SQL Server 2019 Licensing Guide – The Chronic

SQL Server 2019 Licensing Guide

SQL Server 2019 editions

Overview
SQL Server 2019 is offered in two main commercial editions to accommodate the unique feature, performance and price requirements of organizations and individuals:
• Enterprise Edition is ideal for applications requiring mission critical in-memory performance, security and high availability.
• Standard Edition delivers fully featured database capabilities for mid-tier applications and data marts.
The editions are offered in a straightforward, tiered model that creates greater consistency across the product editions, features and licensing. Enterprise Edition includes all the capabilities available in SQL Server 2019
Through a consistent programming interface across all editions, it is easier than ever for developers and partners to build and upgrade applications that take advantage of advanced performance, security, and data mart or data warehouse features – regardless of scale, from Express to Enterprise.
SQL Server Standard Edition sets the bar for rich programming capabilities, security innovations, and fast performance for mid-tier applications and data marts. SQL Server Standard Edition can easily be upgraded to Enterprise Edition as workloads scale or for mission critical workloads without requiring an application re-write. Enterprise Edition continues to deliver the highest levels of mission critical scalability, availability, and performance as well as maximum virtualization rights with Software Assurance.
SQL Server 2019 now comes with Apache Spark and Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS) for intelligence over all your data. With SQL Server 2019 Enterprise and Standard edition, customers can deploy Big Data Clusters. SQL Server 2019 Big Data Clusters makes it easier to manage a big data environment. It provides key elements of a data lake—Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS), Spark, and analytics tools—deeply integrated with SQL Server and fully supported by Microsoft. SQL Server 2019 Big Data Clusters can be easily deployed using Linux containers on a Kubernetes-managed cluster. A SQL Server 2019 Big Data Cluster consists of two distinct components
• SQL Server Master Instance is SQL Server 2019 Enterprise or Standard Edition on Linux with all the typical features
• Big Data Nodes are the worker nodes with HDFS, Spark and SQL Server engine for scale-out storage and compute

Other specialty editions of SQL Server 2019 include Developer Edition, which is licensed for non-production
use; the freely downloadable and distributable Express Edition. SQL Server Web Edition remains available only under the Microsoft Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA).
▶ For general information on each of the SQL Server 2019 editions, visit
▶ For detailed product specifications and a full feature-by-feature comparison of the SQL Server 2019 editions, visit https://aka.ms/sql2019editions

• For more information on the compute capacity limits for each edition of SQL Server 2019, visit more information on SQL Server 2019 Big Data Clusters, visit https://aka.ms/SQL_Server_Big_Data_Clusters

SQL Server 2019 and Software Assurance

Software Assurance (SA) for Volume Licensing helps boost IT productivity by enabling customers to get the most from Microsoft software products. SA benefits—including 24×7 support, deployment planning services, user and technical training, and the latest software releases and unique technologies—are combined in one cost-effective program.
For SQL Server, using these benefits can help customers improve productivity and help IT efficiently deploy and manage SQL Server software. As hardware capacity and licensing needs expand, SQL Server customers with SA coverage can enjoy the benefit of adding incremental licenses without worrying about the software version licensed. Software licenses and use rights are version-specific and as such, licenses for different software versions cannot be combined when licensing a single operating system environment. As a benefit of having access to the latest version of SQL Server software, SA customers licensed under the core licensing model (for example) can easily combine current version core licenses with future version core licenses, without the need to track or otherwise reassign covered licenses based on software version alone.
Note: All licenses must be covered with SA and product use rights do not change when using downgrade rights to deploy prior software versions.

For example, by combining SQL Enterprise Edition with the benefits provided through SA, customers unlock the full power of SQL Server:
▶ Setup a Big Data Cluster for big data/Hadoop analytics workloads
▶ Stay current with all SQL Server features
▶ Access an unlimited number of virtual machines
▶ Modernize to the cloud with existing licenses
▶ Take advantage of high availability and Disaster recovery scenarios at no additional licensing cost
▶ Extend your data estate through advanced analytics on Hadoop with Machine Learning Server for Hadoop
▶ Generate data visualizations on premises with Power BI Report Server Refer to the Volume Licensing Product Terms for more details on these benefits and additional license grants available to SQL Server customers with SA, including any additional terms and conditions that may apply.
▶ For more information on Software Assurance benefits, visit https://aka.ms/SQLServerSoftwareAssurance

How SQL Server 2019 licenses are sold

SQL Server 2019 software licenses are sold through channels designed to meet the unique needs of customers. These sales channels include online retailers offering full packaged product (FPP) licenses of SQL Server software, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) offering pre-installed licenses with their hardware systems, as well as Licensing Solutions Partners (LSPs) and Enterprise Software Advisors (ESAs) offering SQL Server software through Microsoft Volume Licensing programs for end-customer organizations.
For customers with as few as five users, Microsoft offers licensing programs to help reduce administrative overhead and software management costs, while enabling product licensing on an ongoing basis at a considerable discount. The various licensing options enable customers to choose the program that works best for their management and operational needs.
▶ Comprehensive programs that offer Software Assurance as a fixed benefit include the Open Value (OV), Open Value Subscription (OVS), Enterprise Agreement (EA), Enterprise Subscription Agreement (EAS) and the Server and Cloud Enrollment (SCE).
▶ Transactional programs include Open and the Microsoft Products and Services Agreement (MPSA).
▶ SQL Server Subscriptions are also offered through Cloud Server Provider (CSP channel)

Server and Cloud Enrollment

The Server and Cloud Enrollment (SCE) is an enrollment under the Microsoft Enterprise Agreement that enables highly committed customers to standardize broadly on one or more key server and cloud technologies from Microsoft. In exchange for making an installed base-wide commitment to one or more components of the Server and Cloud Enrollment, customers receive the best pricing and terms, plus other benefits, including cloud-optimized licensing options and simplified license management.
Microsoft also offers programs that can meet the specific needs of organizations that partner with Microsoft to provide additional software and services, such as the Microsoft Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Royalty Licensing Program and the Microsoft Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA).

