April 18, 2012 at 7:23 am
Can anyone share their experience with SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Core Edition?
I installed it in my home VM labrat environment on Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Core Edition (sometimes jokingly referred to as Windows Server 2008 MS-DOS Edition), but I haven't done much with it so far. It was a bear getting used to missing Windows Explorer (yeah, I typically "hate" Explorer anyway, but Explorer is 100% better than having no file manager at all), but the "promise" of 40-60% less patching (I'll believe it when I see it...) is attractive.
I would love to hear from anyone who has tested Core Edition thoroughly. About a year from now, I would like to move to it, assuming that it is robust, stable, and worth the administrative effort.
April 19, 2012 at 5:28 am
Last night, I found this link to "SQL Server Virtual Labs," which includes "SQL Server 2012 - Installing and managing SQL Server 2012 on Windows Server Core (SQL 153)."
http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/learning-center/virtual-labs.aspx
01/22/2013 Update:
For whatever reason, the "SQL Server 2012 - Installing and managing SQL Server 2012 on Windows Server Core (SQL 153)" link on the above URL is no longer valid. Try the "Installing and Managing SQL Server 2012 from the command prompt (SQL168)" link (currently the last link on the page--you have to click the "Load More" button to see it) on:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/sqlserver/learning-center/virtual-labs.aspx
April 24, 2012 at 6:21 pm
Although it's hard to find this information until you've selected which SQL Enterprise 2012 you're downloading from the VLSC, (It doesn't even tell you on MSDN) the "Core" edition is the one you use when you are licensed per core. It has nothing to do with installation on Server Core. At least that's what I gather from this:
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Special Instructions
Please Note: SQL Server Enterprise 2012 and SQL Server Enterprise Core 2012 each contain unique software. See Special Instructions section for information about which build to install based on how you are licensed.
For installation by customers with either existing active SQL Server Enterprise Edition processor licenses or core licenses and customers who wish to use the software on a trial basis according to Volume Licensing software installation policies.
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They probably should have explained that a little better. 😉
I suspect that the difference is there to enforce the 20 core limit on Server + CAL installations.
April 24, 2012 at 6:41 pm
Also, please note that "Enterprise Edition" means that you are responsible for the first level support.
July 6, 2012 at 7:00 pm
When running setup for SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Edition, the License Terms screen shows:
"MICROSOFT SOFTWARE LICENSE TERMS
MICROSOFT SQL SERVER 2012 ENTERPRISE SERVER/CAL EDITION"
...
So I can conclude that it is intended for Software Assurance covered customers upgrading from an Server/CAL licensing model of an earlier version of SQL Server. This is the edition that is limited to 20 cores.
When running setup for SQL Server 2112 Enterprise Core Edition, it shows:
"MICROSOFT SOFTWARE LICENSE TERMS
MICROSOFT SQL SERVER 2012 ENTERPRISE CORE"
So that's the primary difference. The Core Edition maps to the legacy Processor based licensing only using cores instead of processors; whereas, the edition without "Core" in it's name maps to the legacy Server/Cal licensing model and is only for customers eligible to upgrade from a previously Server/CAL licensed version of SQL Server Enterprise Edition.
September 20, 2012 at 2:25 pm
Regarding file management on Server Core Edition, there are numerous standalone/portable GUI file managers that work just fine on Core Ed.
Three that I've worked with:
Free Commander (I use this one most of all)
Midnight Commander (yes the console based old Linux one-not fully featured on Win32 though)
Total Commander
Then of course, there's my personal favorite TREE.EXE. Use with /f to get file names listed. Pipe through grep/find/findstr to filter out things or more/less to paginate. I haven't missed Explorer.exe at all!
All of the above works just fine even on Server Core 2012.
January 22, 2013 at 7:38 am
It's been a while, and I thought I would follow up...
Ultimately, we plan to build a couple of clusters using the Core Edition of Windows Server 2012 and SQL Server 2012. In addition to the Microsoft Virtual Lab link that I updated above, I ran across the following links for building a Server Core cluster using Windows Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008.
