtual Server C

SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard

Associate virtual OSEs with physical servers (machines)

1. In the MAP tool, click View, and then click Saved Reports and Proposals.
2. Open the VMReport, and then open the Host and Guest Details worksheet.
3. Select the whole worksheet, and then on the Insert toolbar, click the Pivot Table Wizard.
4. In the Create Pivot Table box, click OK.
5. In the Pivot Table Field List, check the following fields in this order:
i. Physical Server Name
ii. Virtual Machine FQDN
6. In the pivot table, look up each Computer Name (Virtual) listed in the Virtual OSE Licensing table and
find the associated Physical Server Name. (The Computer Name (Virtual) and Virtual Machine FQDN
are analogous.) Add the additional data into the Virtual OSE Licensing table from the previous section.
Virtual OSE Licensing

Computer Name (Physical)

Computer Name (Virtual)

Highest edition and latest

version of SQL Server running

Physical Server 009

Virtual Server A

SQL Server 2008 Standard

Physical Server 412

Virtual Server B

SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise

Physical Server 006

Virtual Server C

SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard

How to Assess Your Licensing Requirements

16

Count licenses: Optimizing license counts for physical and virtual OSEs
Once you have assessed the instances running the physical and virtual OSEs as described in the earlier
sections, you are ready to calculate the final license count.
1. In the Physical OSE Licensing table for every Computer Name (Physical), check if it is associated
with any Computer Name (Virtual) in the Virtual OSE Licensing table.
If NO, then you need a license for the highest edition and latest version of SQL Server running for
that Computer Name (Physical).
If YES, then follow Step 3 below.
2. If the Computer Name (Physical) is associated with one or more Computer Name (Virtual) in the
Virtual OSE Licensing table you can choose to either:
License each individual OSE separately by licensing it for the highest edition and latest version of
SQL Server running; or
Take advantage of the enhanced virtualization rights in SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise that allow
you to run SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise (or lower editions and earlier versions) in up to four
OSEs/VMs on the server for each license assigned.
Note that versions of SQL Server licenses before 2008 R2 have only the prior-version rights and
do not have down-edition rights. Based on this information make sure that each such set of
physical and virtual OSEs are licensed.
3. For each Computer Name (Virtual) in the Virtual OSE Licensing table, verify if the associated
Computer Name (Physical) is already identified as a server running SQL Server in the Physical OSE
Licensing table:
If it is not, then:
- Computer Name (Virtual) needs a license for the highest edition and latest version of SQL
Server running as per the table.
- If multiple Computer Names (Virtual) are associated with the same Computer Name (Physical),
you can either choose to license each individual Computer Name (Virtual) separately as in Step
1 above or take advantage of the enhanced virtualization rights in SQL Server 2008 R2
Enterprise that allow you to run SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise (or lower editions and earlier
versions) in up to four OSEs/VMs on the server for each license assigned.
Note that versions of SQL Server licenses before 2008 R2 have only the prior-version rights
and do not have down-edition rights. Again, make sure that each such group of OSEs and VMs
are licensed properly.
If it is, then you have already covered the licensing in Step 2 above.

How to Assess Your Licensing Requirements

17

Count CAL requirements

1. In the Software Usage Tracker, click Software Usage Summary.
2. Click SQL Server to get the number of unique users and devices that have accessed the SQL
servers configured for the past 90 days.

3. Convert the usage number into a license count.

The number of CALs you need equals the number of your users or devices, whichever is fewer.
The version of SQL Server CALs must be equal to or later than the version of SQL Servers you
have deployed.
SQL Server Workgroup CALs cannot access SQL Server Standard or Enterprise.
You do not need CALs for:
- Any servers licensed for and running instances of SQL Server.
- Up to two devices or users that access instances of SQL Server only to administer those
instances.

Make manual adjustments

If you license SQL Server with a combination of user and device CALs, that would reduce the total
number of CALs you need, but you must calculate the licenses manually.

If you are running SQL Server licensed under more than one licensing model, make sure that you
have the appropriate number of CALs by checking for any multiplexing scenarios in the deployment.
(For more information about multiplexing, see page 3.)

How to Assess Your Licensing Requirements

18

4 Count Processor Licenses Required

Once you have completed the MAP scan of your servers licensed using the server and CAL model, you
will need to scan any servers you have licensed by processor.
Once you have completed that scan, follow these steps to evaluate the licensing requirements. You will
use the reports you generated in the second section to count the number of processor licenses you
require.
1. In MAP, click View, and then click Saved Reports and Proposals.
2. Open the SQL Server Assessment report, and then open the Database Instances worksheet.
This worksheet details the instances of SQL Server on each physical/virtual server.
3. Select the whole worksheet, and then on the Insert toolbar, click the Pivot Table Wizard.
4. In the Create Pivot Table box, click OK.
5. In the Pivot Table Field List, check the following in this order:
i. Computer Name
ii. SQL Server Product Name
iii. SQL Server Edition
iv. SQL Service State
v. Number of Processors
vi. Machine Type
6. In the Report Filter, drag and drop the
following fields:
SQL Service State
Machine Type
7. In the Values window, click Sum of
Number of Processors.
8. Click Value Field Settings, and then click
Average.

