Appendix: SQL Server 2008 Pricing and Packaging

SQL Server 2008 introduces a low-cost Web Edition that targets Web hosters’ and organizations’ public-facing Web sites. The growth of virtualization has also thrown a new focus on the product’s rules for virtual machines. Otherwise, the product’s pricing, licensing, and packaging have changed little from the previous version.

Licensing Basics

SQL Server offers two different licensing models: Server-CAL and per-processor. In the server-CAL model, an organization purchases a server license for each server running SQL Server and a Client Access License (CAL) for each client user or device. In the per-processor model, the organization typically purchases a license for each processor in the server, which grants an unlimited number of users access to the server. The server-CAL model offers a low cost of entry for installations with small numbers of clients, while installations with large numbers of clients will likely use per-processor licensing.

Note that full SQL Server licenses are required even for computers running a subset of the server components. For example, a computer running only Analysis Services still requires full SQL Server licensing. Similarly, an organization can’t install Analysis Services on one server and the SQL Server database engine on another and then license both servers with a single license. Developer and management tools (such as the BI Development Studio and Management Studio), client components, and online help do not require their own server licenses.