December 18, 2007 at 11:54 am
Our business has a 2000 database on an older (Pentium 3) server. We want to move it onto a new server. The unfortunate part is that someone long gone purchased and installed SQL 2000. I've found the license key and SQL 2000 installation disc (hopefully the right key), but I'm not sure how to find the number of CALs on the machine (no found discs) and/or how to transfer them to a new machine. Any ideas out there (ps - I'm not a DBA).
Please don't recommend upgrading to 2005. We will be upgrading, but it won't be for about another year.
Thanks for any help (and hopefully I posted this in the right forum).
December 18, 2007 at 2:18 pm
CALs are not server-specific. One CAL allows a single user to connect to any number of SQL Servers on the same physical network of the same edition as the CAL.
There are no CDs with CALs. There are only license documents. You will have to find those or the record of the purchase of them (if you always use the same vendor, ask them to look at your purchase history).
There is also the chance that the server software was purchased using per-processor licensing. In that case, you don't have to worry about CALs (per-processor licensing allows unlimited non-CAL connections).
If the software was purchased on an Enterprise Agreement, then the counts of all licenses will be maintained by the vendor that negotiated the contract. If you purchased the software and licenses retail (likely, as you have a key), then you will still need to dig up the original documentation included with the CD, which includes the license certificates, or track down the invoices of the purchase.
-Eddie
Eddie Wuerch
MCM: SQL
December 20, 2007 at 9:06 am
I'm not a licensing expert, but what I have always learned and applied is what Eddie wrote. These are just licensing / administrative documents, not applied to the software.
FYI, if you are waiting until next year to upgrade, look at 2008, not 2005. They're essentially the same engine and it's not worth giving up 2 1/2 years of your lifecycle to go to 2005.
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