When it comes to purchasing Microsoft SQL Server, I know for a fact, many finds difficulty on selecting the edition and calculating the cost. Here is a quick note I made on it, it was based on a discussion had for selecting the edition and licensing it.
| Enterprise | Business Intelligence | Standard | |
| Options available | Core-based only | Server + CALs only | Core-based or Server + CALs |
| Price | USD 6,874 per core (four-core minimum per socket) | Server – USD 8,592 CAL – USD 209 | USD 1,793 per core (four-core minimum per socket) - Server – USD 898 CAL – USD 209 |
Again, calculating the price for core-based is not just core price into number of cores. It is based on something called Core Factor. Refer this table to determine the core factor for your processor;
| Processor Type | Core Factor |
| All processors not mentioned below | 1 |
| AMD Processors 31XX, 32XX, 41XX, 42XX, 61XX, 62XX Series Processors with 6 or more cores | 0.75 |
| Single-Core Processors | 4 |
| Dual-Core Processors | 2 |
Number of core licenses to be purchased is based on formula: Number of cores * Core Factor. Here is an example for calculating core-based cost for Enterprise Edition;
1. 2 Intel Xeon 6-core processors
Total physical cores – 12
Core factor – 1
Core licenses required = 12 x 1 = 12
Cost for Enterprise Edition = 12 x USD 6,874 = USD 82,488