How to Assess Your Licensing Requirements

19

Assess instances of SQL Server running in the physical machine

or OSE
1. Generate a report with the Report Filter values set to the following:
SQL Service State: Running
Machine Type: Physical

Example
The physical machine, CE4P-3E32-R5-1.MAP.COM, has running instances of SQL Server as shown
below. The Physical OSE/Server is accessing two processors.

Machine Type
SQL Service State

Physical
Running

Row Labels
CE4P-3E32-R5-1.MAP.COM
Microsoft SQL Server 2005
Enterprise Edition
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2
Enterprise Edition

Average of Number of Processors

2
2
2
2
2

Note: The physical server has two processors and will need two processor licenses for the highest
edition and latest version of SQL Server software running in the OSE, which is SQL Server 2008 R2
Enterprise.
2. Determine the highest edition and latest version of SQL Server running in OSE by taking into
consideration the multi-instancing, prior-version, and down-edition rights for SQL Server 2008 R2.
Note: Licenses of SQL Server versions before 2008 R2 have prior-version rights but do not have
down-edition rights.
3. Repeat Step 2 for every value of the Computer Name in the pivot table, and then generate a
summary table as shown below.
Physical OSE Licensing

Computer Name (Physical)

Highest edition and latest version

of SQL Server running

Number of Processors

CE4P-3E32-R2-1.MAP.COM

SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise

Physical Server B
Physical Server C

How to Assess Your Licensing Requirements

20

Assess instances of SQL Server running in the VM or virtual OSE

1. Generate a report with the Report Filter values set to the following:
SQL Server State: Running
Machine Type: Virtual
2. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 from the section on the previous page to create the following table:
Virtual OSE Licensing

Computer
Name
(Physical)

Computer
Name
(Virtual)
Computer A

Highest edition and

latest version of
SQL Server running
in OSE
SQL Server 2008 R2
Enterprise

Number of
logical
processors

Cores/
Threads per
physical
processor

Number of
virtual
processors

Computer B
Computer C

Associate virtual OSEs with physical servers (machines)

1. In MAP, click View, and then click Saved Reports and Proposals.
2. Open the VMReport, and then open the Host and Guest Details worksheet.
3. Select the whole worksheet, and then on the Insert toolbar, click the Pivot Table Wizard.
4. In the Create Pivot Table box, click OK.
5. In the Pivot Table Field List, check the following fields in this order:
i.

Physical Server Name

ii.

Virtual Machine FQDN

How to Assess Your Licensing Requirements

21

6. In the Pivot Table, look up each Computer Name (Virtual) listed in the Virtual OSE Licensing table
and find the associated Physical Server Name. (Note that the Computer Name (Virtual) and Virtual
Machine FQDN are analogous.) Add the additional data into the Virtual OSE Licensing table from the
previous section.
Virtual OSE Licensing

Computer
Name
(Physical)

Computer
Name
(Virtual)

Physical
Server A

Computer A

Physical
Server B

Computer B

Physical
Server C

Computer C

Highest edition and

latest version of
SQL Server running
in OSE
SQL Server 2008 R2
Enterprise

Number of
logical
processors

Cores/
Threads per
physical
processor

Number of
virtual
processors

Count virtual processors

1. In the MAP tool, click View, and then click Saved Reports and Proposals.
2. Open the Hardware and Software Summary report, and then open the Hardware Inventory
worksheet.
3. Select the whole worksheet, and then on the Insert toolbar, click the Pivot Table Wizard.
4. In the Create Pivot Table box, click OK.
5. In the Pivot Table Field List, check Computer Name.
6. In Values, drag and drop the following:
Number of Processors
Logical Processor Count
7. In the Report Filter, drag and drop Machine Type.
8. In the pivot table, set the Machine Type to Physical.
9. For each Computer Name (Physical) in the Virtual OSE Licensing table, look up in the pivot table
the Count of Logical Processor and divide that number by the corresponding Count of Number of
Processors. Enter the result in the table following Step 10 in the Cores/Threads per physical
processor column.

