Having read through the Microsoft Practice guide, I understand there are some challenges when setting up SQL Server Per Core Licensing in FNMS. In a mixed environment with SQL Server 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2019 would it be best practice to create separate licenses to cater for the differing license models? How does Microsoft view this if we have active SA on all of our entitlements?
SQL Server 2008 = Per Processor
SQL Server 2012-2014 = Core Factor Table (Points Rule set = SQL Server)
SQL Server 2016 and up = Per Core (Points Rule set = SQL Server 2016)
Setting up separate licenses would present challenges with consumption configuration and also splitting and allocating purchase entitlements to each license.
@will555 - Yes. With or without active SA, your Microsoft entitlements have downgrade rights to all prior versions.
Therefore a SQL Server 2014 instance can be licensed either with a license with the SQL Server point rule set, or by a license with the SQL 2016 point rule set.
Some further reading of the SQL Server 2019 Licensing guide, I was able to extract the following excerpt:
"Software licenses and use rights are version-specific and as such, licenses for different software versions cannot be combined when licensing a single operating system environment. As a benefit of having access to the latest version of SQL Server software, SA customers licensed under the core licensing model (for example) can easily combine current version core licenses with future version core licenses, without the need to track or otherwise reassign covered licenses based on software version alone."
I take this to mean, if I am an SA customer I can simply use the 2016 Per Core Licensing rules and apply that to all my different versions?
@will555 - Yes. With or without active SA, your Microsoft entitlements have downgrade rights to all prior versions.
Therefore a SQL Server 2014 instance can be licensed either with a license with the SQL Server point rule set, or by a license with the SQL 2016 point rule set.