Additionally, for SQL Server Enterprise and Standard core, customers can purchase SQL Server Big Data Node cores for SQL Server 2019 Big Data Clusters.

▶ For more information about Microsoft Volume Licensing Programs, download the Volume Licensing Reference Guide at
▶ For details on the Microsoft Server and Cloud Enrollment, visit https://aka.ms/EnterpriseLicensing

SQL Server 2019 licensing models

With SQL Server 2019, Microsoft offers a variety of licensing options aligned with how customers typically purchase specific workloads. The Server+CAL licensing model provides the option to license users and/or devices and then have low-cost access to incremental SQL Server deployments. For customers who cannot count users or require premium database capabilities, Microsoft licenses SQL Server in a core-based licensing model. Core-based licensing gives customers a more precise measure of computing power and a more consistent licensing metric, regardless of whether solutions are deployed on physical on-premises servers, or in virtual or cloud environments.

For SQL Server 2019 Big Data Clusters, Customers can purchase SQL Server Enterprise or Standard Per Core licenses for master instance and SQL Server Big Data Node cores for Big Data Nodes or worker nodes.

Core-based licensing

Under the Per Core licensing model, each server running SQL Server 2019 software or any of its components (such as Reporting Services or Integration Services) must be assigned an appropriate number of SQL Server 2019 core licenses. The number of core licenses needed, depends on whether customers are licensing the physical server or individual virtual operating system environments (OSEs).
Unlike the Server+CAL licensing model, the Per Core model allows access for an unlimited number of users or devices to connect from either inside or outside an organization’s firewall. With the Per Core model, customers do not need to purchase additional client access licenses (CALs) to access the SQL Server software.

How to license SQL Server 2019 using the per core licensing model
When running SQL Server in a physical OSE, all physical cores on the server must be licensed. Software partitioning does not reduce the number of core licenses required, except when licensing individual virtual machines (VMs). A minimum of four core licenses is required for each physical processor on the server.
To determine and acquire the correct number of core licenses needed, customers must:

1. Count the total number of physical cores in the server.
2. Purchase the appropriate number of core licenses required for the server. Core licenses are sold in packs of two, so customers must divide the number of licenses required by two to determine the actual number of line items (licensing SKUs) to order.
   ▶ For more details on the per core licensing model, including key terms and licensing definitions, download the Introduction to per core Licensing Volume Licensing Brief .

The per core licensing model is appropriate when:
▶ Deploying the SQL Server 2019 Enterprise Edition (including using the SQL Server Parallel Data Warehouse deployment option) or SQL Server 2019 Web Edition software.
▶ Deploying internet or extranet workloads, systems that integrate with external-facing workloads (even if external data goes through one or more other systems), or when the number of users/devices cannot be counted easily.
▶ Implementing centralized deployments that span across a large number of direct and/or indirect users/devices.
▶ The total licensing costs for licensing SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition software are lower than those incurred using the Server+CAL licensing model.
Note: The use of hyper-threading technology does not affect the number of core licenses required when running SQL Server software in a physical OSE.

Server+CAL licensing

When licensing the SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition software under the Server+CAL model, customers purchase a server license for each server, and a client access license (CAL) for each device (Device CAL) and/or user (User CAL) accessing SQL Server or any of its components. A CAL is not software; it is a license granting users and devices access to the SQL Server software.

How to License SQL Server 2019 Using the Server+CAL Licensing Model
Under the Server+CAL licensing model, each operating system environment (OSE) running SQL Server 2019 software or any of its components must have a SQL Server 2019 server license assigned to the physical server hosting the OSE. Each server license allows customers to run any number of SQL Server instances in a single OSE, either physical or virtual.
Running SQL Server software on different hardware partitions or blades requires separate software licenses. Hardware partitions and blades are considered to be separate servers for licensing purposes and SQL Server software licenses cannot be assigned to more than one server at any time.
Devices not operated by humans require device CALs, even when connecting to SQL Server indirectly. For human operated devices such as PCs or hand-held terminals, a user CAL or device CAL can be used.
Note: The use of hardware or software that reduces the number of devices or users that directly access or use the software (multiplexing/pooling) does not reduce the number of CALs required. For details on how to license SQL Server in a multiplexed application environment, refer to the Advanced licensing scenarios section of this guide.

Licensing SQL Server 2019 Big Data Cluster

SQL Server 2019 Big Data Clusters makes it easier to manage a big data environment. It provides key elements of a data lake—Hadoop Distributed File System (HDFS), Spark, and analytics tools—deeply integrated with SQL Server and fully supported by Microsoft. To license SQL Server 2019 Big Data Cluster, both components must be licensed
▶ SQL Server Master Instance – The Server or OSE running the SQL Server Master Instance must be assigned an appropriate number of SQL Server 2019 Enterprise or Standard Edition core licenses. The cores must also be covered with SA or subscription equivalent to be able to deploy Big Data Cluster. The number of core licenses needed, depends on whether customers are licensing the physical server or individual virtual operating system environments (OSEs).
▶ SQL Server Big Data Nodes – Server or OSE used for SQL Server Big Data Nodes must be licensed using SQL Server Big Data Node cores. Big Data node cores can be purchased as subscriptions in packs of 2 cores and are priced differently than SQL Server Enterprise or Standard licenses. SQL Server Master Instance must be covered with SA or subscription equivalent to be able to deploy big data nodes.
Note: SQL Server Server/CAL licenses cannot be used for SQL Server 2019 Big Data Cluster Master Instance.

