Licensing SQL Server with System Center

Customers using SQL Server to support certain System Center and Forefront management products have three licensing options. System Center Configuration Manager (used to automate software deployment, inventory hardware and software assets, and report on OS and application compliance with configuration policies set by administrators) was chosen for this illustration, but the same concepts apply to System Center Essentials, Mobile Device Manager, Operations Manager, Service Manager, and Forefront Client Security, which will be renamed Forefront Endpoint Protection in the next version.

The top section of this illustration shows licensing SQL Server under the server-CAL model for use with Configuration Manager. A server license for SQL Server is required for the server computer hosting the SQL Server database engine, and a SQL Server Client Access License (CAL) is required for each managed workstation/end-user (bottom) as well as each managed server (upper right), which is considered a client of SQL Server in this context. (When a SQL Server—based management application collects performance, inventory, or configuration information from physical servers, each physical server needs a SQL Server Device CAL under the server-CAL model.) The server running the system management software requires a Configuration Manager server license (upper left), and all Windows servers participating in the Configuration Manager system, including the SQL Server computer, must be licensed for an edition of Windows Server.