Microsoft® SQL Server 2012 Unleashed

Choosing a Licensing Model

Which licensing model should you choose? Core-based licensing is generally required in instances in which the server will be accessed via the Web. This type of licensing includes servers used in Internet situations or servers that will be accessed from both inside and outside an organization’s firewall. Core-based licensing might also be appropriate and cost effective for internal environments in which there are a very large number of users in relation to the number of SQL Server machines. An additional advantage to the core-based model is that it eliminates the need to count the number of devices connecting to SQL Server, which can be difficult to manage on an ongoing basis for a large organization.

Using the server/per-seat ...