When running Big Data node in a physical OSE, all physical cores on the server must be licensed. If all the physical cores of a physical server are licensed with Big Data node core licenses, customers can use unlimited virtualization rights to maximize deployment.
Software partitioning does not reduce the number of core licenses required, except when licensing individual virtual machines (VMs) or containers. No minimum Big Data Node core licenses are required for physical processor or virtual OSE.
To determine and acquire the correct number of core licenses needed, customers must:

1. Count the total number of physical cores in the server.
2. Purchase the appropriate number of core licenses required for the server. Core licenses are sold in packs of two, so customers must divide the number of licenses required by two to determine the actual number of line items (licensing SKUs) to order.
   • For more details on the Per Core licensing model, including key terms and licensing definitions, download the Introduction to Per Core Licensing Volume Licensing Brief .
   Big Data node cores subscriptions use rights are governed as the SQL Server Enterprise Core Use Rights when considering
   ▶ Licensing virtualized and physical environment
   ▶ Unlimited virtualization
   ▶ License mobility to Shared Servers
   ▶ For more information on Big Data Node core costs, visit

Licensing Application Deployment in SQL Server 2019 Big Data Cluster

Application Deployment enables the deployment of applications on the big data cluster by providing interfaces to create, manage, and run applications. Applications deployed on the big data cluster benefit from the computational power of the cluster and can access the data that is available on the cluster. This increases scalability and performance of the applications, while managing the applications where the data lives.
Any SQL Server component deployed in Big Data Cluster using Application Deployment(e.g. SQL Server Standard editions, SQL Server Analysis Service or Machine Learning server) must be licensed based on corresponding SQL Server edition and component licensing rules.
▶ For more information on Application Deployment in SQL Server 2019 Big Data Cluster, visit https://aka.ms/Application_Deployment

SA Benefit – Big Data Node core entitlement overview

SQL Server SA benefit for Big Data node core entitlement will provide a limited number of Big Data node cores at no additional costs. The number of Big Data node cores available for use as part of this SA benefit is dependent upon the SQL Server Master Instance edition and license count.
▶ SQL Server 2019 Big Data Clusters with Enterprise Edition as Master instance get 8 times as many Big Data node cores licenses as the number of licenses for master instance
▶ Big Data Clusters with SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition as Master instance get the same number of Big Data node cores licenses as the number of licenses for master instance

SQL Server 2019 Big Data Cluster licensing

To illustrate how to license SQL Server Big Data Cluster, assume SQL Server Big Data Clusters are deployed as follows
▶ SQL Server master instance on a 4-core physical server
▶ 12 4-core physical server used for Big data nodes
When the master instance is SQL Server Enterprise Edition, total number of licenses required is:

SQL Server Big Data Cluster in Azure

SQL Server 2019 Big Data Clusters can also be deployed in Azure using Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS). AKS makes it simple to create, configure, and manage a cluster of virtual machines that are preconfigured with a Kubernetes cluster to run containerized applications. Both SQL Server Enterprise/Standard Per Core and Big Data node core license can be used in Azure using license mobility. Using SQL Server Big Data Clusters in Azure also provides the free Big Data node core SA entitlement when SQL Server master instance is covered with SA or subscription equivalent. Using the above example, when the SQL Server Enterprise Edition and Big Data Node cores are deployed in Azure via Azure Kubernetes Service, following number of core licenses will be required:

Licensing SQL Server 2019 components

SQL Server software includes a range of licensed server components, including but not limited to the SQL Server Database Engine (DB), SQL Server Machine Learning Services, Machine Learning Server Standalone, Master Data Services (MDS), Analysis Services (AS), Integration Services (IS), Reporting Services (RS), and Data Quality Services (DQS). In addition, a number of management components, such as client applications and tools used for creating or working with analytical data, are provided.
For more details on the software components specifically included with SQL Server 2019, visit https://aka.ms/sql2019editions The software components of a single SQL Server 2019 license cannot be separated. Any OSE running any of the licensed components of SQL Server 2019, requires a license. For example, if the SQL Server DB is deployed in one OSE and SQL Server RS is deployed in another, both OSEs must be fully licensed for SQL Server 2019 accordingly.
Management tools and other software identified as additional or supplemental software—such as product documentation, client connectivity tools, software add-ins, and Software Development Kits (SDKs)—can generally be distributed and run on any number of devices for use with a licensed instance of SQL Server software. Refer to the Volume Licensing Product Terms for the list of additional software components provided with SQL Server 2019.

Licensing SQL Server 2019 in a virtualized environment

Microsoft SQL Server is increasingly being deployed in virtualized environments, which enable running instances of SQL Server concurrently in separate virtual OSEs (or virtual machines).
SQL Server 2019 offers expanded virtualization rights, options and benefits to provide greater flexibility for customers deploying in virtual environments. When deploying SQL Server 2019 software in virtualized environments, customers have the choice to license either individual virtual machines as needed, or to license for maximum virtualization in highly virtualized, private cloud, or dynamic environments. Maximum virtualization can be achieved by licensing the entire physical server with Enterprise Edition core licenses and covering those licenses with Software Assurance (SA).

