May 23, 2006 at 9:05 am
probably a dumb question. I am installing SQL 2005 for a new project - where do I tell it I want to license by processor instead of by CAL? I went thru the install and didn't see the question anywhere. My next install will be by CAL - so I really need to figure this out. thank you.
Nick DeAngelo
May 23, 2006 at 11:26 pm
I've never seen any licensing process in any of the installations I've done. You just buy the licensing model you need - then install the product.....
May 24, 2006 at 4:42 am
thanks for the response - we have an Enterprise agreement, so we always use the same cd/dvd regardless of the licensing model - I've read on another forum that the licensing is now done on the "honor system" - which is funny to me - the new version is much more advanced than the previous version, yet they've lost the licensing features!
May 24, 2006 at 8:50 am
"they've lost the licensing features." I assume you're referring to the setup dialog and control panel tool in SQL Server 7 and SQL Server 2000 that allowed you to specify CAL or CPU licensing and the number of licenses. It's true this tool was pulled in SQL Server 2005 - I was responsible for pulling it. The reason it was pulled was it didn't drive any behavior in the system. It merely recorded your answers in the registry and that was it. I'm not sure what the origin of the tools was or what it was originally intended to do - it came about before my time. When we considered pulling it from SQL2K5 I researched exactly what it was being used for, the result, not much. There have been talks of moving to an activation model similar to what Windows uses - we'll have to wait and see where that lands. The point I'm making is the number of licenses you use has always been on the honor system - though you still need at least one product key to get through the installation.
May 24, 2006 at 9:24 am
wow, that's really interesting! I thought if you entered CALS, it actually kept track of how many people were connecting - another Urban Legend bites the dust! Thanks very much for your response.
Nick
May 26, 2006 at 3:46 am
Activation would be a pain for this, especially since we rebuild the test servers so often. The developer edition, at minimum, should never ever ever have activation.
I guess it would be fine to put it on per-processor licenses, since thos of us who actually paid the $5000+ per processor don't want to see freeloaders getting away with it for free. Sorry if that sounds spiteful, but I just really can't stand piracy, being a developer myself. This software truly is worth its hefty price tag, for what it is capable of doing.
Windows Server has always had its CALs on the honor system, too, as far as I know (except for TSCALS), so I don't really see this happening any time soon for SQL Server.
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