SQL licensing question

  • We have a new vendor we are buying a product from. Our setup will be 1 app server and 1 DB server. This vendor is telling us we will need only 1 SQL User Cal for thier product as our 30-40 users touch only the App then the Applications services user attaches to sql and is used to access the DB. So basically the only user touching SQL would be the application services users but the 30-40 users will still be accessing the data just not directly through SQL. I argued with him that thier software is basically a pooling software and even though the app user is the only one touching the SQL that any users that touch the data need a SQL CAL even in this indirect way. Anyone out there to let me know if I am right or is he?

  • You are. Direct from Microsoft:

    MULTIPLEXING: USE OF MIDDLEWARE, TRANSACTION SERVERS, AND MULTITIERED ARCHITECTURES

    Sometimes organizations develop network scenarios that use various forms of hardware and/or software that reduce the number of devices or users that directly access or use the software on a particular server, often called multiplexing or pooling hardware or software. Use of such multiplexing or pooling hardware and/or software does not reduce the number of CALs required to access or use SQL Server software. A CAL is required for each distinct device or user that is connected to the multiplexing or pooling software or hardware front end.

    This is true no matter how many tiers of hardware or software exist between the SQL Server and the client devices that ultimately use its data, services or functionality. An exception to this includes the manual transfer of data from employee to employee. For example, if an employee sends an Excel version of a report to another employee, the receiving employee does not require a CAL (as long as the report does not access a SQL Server in some way). An additional exception is communication exclusively between SQL servers.

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