Licensing individual virtual machines

As customers consolidate existing workloads and refresh hardware, they may find that a SQL Server instance uses only a fraction of available system computing power. When deploying databases in virtual environments that require just a fraction of a physical server, savings can be achieved by licensing individual virtual machines (VMs).
How to license individual virtual machines using the Per Core licensing model
Similar to the Per Core licensing model in physical OSEs, all virtual cores (v-cores) supporting virtual OSEs that are running instances of SQL Server 2019 software must be licensed accordingly.
To license individual VMs using the Per Core model, customers must purchase a core license for each v-core (or virtual processor, virtual CPU, virtual thread) allocated to the VM, subject to a four-core license minimum per VM. For licensing purposes, a v-core maps to a hardware thread.

Note: Licensing individual VMs is the only licensing option available for SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition customers who are running the software in a virtualized environment under the Per Core model.
For customers with highly virtualized environments who want to move VMs dynamically across servers to reallocate resources as needed, Microsoft permits License Mobility as an exclusive SA benefit available for all SQL Server editions. For more information on licensing for application mobility, refer to the Advanced licensing scenarios section of this guide.

1. License the virtual cores in each virtual machine
2. There is a minimum of four core licenses required for each virtual machine

Additional licenses are required when:
▶ A single hardware thread is supporting multiple virtual cores. (A core license is required for each v-core.)
▶ Multiple hardware threads are supporting a single virtual core simultaneously. (A core license allows a single v-core to be supported by a single hardware thread.)
How to license individual virtual machines using the Server+CAL licensing model
To license individual VMs using the Server+CAL model, customers simply purchase one server license for each VM running SQL Server software, regardless of the number of virtual processors allocated to the VM.
For example, a customer who wants to deploy Standard Edition running in six VMs, each allocated with four v-cores, would need to assign six SQL Server 2019 Standard server licenses to that server.
Note: Each user or device accessing SQL Server 2019 software, regardless of a virtual or physical deployment, requires a SQL Server 2019 CAL.
For details on how to license individual VMs with legacy SQL Server Enterprise Edition server licenses, please refer to the Additional product information section of this guide.

1. License each virtual machine with a server license
2. License each user or device with a CAL

Licensing for maximum virtualization

With SQL Server 2019 Enterprise Edition, customers who have licensed all physical cores on the server can run an unlimited number of instances of the software in a number of OSEs (physical and/or virtual) equal to the number of core licenses assigned to the server. For example, a four-processor server with four cores per processor—fully licensed with 16 core licenses—can run SQL Server software in up to 16 VMs, regardless of the number of virtual cores allocated to each VM.
▶ Customers who have licensed all the physical cores on the server and want to run SQL Server 2019 software in more VMs than are permitted, can assign additional core licenses to the licensed server.
▶ Each additional core license allows deployment of SQL Server software in an additional VM, so in the previous example, a customer who wants to run SQL Server Enterprise Edition in 18 VMs would simply acquire and assign 18 core licenses to that server.
With the addition of Software Assurance (SA) coverage on all Enterprise Edition core licenses (for a fully licensed server), customers’ use rights are expanded to allow any number of instances of the software to run in any number of OSEs (physical or virtual). This valuable SA benefit enables customers to deploy an unlimited number of VMs to handle dynamic workloads and fully utilize hardware computing capacity.
Note: This benefit ends when SA coverage expires.
Licensing for maximum virtualization can be an ideal solution when:
▶ Deploying SQL Server private cloud scenarios with high VM density
▶ Hyper-threading is being used
▶ Using dynamic provisioning and de-provisioning of VM resources

1. Fully license the server with SQL Server 2019 Enterprise Edition core licenses and Software Assurance
2. Deploy an unlimited number of virtual machines

Licensing SQL Server 2019 in containers

SQL Server 2019 can be deployed on Linux and Docker platforms. This allows customers to not only choose their platform, but also to deploy SQL Server 2019 in containers using Docker container technology.
Containers provide operating system level virtualization that allows multiple isolated applications to be run on a single system. Containers make it easy to enable:
▶ Rapid deployment scenarios
▶ Separation of application services through microservices deployments
▶ Rapid scale up and scale down of application services
Containers differ from virtual machines in that they provide operating system-level virtualization and all containers running on a physical host share the operating system. This provides application isolation, but not operating system-level isolation. However, containers are less resource intensive, require much less overhead to run, can be started and scaled rapidly, and provide a high degree of portability.
Virtual machines provide hardware-level virtualization, with each virtual machine having its own operating system environment, virtual memory and virtual cores. This provides full isolation from other virtual machines and allows for unique settings for the operating system within each virtual machine.

For licensing, an operating system environment is defined as all or part of an operating system instance, or all or part of a virtual operating system instance which enables separate machine identity. Containers and virtual machines are structured differently, but they are considered the same from a licensing perspective.

Licensing individual containers

How to license individual containers using the Per Core licensing model
Similar to the Per Core licensing model in physical OSEs, all virtual cores (v-cores) supporting containers running instances of SQL Server 2019 software, must be licensed accordingly.
To license individual containers using the Per Core model, customers must purchase a core license for each v-core (or virtual processor, virtual CPU, virtual thread) allocated to the container, subject to a four-core license minimum per container. For licensing purposes, a v-core maps to a hardware thread.
Note: Licensing individual containers is the only licensing option available for SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition customers who are running the software in containers under the Per Core model.
For customers with high density container environments who want to move containers dynamically across servers to reallocate resources as needed, Microsoft permits License Mobility as an exclusive SA benefit available for all SQL Server editions. For more information on licensing for application mobility, refer to the Advanced licensing scenarios section of this guide.