I presume creating a cluster with the 2012 versions of the software would be similar. The updated Microsoft Virtual Lab link above has a couple of useful scripts for configuring Windows Server 2012 Core Edition features prior to the the SQL Server 2012 Core Edition install.
Can anyone else share their experiences with SQL Server 2012 Core Edition?
January 22, 2013 at 7:41 am
I forgot to mention this link ("Install SQL Server 2012 on Server Core"):
January 22, 2013 at 9:39 am
mark.dean (9/20/2012)
Regarding file management on Server Core Edition, there are numerous standalone/portable GUI file managers that work just fine on Core Ed.Three that I've worked with:
Free Commander (I use this one most of all)
Midnight Commander (yes the console based old Linux one-not fully featured on Win32 though)
Total Commander
Then of course, there's my personal favorite TREE.EXE. Use with /f to get file names listed. Pipe through grep/find/findstr to filter out things or more/less to paginate. I haven't missed Explorer.exe at all!
All of the above works just fine even on Server Core 2012.
I had forgotten about TREE.EXE. Yes, it seems to work fine out of the box.
Here are a couple of other GUI utilities I have tried on Windows Server Core Edition:
FileOrganiser 1.710: http://sourceforge.net/projects/ffileorganiser/?source=directory
Visual Core Configurator 2008 v1.1: http://ctxadmtools.musumeci.com.ar/VisualCore2008/VisualCore11_Beta2_Refresh.html
January 22, 2013 at 9:55 am
Having played with Server 2012 some at home, there is one MASSIVE advantage over Server 2008 when dealing with the "core" install.
Server 2012, the GUI is an installable / uninstallable feature. So you can load up your cluster boxes with the GUI, get everything configured and working, then uninstall the GUI.
If you've got another Server 2012 or Win8 box, you can then install and remove features remotely, which is also handy.
I've not tried loading SQL2012 on Server 2012 without a GUI yet, however.
Jason
January 22, 2013 at 12:42 pm
jasona.work (1/22/2013)
Having played with Server 2012 some at home, there is one MASSIVE advantage over Server 2008 when dealing with the "core" install.Server 2012, the GUI is an installable / uninstallable feature. So you can load up your cluster boxes with the GUI, get everything configured and working, then uninstall the GUI.
If you've got another Server 2012 or Win8 box, you can then install and remove features remotely, which is also handy.
I've not tried loading SQL2012 on Server 2012 without a GUI yet, however.
Jason
Jason,
Quite right, it's a huge plus that it's just another feature that can be installed/uninstalled. I especially like the "middle ground", i.e. just "Server with GUI" without all the desktop components. Big improvement and sometimes acceptable trade-off between reducing attack surface, patching, etc. and usability.
My only issue, and it's not a big one, is that if sysadmins now start to go back to doing it this way, then they will start to forget the skills gained by working with Core edition, at least the parts that don't have remote management. And then if/when an issue occurs, you may not be able to install the GUI features, and during an outage, with high pressure being put on an administrator, things may start to fall apart. This is why on all my Core edition builds, I've installed the Core Configurator so at least that's available.
June 12, 2014 at 9:33 am
Wanted to emphasize since there is limited information that the Enterprise Core edition has absolutely nothing to do with Windows Server Core. It is "Per Core Licensing".
The "SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Edition" download is actually the Server/CAL edition which will put a limit of 20 cores on your server.
Not only do they NOT tell you the difference between Enterprise and Enterprise Core. They have continued this practice of misnaming the downloads into SQL Server 2014. It is very easy to make a mistake and download the wrong version and wind up with a server with only 1/2 of it's cores working... Microsoft should make the following changes:
They should name "SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 1 (x64) - DVD (English)" as "SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Edition-Server-CAL-License with Service Pack 1 (x64) - DVD (English)"
It would probably be helpful if they changed "SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Core Edition with Service Pack 1 (x64) - DVD (English)" to
"SQL Server 2012 Enterprise Per Core Licensing Edition with Service Pack 1 (x64) - DVD (English)"
This will go a long way and make it more clear to customers.
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