Licensing Compliance

scott_k2003

We are interested in how the licensing works. If we license 5 servers, what happens if we accidently exceed our licensing by a host or two? Is there limitation to allowing us to add the sixth host to a central management console or is it based on a good faith model? We are hoping there is a way of alerting us if we exceed our alloted licensing count.

Given our position in the industry we need to ensure 100% compliance and sometimes it is easier when you are denied the ability to exceed your licensing count by software restrictions.

Regardless we like what we see and I think this a great product.

Eddie D

Thank you for your post into the forum.

SQL Backup has two major components:

SQL Backup GUI - Used for managing and creating the SQL Backup jobs. This component is not licensed and can be installed on as many workstations and servers as required.

SQL Backup Server Components - This component includes the SQL Backup Agent Service and the Extended Stored Procedures that perform the actual backup and restore processes. This is the licensed component of SQL Backup.

SQL Backup Server Components are licensed, for want of a better term, per Windows Instance. So if you have two Windows instances running on one physical machine and you require SQL Backup Server Components to be on both Windows instances, you will need a two licenses of SQL Backup one for each Windows Instance.

If you have multiple SQL instances on 1 Windows Instance, you will only require a single license for that Windows instance

SQL Backup for a 5 server license is supplied with 5 allowed distinct activations. So you will be able to activate 5 distinct Windows instances. The activation process will fail for the 6th server and the error message returned will inform you that you have attempted to activate the license serial number on too many machines.

If you need move a license from one Windows Instance to another, for example you are decommissioning that machine. You can deactivate the license and then transfer it to the replacement machine.

I hope the above answers your question.

Many Thanks
Eddie

scott_k2003

perfect thanks for the reply Eddie. This answers my question but brings up one more. Do the servers check against an external (internet) licensing server when an acitivation occurs? What if the server is not able to communicate on the internet (isolated security zone) are there activation methods available or can a key or serial hash of some kind be generated from another machine and used against that secured sql server?

Nigel Morse

Hi,
It's actually the client that will do the contacting of the external server, so your servers will not need internet access.

However if the client cannot contact the licensing server then it will offer you alternative ways of activating.