1. License the virtual cores in each container
2. There is a minimum of four core licenses required for each container

To license individual containers deployed using nested virtualization i.e. within a VM, customers must purchase a core license for each v-core (or virtual processor, virtual CPU, virtual thread) allocated to the container, subject to a four-core license minimum per container.

How to license individual containers using the Server+CAL licensing model
To license individual containers using the Server+CAL model customers simply purchase one server license for each container running SQL Server software, regardless of the number of virtual processors allocated to the container.
For example, a customer who wants to deploy Standard Edition running in six containers, each allocated with four v-cores, would need to assign six SQL Server 2019 Standard server licenses to that server.
Note: Each user or device accessing SQL Server 2019 software, regardless of a virtual or physical deployment, requires a SQL Server 2019 CAL.

1. License each container with a server license
2. License each user or device with a CAL

Licensing containers for maximum density

With SQL Server 2019 Enterprise Edition, customers who have licensed all physical cores on the server can run a number of containers equal to the number of core licenses assigned to the server. For example, a four-processor server with four cores per processor—fully licensed with 16 core licenses—can run SQL Server software in up to 16 containers, regardless of the number of virtual cores allocated to each container.
▶ Customers who have licensed all the physical cores on the server and want to run SQL Server 2019 software in more containers than are permitted, can assign additional core licenses to the licensed server.
▶ Each additional core license allows deployment of SQL Server software in an additional container, so in the previous example, a customer who wants to run SQL Server Enterprise Edition in 18 containers would simply acquire and assign 18 core licenses to that server.
With the addition of Software Assurance (SA) coverage on all Enterprise Edition core licenses (for a fully licensed server), customers’ use rights are expanded to allow any number of containers to run on the licensed server. This valuable SA benefit enables customers to deploy an unlimited number of containers to handle dynamic workloads and fully utilize hardware computing capacity.

Note: This benefit ends when SA coverage expires.
Licensing for maximum container density can be an ideal solution when:
▶ Deploying SQL Server private cloud scenarios with high container density
▶ Hyper-threading is being used
▶ Using dynamic provisioning and de-provisioning of container resources

1. Fully license the server with SQL Server 2019 Enterprise Edition core licenses and Software Assurance
2. Deploy an unlimited number of containers

Advanced licensing scenarios and detailed examples

This section introduces a few advanced SQL Server 2019 licensing scenarios to help illustrate how customers can apply some of the key licensing principles covered in this guide. For detailed licensing terms and additional licensing guidance applicable to more specific software deployment scenarios, refer to the Microsoft Product Terms.

Licensing SQL Server for high availability and disaster recovery

Server software can be configured so that if one server fails, its processing will be picked up, recovered and continued by another server.
For the purposes of this guide, we are not drawing a distinction in how high availability is being implemented, examples being:
▶ Log Shipping
▶ Always On SQL Fail-Over Cluster Instances
▶ Always On Availability Groups

Each of these implementations uses different terminology. The examples that follow use ‘Active’ as the read-write database or instance (also referred to as Primary Replica in an Always On Availability Group) and ‘Passive’ for the write only database or instance (marked to not-read, referred to as Secondary Replica in an Always On Availability Group).
• For additional details on high availability capabilities for SQL Server 2019 on Windows visit
• For additional details on high availability capabilities for SQL Server 2019 on Linux visit:

Failover Basics
For each on-prem server OSE licensed with SQL Server 2019 and covered by active SA, customers can use the following passive replicas in anticipation of a failover event:
▶ One passive fail-over replica for High Availability in a separate OSE
▶ One passive fail-over replica for Disaster Recovery in a separate OSE
▶ One passive fail-over replica for Disaster Recovery in a single VM on Azure

Note: This benefit applies to all in-market SQL Server versions.

A passive SQL Server replica is one that is not serving SQL Server data to clients or running active SQL Server workloads. The passive failover instances can run on a separate server. These may only be used to synchronize with the primary server and perform the following maintenance-related operations for the permitted passive fail-over Instances:
▶ Database consistency checks
▶ Log Back-ups
▶ Full Back-ups
▶ Monitoring resource usage data

Customer may also run primary and the corresponding disaster recovery replicas simultaneously for brief periods of disaster recovery testing every 90 days.
Note:
▶ High Availability replica is defined as a passive replica setup as synchronous replica with automated failover.
▶ Disaster Recovery replica is defined as a passive replica setup as asynchronous replica with manual failover.

Failover Licensing Scenarios
▶ Two secondary server used for failover support does not need to be separately licensed for SQL Server as long as it is truly passive, and the primary SQL Server is covered with active SA. If it is marked to read and serving data, such as reports to clients running active SQL Server workloads, or performing any “work” except for maintenance related operations mentioned above, then it must be licensed for SQL Server.

▶ The secondary passive server can also be setup in Azure for Disaster recovery with no additional SQL Server licenses required. Customers will only have to cover for the compute costs for VM/server used for passive replica. Additional guidelines to setup DR in Azure can be found at .

▶ All the three passive secondary replica benefits can be used simultaneously as long as the on-prem primary is covered with SA.

▶ In the case where you are using AHB to license your primary database running on shared hardware in Azure, you may run the two passive SQL Server instances (one for HA and one for DR) in a separate OSE running in Azure on shared hardware to support failover events.

