Clusters and licensing in 2005

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
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
"Peter Feakins" <PeterFeakins@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:6ECF0749-8857-4791-A36C-025EDC6B276F@.microsoft.com...
>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
|||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.
"Peter Feakins" wrote:

> 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
|||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/downlo..._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
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.
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