SQL Licensing - Choose the right licensing model to meet your business needs.

SQL Server 2005 is available under three different licensing options: per processor or per server plus device/user client access licenses (CALs):

Processor Licensing Model
A license is required for each physical or virtual processor accessed by an operating system environment running SQL Server. This license does not require any device or user client access licenses (CALs).

Under this structure, a customer acquires a separate Processor license for each processor that is located in the server running the SQL Server software. If you have made a processor inaccessible to all operating system copies on which the SQL Server software is set up to run, you do not need a software license for that processor. This licensing model is most appropriate for applications that are accessible through the Internet and for internal applications with a high client-to-server ratio.

For more information about licensing SQL Server, read the Server Processor End-User License Agreement (EULA).

Server Plus Device CALs Licensing Model
Server plus device client access license (CAL) licensing requires a separate Server license (for either SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition or Enterprise Edition) for each server on which the software is installed, plus a CAL for each client device.

A SQL Server CAL is required for a device (for example, a personal computer, workstation, terminal, personal digital assistant, or mobile phone) to access or use the services or functionality of either edition of SQL Server. For more information on the requirements for devices that use SQL Server functionality without directly accessing the database, please click here.

Server plus device CAL licensing is optimal for customers who do not need access beyond the firewall and who have relatively low CAL-to-server ratios (for example, approximately 25 or fewer devices per processor for Standard Edition and 75 or fewer devices per processor for Enterprise Edition). The device CAL model will likely be more cost-effective than user CALs if there are multiple users per device (for example, a call center or an airport kiosk).

Server Plus User CALs Licensing Model
Server plus user client access license (CAL) licensing requires a separate Server license for each server on which the software is installed, plus a user CAL for each user accessing the server.

A SQL Server CAL is required for a user to access or use the services or functionality of either edition of SQL Server. For more information on the requirements for devices that use SQL Server functionality without directly accessing the database, please click here.

Server plus user CAL licensing is optimal for customers who do not need access beyond the firewall and who have relatively low CAL-to-server ratios (for example, approximately 25 or fewer users per processor for Standard Edition and 75 or fewer users per processor for Enterprise Edition). The user CAL model will likely be more cost effective than device CALs if there are multiple devices per user (for example, a user has a laptop and handheld computer accessing SQL Server).