Server Editions

For the most part, SQL Server’s eight editions are packaged in a “Russian doll” fashion, with each higher edition’s features being a superset of the lower edition. The two low-end editions are offered at no charge and the others are licensed for a fee. (See the chart “Pricing for SQL Server 2008 R2 Editions“.)

With SQL Server 2008 R2, Microsoft released a new high-end Datacenter edition and made a variety of licensing-related changes—mostly affecting Standard and Enterprise editions—including imposition of new technical limits (amount of RAM and number of processors), tightening of one virtualization-related usage right and the loosening of another, and higher prices.

Customers must take care to select the correct SQL Server edition for their requirements. Migrating to a higher-level edition because the first selection proves inadequate could mean incurring the full cost of a new license for the higher-level edition. In some cases, Microsoft offers step-up licenses that, for the difference in price between the higher-level and lower-level editions, let customers migrate to the higher-level edition. However, to be eligible to purchase step-up licenses, customers must have purchased SA for the original license at the time they purchased it (it cannot be added later) and must be willing to pay the necessary amounts to cover the higher-level edition under SA as well. (For a deeper explanation of SA, see the chapter “SQL Server and Volume Licensing Programs“.)