Some Windows 2000 Server Products Get Per-Processor Pricing

Microsoft’s newly announced Per-Processor pricing model applies to six server applications in the Windows DNA 2000 lineup-including SQL Server 2000, BizTalk Server 2000, and Application Center 2000-but not to Exchange Server 2000 or Windows 2000 Server. The Per-Processor pricing model dispenses with the notion of Client Access Licenses (CALs) and instead bases the total server application licensing fee solely on the number of CPUs inside a server machine. While many specific details about the new pricing model have yet to be disclosed, organizations must begin to consider the model’s software acquisition cost and administrative implications, as well as how it might impact the architecture of their data center.

When applied to e-commerce applications (i.e., used outside the corporate firewall), the new Per-Processor pricing model alleviates some of the complexity and inconsistency associated with previous server application pricing models. But, in many cases, it results in a higher overall licensing fee. Also, since only a subset of server products support the Per-Processor model for use inside the corporate firewall, organizations utilizing the full suite of Microsoft server applications on their corporate WAN still need to master the intricacies of Per-Processor as well as other legacy pricing models.