Solarwinds DB running on a VM - SQL Licensing

dunky2k

Currently we run a split solution where our Primary Poller / APE's are already running on VM's but our Database server is still a physical server.

We are now looking at moving the Database server onto the VM farm, and although i'm content with the sizing required for our XL environment, i'm unsure how to best license it.

People who are already running your Database server in a VM environment, did you take the option to license the VM's individually or did you license the entire Node.

If my understanding is correct of MS Licensing (not entirely confident) we can license an individual VM with 16 cores, using 16 SQL Licenses with SA to allow a passive failover VM in our DR Site.

If we license the entire Node we would require 20 SQL licenses with SA, this would allow unlimited cores for each VM running SQL (up to a maximum of 20 SQL VM's) and also allow us to vmotion the 'active primary' to any of the other 4 Esx-i Nodes we have.

I would be interested to see what other organisations use and if my understanding above is correct, either way we will require to purchase additional SQL licenses, just don't want to purchase any more than we actually need.

jm_sysadmin

We buy big ESXi hosts, and pack them full of servers, so it makes sense to use the Data Center license on the host's CPU cores. I think each blade has 4 CPU with 12 Cores each, and 1.5 TB of Ram, and they average 35 SQL servers on each but that depends on the work you are doing more than anything else. If you hit the max of 20 vms they obviously let you buy more licensing. )

When we did it, we did the Math to see what was cheaper over 5 years, and your VAR should be able to help you with it. We figured out how much was going to move into a VM, and what physical SQL servers were going to stick around for the immediate future. Then we were able to take the licensing we had, and trade it in for datacenter licenses at a ratio that MS offered. I do not know if those incentives still exist. 

When we set up the ESXi hosts in vCenter, they got their own cluster, and SQL servers don't move out of it, they can vMotion to any host in that cluster but not out of it. I also think that at the start we didn't need to license hosts that held the passive servers of SQL clusters at a DR location, but I don't know if or how those rules apply anymore. Today both sides of the cluster in different locations get production work and all are licensed.