July 7, 2021 at 5:42 pm
We are changing our licensing model and with 2019 there are different installs for Core or Server/Cal
I asked the MS rep if this is simply a key change or does it require a new install. I couldn't get a concrete answer out of him. Seems like as long as we pay for the core license whatever install we are running is OK.
He said running the Server/CAL install and paying for the core license simply means we are over licensed.
The install files from the volume licensing site for core or server/cal are the same name and same size but with different dates.
Does anyone know if there is a difference that actually matters? (Note: we are not running more than 20 cores on any SQL VM)
Going forward for new servers we would use the Core install but I can't imagine they would require us to re-install SQL for all the servers running under the old licensing model.
thanks
July 8, 2021 at 6:10 pm
Thanks for posting your issue and hopefully someone will answer soon.
This is an automated bump to increase visibility of your question.
July 12, 2021 at 4:10 pm
The installation binaries are identical; the only difference (might be) the licence file embedded in the ISO image.
I think the licence file is: \x64\DefaultSetup.ini
Depending upon your Microsoft agreement, and whether or not you have SA.... typically you need to "prove" to Microsoft your usage of MSSQL; personally I don't think it matters which version you actually install (well, Standard vs Enterprise makes a difference!). But you will need to demonstrate you are tracking your CAL usage (either per user or per device). If you have sufficient CALs to cover everyone in your department (or company, or whatever) then you will be fine. But if not, then you need to track your usage (and be ready to demonstrate this to Microsoft, in case you are unfortunate enough to be audited).
[Obviously, I'm not a licensing lawyer and this is only intended as advice 🙂 ]
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