▶ In the case where you are using License Mobility to license your primary database running on shared hardware in the non-Azure cloud, you may run the same number of passive SQL Server instances in a separate OSE running in the cloud on shared hardware to support failover events.

▶ Primary server licenses covered with SA include support for one Disaster Recovery secondary server only (outside Azure), and any additional secondary Disaster Recovery servers must be licensed for SQL Server. Note: The rights to run a passive instance of SQL Server for failover support are not transferable to other licensed servers for purposes of providing multiple passive secondary servers to a single primary server.

Additional considerations for high availability:
▶ When licensing SQL Server 2019 under the Per Core model, the number of core licenses must be based on the server that requires the higher number of licenses. This way, when the failover server takes over, it will be adequately licensed. For a passive instance of SQL Server to be properly licensed, it cannot require more core licenses than the licensed primary system.
▶ In the event that a passive instance of SQL Server becomes active for any reason, the primary SQL Server 2019 license is dynamically reassigned to the newly active server via the License Mobility within Server Farms SA Benefit, and now assumes all active workloads.
▶ In the case where individual SQL Server instances are failing over independently from each other, each SQL Server OSE running an active SQL Server instance requires separate licenses.

Always On Availability Groups
Always On Availability Groups in SQL Server 2019 Enterprise Edition enable customers to configure multiple database instances that will failover as a unit, with support for up to eight active secondary replicas and two synchronous secondary replicas. The ability to use secondary replicas for more than just passive failover support can improve the performance of primary, reporting and backup workloads due to better balancing of workloads across instances, helping to provide better return on hardware investment.
Note: When secondary replicas are actively used to support any additional workload scenarios —that is when the replicas used for failover purposes are no longer truly passive—they must be fully licensed accordingly.

Today, many virtual environments are becoming even more dynamic, especially in scenarios where software is used to automatically and dynamically allocate resources to different VMs “on the fly”. In the next section, we will discuss licensing SQL Server in these scenarios and look at ways to further simplify licensing management.

SQL Server 2019 Azure Hybrid Benefit

Azure Hybrid Benefit for SQL Server is an Azure-based benefit that enables customers to use SQL Server licenses with Software Assurance or qualifying subscription licenses to pay a reduced rate (“base rate”) on SQL Database vCore-based options, such as Managed Instance, vCore-based Single Database, and vCore-based Elastic Pool; on SQL Server in Azure Virtual Machines (including, but not limited to, Azure Dedicated Host); and on SQL Server Integration Services.
For each core of a qualified SQL Server Enterprise core license, customer can use either
▶ 1 core of Azure SQL Database (Managed Instance, Elastic Pool and Single Database) – Business Critical
▶ 1 core of Azure Data Factory and SQL Server Integration Services (Standard)
▶ Or 1 core of SQL Server Enterprise Virtual Machines

▶ 4 cores of Azure SQL Database (Managed Instance, Elastic Pool and Single Database) – General Purpose

For each core of a qualified SQL Server Standard core license, customer can use either
▶ 1 core of Azure SQL Database (Managed Instance, Elastic Pool and Single Database) – General Purpose
▶ 1 core of Azure Data Factory SQL Server Integration Services (Standard)
▶ 1 core of SQL Server Standard Virtual Machines

Azure Hybrid Benefit also provides 180 days of dual-use rights to apply to current deployment (on-premises or on third-party cloud) and in Azure to allow for data migration.

Licensing SQL Server 2019 for application mobility

License Mobility is a use right that is available for all editions of SQL Server 2019 software licenses with active Software Assurance (SA) coverage. With this SA benefit, customers can reassign SQL Server licenses to different servers within a server farm as often as needed. Customers can also reassign licenses to third party shared servers. License Mobility is available for licenses under both the Per Core and Server+CAL license models.

License Mobility for SQL Server licenses without SA
▶ SQL Server licenses that are not covered with active SA can only be reassigned to a different server within a server farm once every 90 days, and they cannot be reassigned to a third-party web hoster or non-private cloud at any time. (In the event of permanent hardware failure, the 90-day reassignment limit is waived.)
Beginning October 1, 2019, on-premises licenses purchased without Software Assurance and mobility rights can’t deployed with dedicated hosted cloud services offered by “Listed Providers.”
▶ For more information on License Mobility to “Listed Providers”, refer to Product Terms. For an FAQ visit .

License Mobility for SQL Server licenses with SA within or to another server farm
▶ All SQL Server licenses with active SA can be reassigned to another server within the server farm as often as needed; however, they can only be reassigned to another server in another server farm, or to a non-private cloud, once every 90 days.
− A server farm may consist of up to two data centers located in time zones that are within four hours of one another and/or with the European Union (EU) and/or European Free Trade Association (EFTA).
− A given data center may only be part of one server farm.
▶ License Mobility use rights do not apply to SQL Server PDW software.

License Mobility can benefit customers who license individual virtual machines (VMs) or containers and then want to reassign those licenses to different servers within a server farm—as workloads move dynamically—or to VMs in cloud environments.
Note: License Mobility applies only to the reassignment of software licenses and is not applicable to the reassignment of running instances of SQL Server software.

License Mobility through Software Assurance to shared servers
Under License Mobility Through Software Assurance (SA), Customer may move SQL Server licenses covered with SA to shared servers. To use License Mobility through SA, Customer must, Run its licensed software and manage its OSEs on shared servers under the terms of its volume licensing agreement;
▶ Deploy its Licenses only with Microsoft Azure Services or qualified License Mobility through Software Assurance Partner; and
▶ Complete and submit the License Mobility Validation form with each License Mobility through Software Assurance Partner who will run its licensed software on their shared servers.

