Small Business Server 2003 R2 and SQL Server Workgroup Edition

Whilst Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 includes Exchange Server 2003, SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition, ISA Server 2004, IIS 6.0, WSUS 3.0, Domain Controller, DHCP Server, DNS Server, and all that — some companies may choose to install business applications on a separate server on the same "Small Business Server 2003 Network."  These separate servers on the small business network are referred to as member servers, or Windows Server 2003 Member Servers.  We’re presently quoting a system, and seeing that the member server could also be a Windows Server 2008 Member Server.  So, our client has an M1 MRP system that they’re migrating over from a legacy SQL Server 2000 machine that is currently not part of the domain.  The SQL Server 2000 database is going to migrated to a new SQL Server 2005 machine on the Small Business Server domain. 

One of the questions that came up was licensing: if the SBS 2003 R2 software includes SQL Server 2003 Workgroup Edition, can that software be placed on a separate (member) server without purchasing additional client access licenses?  It turns out that the answer is "yes," if you are, in fact, talking about SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition, and not SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition.  Client Access Licenses (CALs) are also not required for the Windows Server 2003 R2 machine.  This turns out to be a tremendous value to the customer as this database server can now be used for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 where it is anticipated that all the users in the whole company will be accessing the database, and no additional user licenses are going to be required.

Here’s a couple of links to articles discussing these licensing issues:

Product Use Rights – see pg 31 & 32 which shows that SBS CALs work for Windows Server Standard and pg 42 shows that SBS CALs work for SQL Workgroup Ed.

More SBS 2003 R2 Licensing FAQ’s

Bottom line: SBS CAL’s turn out to be a great value!