October 12, 2007 at 5:41 am
Not a dba by any stretch of the imagination.
We currently run the standard edition on one machine.
We are considering upgrading to the enterprise edition.
Will we need to purchase additional machines and licences (aside from the one licence, of course) to upgrade?
Thanks.
October 12, 2007 at 6:24 am
You need to buy a SQL Server Enterprise Version License you can either go Server and CAL based licensing model or Processor based licensing model based on your requirements.
Prasad Bhogadi
www.inforaise.com
October 12, 2007 at 6:31 am
First what is prompting the need for the upgrade? Unless the Enterprise edition has some feature lacking in the Standard Edition (Partitioning, Indexed Views, etc) that you require or you are upgrading hardware past the point supported by the Standard edition, i.e. more than 4 processors, then I would save my money. You only need more licenses if you buy more machines (or add processors, add users, etc). I only have to deal with the licensing on a yearly basis so don't remember all the factors but again unless enterprise edition offers something specific you need save your money.
But to answer your basic question all you "HAVE" to do is purchase the upgrade. You vendor should ask what licensing model you currently have (Seat/Processor) and sell you appropriate upgrade. No additional hardware should be required and as for additional "licenses" you will actually be replacing your current Standard Edition licenses with the appropriate Enterprise Edition licenses.
HTH,
James.
October 12, 2007 at 6:42 am
you're all missing the point about an upgrade here. Enterprise supports a large number of "parallel" type processes which are not supported in std edition. If your server is web facing then it's processor license anyway. Proc's is only one part, the usual reason to move up is for memory, especially these days.
What no-one has suggested is moving to 64bit std which allows lots of memory but shouldn't cost you more and generally 64bit gives you more for your money vs 32bit.
Conversely if your server hardware doesn't have more than 4gb of memory I'd suggest it unlikely you'll see any real benefits apart from those features only found on enterprise. You may also have to upgrade your o/s, chances are you're running w2k server or w3k3 std with std sql server.
Any upgrade should be considered in the whole, so consider if your current hardware can support the upgrade. You must have a reason for wanting to upgrade - perhaps that might help with a more measured response
[font="Comic Sans MS"]The GrumpyOldDBA[/font]
www.grumpyolddba.co.uk
http://sqlblogcasts.com/blogs/grumpyolddba/
October 12, 2007 at 6:51 am
colin Leversuch-Roberts (10/12/2007)
you're all missing the point about an upgrade here.
Colin, I don't think I missed the point (maybe didn't articulate it well) but the point was "What is he trying to accomplish that he thinks necessitates an upgrade?". This wasn't clear from the original post, as you correctly pointed out. Once we know the reason for upgrading (and current equipment configuration) we might be able to provide recommendations on equipment/software upgrades that could provide the desired results.
James.
October 12, 2007 at 6:52 am
Thank you all for your replies.
We are considering upgrading to get additional features.
What prompted my question was that I recall reading somewhere that an upgrade to enterprise will require purchasing additional machines and licenses, and that the new machines are needed to support enterprise's advanced features.
I guess I was wrong?
Thanks.
October 12, 2007 at 7:13 am
Patrick, as far as I know Enterprise Edition will run on anything Standard Edition will run on, but like anything else you'll get better performance with better equipment and some features might require higher end equipment to have any level of acceptable performance, but the product as a whole will install and run on anything Standard runs on (as far as I know).
James.
October 12, 2007 at 9:03 am
Thanks, James.
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