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I've just found something quite strange while talking with a Microsoft Licencing representative and I wanted to run this past the community to see if this is something that anyone is aware of a change.
I was asking a question around licencing SQL Server/ Windows Server which led to me being recommended an External Connector licence for a Website that does not use Windows Users.
I boiled this down to the basic scenario of:
Server 1:
Windows Server 2008 R2, running IIS 7.5, using a custom public facing Website using an home grown authentication mechanism (i.e. not Local Windows Users, or AD users) where the number of users (authenticated or not) is indeterminate.
Server 2:
Windows Server 2008 R2, running SQL Server 2008 R2.
The Website on Server 1 connects to SQL Server on Server 2 using a SQL authenticated login.
The licencing that is required is: Windows Server Licence for Server 1 Windows Server Licence for Server 2 SQL Server "Per Processor" Licence AND An External Connector Licence for Server 2.
This seems preposterous as it triples the cost of the windows licence for Server 2. Also, as far as SQL Server is concerned, there are no multiple Clients connecting, only 1 "device" that then provides a massive "Value-add" on top of just the data from SQL Server.
My question, has anyone come across this before? It seems like this is wrong as the above, I would imagine, is the most common scenario for most .NET software houses that create web sites, and, having worked for a few, I've never heard of this!
I've seen this question:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/3072044/external-connector-licensing-with-website-hosted-on-windows
However, it's not really got enough information on the scenario etc. and also doesn't quote any proper resources.
I would appreciate it if someone could actually point to a section within a reputable site about this, rather than just a link to the generic "Client licences" page.
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An External Connector license is an additional license assigned to a server that permits access to that specific server. One example is the Windows Server External Connector license. This license is required if any external users will access or consume any services provided by a particular Windows Server.
You need to license every physical operating system environment (OSE) that is running SQL server software. You will need a core license for every core in the processor. You need at least four core licenses for each physical processor on the server (core licenses are sold in packs of two).
There are two main editions: Enterprise and Standard. Which other editions are available with SQL Server? Enterprise and Standard are the two main editions. The Web Edition is offered only to hosters through the Services Provider License Agreement (SPLA).
Client Access Licenses (CALs) You have to pay for each person or each device (each client) that you want to allow access the server or use of some service the server provides. You only need 1 CAL per user or per device regardless of how many servers you actually have.
Just a few additions to the otherwise excellent previous answer:
each individual license covers 2 cores: This is wrong. Each core license covers one core, as you may expect. The fact is that the SKU, the product reference you may purchase, is a pack of 2 core licenses. This pack can be divided into 2 single core licenses if you need to when assigning your licenses to your servers. As a side note, I would be glad to know the name of the "brilliant" guy who created this SKU at Microsoft, as it adds a lot of confusion and generates a lot more work to my industry, the Software Asset Management (SAM).
I would go with Microsoft on this since they are the ones that would do the software audit: This is wrong as well. Microsoft never does software audit on their own. They always delegate this to third parties. As a consequence, the inside knowledge of licensing rules is usually very poor at Microsoft and I strongly advice to ask licensing professionals instead, such as SAM consultants.
Regarding Martin's comment, the Microsoft Licensing people we deal with (an LAR) think differently: A LAR, or LSP as it is now their new name, is usually a pure reseller and its licensing knowledge is usually very poor also. Their goal is to sell the most, not to make sure their customers are compliant, and optimized even less. I am not surprised they think differently. Again, ask SAM professionals instead.
Best regards, Gilles
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An External Connector License is in place of a Windows Server User/Device CAL: http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/client-access-license.aspx http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/product-licensing.aspx
An External Connector is defined as: "An External Connector (EC) license is an alternative to CALs for each server that external users will access. External users are users who are not employees or onsite contractors. An EC license assigned to a server permits access by any number of external users, as long as that access is for the benefit of the licensee and not the external user. Each physical server that external users access requires only one EC license regardless of the number of instances running. The right to run instances of the server software is licensed separately; the EC, like the CAL, simply permits access. EC licenses, like CALs, are version and functionality specific. They must be the same version or later than the server software being accessed. The decision on whether to acquire CALs or an EC for external users is primarily a financial one."
A Server Processor/Core License allows unlimited connections - whether internal or external (as long as you cover all the cores in your machine). For the SQL Core license (separate from Server : times the number by 1 for Intel, and .75 for certain models of AMD): http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=230678 (page 7-9).
Server 1: If it is a workload webserver, IIS does not require CAL's for external connectors - IIS is exempted ( http://microsoftlicensereview.com/category/external-connectors/ ). The Windows Server does require User/Device Server CALs (if it is licensed that way) for employees or onsite contractors. For offsite users who authenticate to the server, not only for website related information, if it makes more sense to purchase the external connector license rather than User/Device CALs for these users, then you would want to do that.
Server 2: In addition to similar license as above for this server, the SQL Server would require either: Per Core License (each individual license covers 2 cores, you need as many licenses as the core factor for your machine); OR 1 SQL Server license + User/Device Cals for all users who connect to the website on Site which is pulling SQL data.
This keeps you from doing multiplexing, which is described here: http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/about-licensing/briefs/multiplexing.aspx http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=230678 (page 17).
Here is an article that explains it further (she mentions offsite contractors, which is different than onsite contractors - which would need a User/Device CAL): http://www.networkworld.com/community/blog/microsoft-cals-and-external-connector-license
So, it would appear that since the user is connecting to the SQL server via the web application on Server 1, and not authenticating to Server 2 (if Server 1 connects to SQL directly with string rather than authentication), it would not seem like the External Connector license is not needed on Server 2 (but I would go with Microsoft on this since they are the ones that would do the software audit).
Hope that helps.
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