Clusters and licensing in 2005

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Peter Feakins - 23 Nov 2005 18:45 GMT

I need help with a licensing question for 2005. Assuming two servers with two
processors each:

If I have one instance on Server A in an active/passive cluster with Server
B, my understanding is that I need licenses for two processors on Server A)

If I have one instance on Server A and one instance on Server B
(Active/active cluster) my understanding is that I need licenses for all 4
processors.

If I have two instances on Server A and am using Server B for failover, how
many licenses do I need? In the case of a single instance failing over I'd
have instances running on both servers.

thanks

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Rodney R. Fournier [MVP] - 23 Nov 2005 18:49 GMT

Your best bet is call Microsoft. The answer varies depending on your
current/future agreement with them. Various price points can exist.

Cheers,

Rod

MVP - Windows Server - Clustering
http://www.nw-america.com - Clustering Website
http://msmvps.com/clustering - Blog
http://www.clusterhelp.com - Cluster Training

>I need help with a licensing question for 2005. Assuming two servers with
>two
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>
> thanks

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Peter Feakins - 23 Nov 2005 20:44 GMT

The answer from Microsoft licensing was that any multi-instance cluster is
considered to be active/active rather than active/passive, regardless of
where the instances run. In this case processors on both servers would need
licenses.

> I need help with a licensing question for 2005. Assuming two servers with two
> processors each:
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> thanks

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Uttam Parui[MS] - 30 Nov 2005 22:43 GMT

Hi Peter,

I am not a Licensing expert but I found a Whitepaper on SQL Server 2005 Licensing that you may find helpful. Here is the link

http://download.microsoft.com/download/e/3/7/e37e542f-f90c-4d5f-864c-3f428d5add5
e/SQL2005_Licensing.doc

Here is a section from the whitepaper

When doing failover support, a server is designated as the passive server. The purpose of the passive server is to absorb the data and information held in another server that fails. A passive server does not need a
license, provided that the number of processors in the passive server is equal or less than those of the active server. The passive server can take the duties of the active server for 30 days. Afterwards, it must be
licensed accordingly.

Also, found another link that you may find helpful

SQL Server 2005 Licensing: Frequently Asked Questions
http://www.microsoft.com/sql/howtobuy/faq.mspx

Here is a section from this link

Q. How does licensing work for computers that run SQL Server 2005 in failover scenarios?
A. Failover support, where servers are clustered together and set to pick up processing duties if one computer should fail, is now available in Workgroup, Standard, and Enterprise editions of SQL Server 2005.
Under each of these editions, keeping a passive server for failover purposes does not require a license as long as the passive server has the same or fewer processors than the active server (under the per
processor scenario). For details on which failover methods are available under each edition, visit the SQL Server 2005 Features Comparison page.

HTH,

Best Regards,

Uttam Parui
Microsoft Corporation

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