SQL Server 2017 Failover Licensing Exemption Rules

Rules governing SQL Server failover rights were clarified in a Microsoft licensing datasheet in Oct. 2017, and they could prove useful to customers who use Always On Availability Groups for high availability or disaster recovery. Under failover rights, one server that runs passive failover instances of SQL Server might not need to be licensed as long as the server is not used for reporting, backup, or any other purpose apart from taking over when a primary server fails. Customers who implement and document the use of this right correctly could save considerably on their SQL Server licensing costs.

Rules Refined in 2014

In general, any device used to run instances of paid SQL Server editions (such as Standard or Enterprise) must be licensed for SQL Server. One major exception is for passive failover servers that remain inactive until they take over when a primary server fails or is taken out of service. This switchover is generally performed with high-availability technology, such as failover clustering, that shifts the workload from one server to another. To qualify for the exemption, the passive failover server cannot perform any type of production work (including backups, reporting, or data analysis) while it is waiting for the primary server to fail.