▶ For more information on how to use License Mobility to extend the value of SQL Servers licenses, visit http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/software-assurance/license-mobility.aspx

Licensing SQL Server for non-production use

Customers are required to license every Microsoft software product they install, configure, and use, including all physical and virtual instances. As such, licensing a development and test environment can be expensive and challenging to manage as new servers are set up and others are torn down. Microsoft offers multiple, cost- effective options for licensing SQL Server 2019 software for use in non-production environments.

SQL Server Developer Edition
SQL Server 2019 Developer Edition is a fully featured version of SQL Server software—including all the features and capabilities of Enterprise Edition—licensed for development, test and demonstration purposes only. SQL Server Developer Edition may not be used in a production environment. Any test data that was used for design, development or test purposes must be removed prior to deploying the software for production use.
Customers may install and run the SQL Server Developer Edition software on any number of devices. This is significant because it allows customers to run the software on multiple devices (for testing purposes, for example) without having to license each non-production server system.

Note: A production environment is defined as an environment that is accessed by end-users of an application (such as an internet website) and that is used for more than gathering feedback or acceptance testing of that application. Other scenarios that constitute production environments include:
▶ Environments that connect to a production database
▶ Environments that support disaster-recovery or backup for a production environment
▶ Environments that are used for production at least some of the time, such as a server that is rotated into production during peak periods of activity
It is rare that someone whose primary role is designing, developing, or testing software would also qualify as an “end user” of the software.

Note: Effective April 1, 2016, SQL Server Developer Edition became a free product, available through the Microsoft Dev Essentials program or as software download from the SQL Server website. For customers who need prior versions and/or additional SQL Server editions for development, test and demonstration purpose (e.g. Standard or Enterprise editions), these can be accessed through Visual Studio subscriptions.
▶ For more information on free Dev Essentials program, including how to register, visit https://www.visualstudio.com/en-us/products/visual-studio-dev-essentials-vs.aspx
▶ To learn more about SQL Server Developer Edition, including download, visit https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sql-server/sql-server-downloads

Visual Studio subscriptions
Customers can also choose to license SQL Server software for non-production use through certain Visual Studio subscription offerings, including the Visual Studio Professional and Enterprise subscription levels. Visual Studio subscriptions are licensed on a per user basis and the software cannot be used in a production environment.
▶ For more information on Visual Studio subscriptions that include access to SQL Server software, visit https://www.visualstudio.com/subscriptions/
▶ For more information on Visual Studio licensing scenarios, download the Visual Studio Licensing White Paper at

Product evaluations
SQL Server 2019 Evaluation Edition is a fully functional trial version of SQL Server 2019 software that automatically expires after 180 days. Microsoft Volume Licensing customers can also install and evaluate non-expiring software versions of any of the SQL Server 2019 products for 60 days before requiring a purchase.
▶ To discover the power of SQL Server 2019, download the free SQL Server 2019 Evaluation at

Licensing SQL Server in a multiplexed application environment

“Multiplexing” refers to the use of hardware or software to pool connections, reroute information, or reduce the number of devices or users that directly access or use SQL Server. Multiplexing can also include reducing the number of devices or users SQL Server directly manages.
When licensing SQL Server software under the Server+CAL licensing model, users and devices that indirectly access SQL Server data through another application or hardware device still require SQL Server CALs.
▶ Multiplexing does not reduce the number of Microsoft licenses required. Users are required to have the appropriate licenses, regardless of their direct or indirect connection to SQL Server.
▶ Any user or device that accesses the server, files, data or content provided by the server that is made available through an automated process requires a SQL Server CAL.
▶ The number of tiers of hardware or software between the SQL Server and the user or devices that ultimately use its data, services, or functionality does not affect the number of CALs required.
▶ Manual transfer of data from employee to employee does not necessitate the requirement of a CAL for the receiving employee. For example, if an employee sends a Microsoft Office Excel® version of a report to another employee, the receiving employee does not require a CAL (as long as the report does not access a server running SQL Server in some way).

SQL Server CALs are required for users or devices that directly input into, query, or view data from a SQL Server database. Similarly, SQL Server CALs are required for users or devices that input data into, query, or view data from a SQL Server database through a pooling device (such as the CRM Server in the figure above). This includes users who view data through web-based applications or enter information into a database through an intermediary product.
When users actively send SQL Server data by email or other messaging technology, recipient users do not require a SQL Server CAL. With multiplexing, these rules do not change. Likewise, the paper distribution of data does not require SQL Server CALs for the recipients of the paper report. Users who receive data directly or indirectly from SQL Server require CALs, but if these users print the data, recipient users do not require a SQL Server CAL.
▶ For more details on how multiplexing affects the licensing of SQL Server 2019 products under the Server+CAL model, download the Multiplexing – CAL Requirements Volume Licensing Brief at http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/7/3/8733d036-92b0-4cb8-8912-3b6ab966b8b2/multiplexing.pdf

Additional product information

Upgrades, downgrades and step-ups
When licensing SQL Server 2019 software, several deployment options are available to support a variety of customer upgrade scenarios.

▶ Version upgrade rights are offered as a Software Assurance (SA) benefit for qualified licenses and allow customers access to upgrade their deployments at no additional cost. Existing SQL Server 2016 software licenses covered by SA are automatically upgraded to licenses for the corresponding SQL Server 2019 edition.
▶ Cross edition rights are currently available for certain SQL Server products only and allow customers to deploy an alternate (usually lower) edition in place of the currently licensed edition. SQL Server cross edition rights can be combined with the version downgrade rights (available for all products offered under a Volume Licensing Agreement) that allow customers to deploy prior versions of the software in place of the currently licensed version. In some cases, rights to deploy prior versions of product editions other than the edition currently licensed may also be allowed.

