SQLArcher (2/12/2013)
In terms of the licensing to get a better understanding I suggest that you look at the following:However, it is always best to speak with your Microsoft representative as well as the reseller who provides your company with licenses.
+1 to that. Always speak to your reseller or MS directly as they make the rule, they can change the rules without telling anyone.
2012 changed to Core based instead of processor based licensing. So you need to take into account what CPU's you purchase and how many cores each one has. There is a minimum 4 core purchase per CPU, so if you have 2 Dual core chips, (4 cores in total) you need to purchase 8 core licenses.
Once you have purchased the minimum 4 cores per CPU, you can then purchase 2 core packs to top up. So a Hex core chip would be the minimum 4 + 2 additional, again its per chip.
Attached the licensing guide SQLArcher linked to and a white paper on upgrading to 2012.