Microsoft® SQL Server 2012 Unleashed

Virtual Server Licensing

Virtualization is defined broadly as the running of software on a “virtual environment.” A virtual environment exists when an operating system is somehow emulated (that is, does not run directly on the physical hardware). When you’re running virtualization software on a system, one or several applications and their associated operating systems can run on one physical server inside their respective virtual environments.

Running SQL Server 2012 inside a virtual operating environment requires at least one license per virtual operating environment. Within each virtual operating environment, the license allows you to run one or more instances of SQL Server 2012. The license for a virtual operating environment can be a server/CAL ...