How to Assess Your Licensing Requirements

22

10. In the Virtual OSE Licensing table below, for every row divide the Number of logical processors by
the Cores/Threads per physical processor. Round up the result to the next whole number if
required and enter it in the column labeled Number of virtual processors.
Virtual OSE Licensing

Computer
Name
(Physical)

Computer
Name
(Virtual)

Physical
Server A

Computer A

Physical
Server B

Computer B

Physical
Server C

Computer C

Highest edition and

latest version of
SQL Server running
in OSE
SQL Server 2008 R2
Enterprise

Number of
logical
processors

Cores/
Threads per
physical
processor

Number of
virtual
processors

Count licenses: Optimizing license counts for physical and virtual OSEs
Once you have assessed the instances running the physical and virtual OSEs as described in the earlier
sections you are ready to arrive at the final license count.
1. In the Physical OSE Licensing table, check for every Computer Name (Physical) to see if it is
associated with any Computer Name (Virtual) in the Virtual OSE Licensing table.
If NO, then you need a license for every processor (Number of Processors) for the highest edition
and latest version of SQL running for that Computer Name (Physical).
If YES, then follow Step 2.
2. If the Computer Name (Physical) is associated with one or more Computer Names (Virtual) in the
Virtual OSE Licensing table, for that Computer Name (Physical) select the better or cheaper of the
following two options, A and B:
License each individual OSE separately by:
A. Licensing each processor (Number of Processors in the Physical OSE Licensing table) in the
Computer Name (Physical) for the highest edition and latest version of SQL Server running,
and
B. Licensing each processor (number of virtual processors in the Virtual OSE Licensing table) in
each Computer Name (Virtual) associated with the Computer Name (Physical) in the previous
step for the highest edition and latest version of SQL running.
License each processor (Number of Processors in the Physical OSE Licensing table) in the
Computer Name (Physical) with either SQL Server 2008 R2 Datacenter or SQL Server 2008 R2
Enterprise.
As mentioned earlier, when you license all the physical processors you get enhanced virtualization
rights as described in the table below. Combined with the prior-version and down-edition rights,

How to Assess Your Licensing Requirements

23

licensing Computer Name (Physical) with these higher editions of SQL Server could economically
cover the licensing requirements of all the Computer Name (Virtual) associated with the Computer
Name (Physical). Your selection of edition should be based on the number of OSEs running SQL
Server in the Computer Name (Physical).
Edition

Number of OSEs in which you can run

server software

SQL Server 2008 R2 Datacenter

Unlimited.

SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise

Up to 4 OSEs per license.

SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard, Workgroup, and Web

Physical OSE only.

3. In the next step, for each Computer Name (Virtual) in the Virtual OSE Licensing table, verify if the
associated Computer Name (Physical) is already identified as a server running SQL Server in the
Physical OSE Licensing table.
If it is not, then:
- Computer Name (Virtual) needs a license for the highest edition and latest version of SQL
running as for every processor (number of virtual processors in the Virtual OSE Licensing
table).
- If multiple Computer Names (Virtual) are associated with the same Computer Name (Physical),
follow the options as described in Step 2 (starting on the previous page).
If it is, then you have already covered the licensing in Step 2 (on the previous page).

How to Assess Your Licensing Requirements

24

References and Resources

References

Detailed SQL Server product information including new version features and edition comparisons:
microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/default.aspx

SQL Server 2008 licensing:

microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/licensing.aspx

SQL Server 2008 pricing:

microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/pricing.aspx

SQL Server 2008 R2 Licensing Quick Reference Guide explains the basics of how SQL Server is
licensed and sold:
microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/get-sql-server/how-to-buy.aspx

Information on licensing SQL Server for virtual environments:

microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/virtualization.aspx

Volume Licensing Product Use Rights:

microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/product-licensing.aspx

The Software Dependency Guide lists the dependent licenses required for SQL Server under
Volume Licensing:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/5/C/15CCF7C4-403D-4893-988B58FD7B8BC87D/Software_Dependency_Guide.docx

Volume Licensing Briefs provide in-depth knowledge of key licensing topics, including product
downgrade rights, step-up licensing, and multiplexing:
microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/volume-licensing-briefs.aspx

Application Server License Mobility Brief:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/3/d/4/3d42bdc2-6725-4b29-b75aa5b04179958b/Application_Server_License_Mobility_VL_Brief.doc

Step-up Licensing White paper:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/8/9/68964284-864d-4a6d-aed9f2c1f8f23e14/stepup_license.docx

25

Client Access Licenses (CALs):

microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/client-access-license.aspx

Software Asset Management (SAM):

microsoft.com/sam/en/us/default.aspx

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit (MAP):

microsoft.com/map

License Management Series

This guide is one in a series of five in-depth how-to guides that can help you generate and interpret MAP
Toolkit Software Usage Tracker reports that you can use to calculate the number of server licenses and
CALs you need.
Refer to Guidance for MAP Toolkit Software Usage Tracker2 to download the other four guides:

Assessing Windows Server Licensing

Assessing Exchange Server Licensing

Assessing SharePoint Server Licensing

Assessing System Center Configuration Manager Licensing

microsoft.com/sam/en/us/briefs.aspx

2011 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

This document is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN
THIS DOCUMENT. This information is provided to help guide your authorized use of products you license; it is not your
agreement. Your use of products licensed under your Volume Licensing agreement is governed by the terms and conditions
of that agreement. In the case of any conflict between this information and your agreement, the terms and conditions of your
agreement control. Prices for licenses acquired through Microsoft resellers are determined by the reseller.
0511

References and Resources

26