Note: When using version downgrade or cross edition deployment rights, the product use rights for the originally licensed version and edition still apply.

▶ Edition step-ups are offered as a Software Assurance (SA) benefit in certain Volume Licensing programs only and allow customers to move from a lower product edition. SQL Server 2019 Standard Edition Core licenses can step-up to SQL Server 2019 Enterprise Edition Core licenses only. To be eligible to step-up to a higher edition, the lower edition license must be covered by SA. Step-Ups between licensing models are not allowed.

SQL Server 2019 migration options for Software Assurance customers

For SQL Server Enterprise Edition licenses with Software Assurance
Existing SQL Server Enterprise Edition server licenses continue to have tremendous value and with the availability of ongoing SA coverage, customers licensed under the Server+CAL model can retain access to the latest product enhancements and advanced capabilities of Enterprise Edition. As such, there are no programmatic conversions to core licenses. However, no new SQL Server Enterprises edition server licenses can be purchased.

Additional considerations when licensing SQL Server Enterprise under the Server+CAL model:
Server 2019 Enterprise Edition software licensed under the Server+CAL model is intended and physically limited to only run on servers with a total of twenty cores or less:
▶ There are two versions of SQL Server 2019 Enterprise Edition software: a server-based version and a core-based version. Customers must run the software version for which they are licensed.
▶ For customers running SQL Server 2019 Enterprise Edition server-based software instances in a physical environment, that OSE is only permitted to access a maximum of twenty physical cores. A per instance technical limit is also enforced.
▶ For customers running SQL Server 2019 Enterprise Edition server licenses in virtual environments, each set of VMs associated with a single server license (up to four per server license) can only access up to twenty hardware threads of combined power at any time.

For SQL Server Parallel Data Warehouse (PDW) licenses with Software Assurance
As of June 1, 2016, Microsoft no longer offers standalone SQL Server PDW core licenses and customers can only use Enterprise Edition core licenses with SA coverage to run the SQL Server PDW software on Analytics Platform System (APS) appliances.
▶ Customers with Enterprise Agreements effective on or before June 1, 2016 can continue to acquire additional SQL Server PDW licenses—and upgrade those licenses to SQL Server 2019—through the end of their current enrollment term.
▶ After their current term expires, SA coverage can be renewed and maintained on SQL Server Enterprise Edition core licenses to provide continued access to PDW software deployment rights and SA benefits, including access to future software releases.

For SQL Server Business Intelligence Edition licenses with Software Assurance
SQL Server 2014 was the last version of the SQL Server Business Intelligence Edition. Customers with active SA coverage on qualifying Business Intelligence Edition server licenses on June 1, 2016 are eligible to upgrade to and use SQL Server 2019 Enterprise (Server+CAL) software with those licenses.
▶ For full details on the migration options and additional license grants available to current SA customers with eligible SQL Server PDW or Business Intelligence licenses, refer to the June 1, 2016 publication of the Microsoft Volume Licensing Product Terms.

Licensing SQL Server for the Analytics Platform System

SQL Server Parallel Data Warehouse (PDW) is a specialized edition of SQL Server software which is only available as a component of the Analytics Platform System (APS) appliance. APS appliances provide data warehouse solutions that are offered only through preferred hardware partners.
Simple to deploy, SQL Server PDW is delivered as a component of a pre-built APS appliance with software, hardware, and networking components already pre-installed and configured to maximize data warehouse performance. Designed to grow with a customer’s data warehousing needs, APS appliances can scale from a quarter rack configuration to a multiple rack solution supporting petabytes of data.
Running SQL Server PDW is done through SQL Enterprise Edition Per Core licensing with SA coverage. The number of SQL Server Enterprise Edition core licenses for an APS appliance will depend on the total number of physical cores in the SQL Server PDW compute servers configured within the appliance.

Note: an APS appliance is defined to be a single unit made up of two or more active compute servers (also called compute nodes) that are controlled by a single PDW control VM (virtual OSE).
When licensing an APS appliance, all physical cores on all active SQL Server PDW compute servers must be fully licensed to run the SQL Server PDW software. For example, a quarter rack appliance configured with two active SQL Server PDW compute servers—each with two 8-core processors—would require a total of 32 SQL Server Enterprise Edition core licenses.

Additional considerations when licensing APS Appliances:
▶ The underlying Windows Server Standard Edition software is acquired with the appliance hardware through an OEM license. Software Assurance (SA) coverage for Windows Server Standard Edition must be added through an applicable Microsoft Volume Licensing program.
− Windows Server CALs with SA are also required for all users accessing the APS appliance.
▶ Customers must additionally acquire software licenses with SA coverage for the SQL Server Enterprise and requisite System Center Standard software components through a Volume Licensing program.
▶ While SQL Server Enterprise core licenses are only required for the active compute nodes in an appliance, all servers—including the control server and passive failover servers configured in the appliance—must be fully licensed for both Windows Server Standard and System Center Standard Edition software.
▶ Licensing by individual OSE is not applicable to SQL Server PDW software deployments. As noted above, all physical cores on all active compute servers in the APS appliance running SQL Server PDW must be fully licensed for SQL Server Enterprise Edition.
SQL Server software running on the PDW appliance control server is considered Additional Server Software and does not need to be separately licensed when all active compute servers are fully licensed as defined above.

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