External Connector Licences for Websites using SQL Server

Question

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.

Answer 1

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