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Reduce your IT costs with a used SQL Server licence

Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system (RDBMS) that is based on the standard of the current SQL version. To use Microsoft SQL Server legally, you need an SQL Server licence, which you can purchase second-hand and at a lower price from Soft & Cloud.

Microsoft's licence model stipulates that you must purchase a suitable SQL Server licence for each version and be able to prove this during an audit. However, Microsoft grants buyers of e.g. the current version Microsoft SQL Server 2022 a downgrade right for the last two versions. This means that you can also use a licence for Microsoft SQL Server 2022 Standard 2 Core to legally licence the previous versions Microsoft SQL Server 2019 and 2017.

Overview of Microsoft SQL Server functions

Relational database systems such as Microsoft SQL Server are generally used to efficiently manage, retrieve and analyse large amounts of data. For this purpose, the data is organised in various tables that can be linked to each other in a variety of ways. This structure and the relational organisation are typical of an RDBMS such as Microsoft SQL Server. Incidentally, SQL stands for "Structured Query Language" and was developed in 1974 to define data structures in relational databases and to enable editing and querying of the databases based on them.

With an SQL server, almost any amount of data can be stored efficiently, securely and reliably. For this purpose, the individual data records are saved in tables that are set in relation to each other in order to avoid redundancies in the data and at the same time increase performance during queries, updates or data backups. The database can be easily analysed using a dedicated scripting language or query tools; the analysis results can be displayed online or offline in reports or dynamic evaluations.

In addition to these basic functions, SQL Server from Microsoft offers numerous additional functions, depending on the version used, with which it can also be used in the cloud or big data environment. SQL Server also offers various services, such as Analysis Services, Reporting Services, Integration Services and various tools. One example of this is the free Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio, which you can use to configure, manage and develop any SQL infrastructure.

For database queries, Microsoft uses the SQL variant Transact-SQL (T-SQL), which provides additional syntax for stored procedures and transactions. Microsoft SQL Server also supports the OLE DB interface and ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) and, since SQL Server 2017, also offers support for various Linux systems.

What is the difference between a used Microsoft SQL Server licence and the purchase of a new licence?

The licences are (used) software, i.e. a product that neither wears out during use nor wears out over time. For this reason, a used Microsoft SQL Server 2017 licence that you can buy cheaply from Soft & Cloud corresponds exactly in function and performance to a new licence that you buy directly from Microsoft.

So you can buy a used licence for Microsoft SQL Server and have no disadvantages, but you do have some advantages: You acquire a fully-fledged Microsoft SQL Server licence with no time limit and also the right to downgrade. Our used licences are securely recognised by Microsoft during an audit and therefore enable you to reduce the costs for Microsoft SQL Server licensing to a minimum. In addition, when you purchase the licences, you also acquire the right to resell them at a later date, for example if you upgrade to a newer version of the Microsoft SQL Server software and therefore no longer need the previous licences.

Microsoft SQL Server 2017 and SQL Server 2019 in comparison

With SQL Server 2017, Microsoft has integrated many new functions, e.g. Always On Availability groups, which enable cross-database transactions. CLR (Common Language Runtime) assemblies now offer more control over the interpretation of secure remote access and insecure authorisations in an SQL server, as well as the ability to continue an online index creation if it has run into an error or has been stopped manually.

In the SQL Server 2019 version, big data clusters are integrated, allowing you to deploy multiple scalable clusters of SQL Server and other data containers running on Kubernetes simultaneously. This enables the combination of relational data with big data applications. In addition, MS SQL Server 2019 supports the UTF-8 data encoding system for export, import and data capture at database and column level, offers improvements to the resumable online index and Always On Availability Groups as a disaster recovery and high availability solution.

What is Microsoft SQL Server, and what is it used for?

MS SQL Server is a relational database management system that stores and manages data in various tables that can be linked to one another. SQL servers are used to reliably store, evaluate and process large amounts of data.

How much does Microsoft SQL Server cost, taking into account the different versions?

The cost of Microsoft SQL Server depends on various factors, such as the version selected (e.g. SQL Server 2017, 2019, 2022) and the edition (Standard or Enterprise). For small and medium-sized businesses, the Standard edition is usually sufficient, e.g. Microsoft SQL Server 2019 Standard. Large companies can purchase the Enterprise Edition of Microsoft SQL Server 2019, which offers unlimited virtualisation and advanced business intelligence features, among other things.

Can Microsoft SQL Server be used without a licence?

After downloading Microsoft SQL Server free of charge, Microsoft offers a trial period of up to 180 days during which you can use the programme without a licence. If you wish to continue using it after this period, you must obtain the appropriate licences for both the server and the devices or users who will be working with it. With used licences for Microsoft SQL Server, which are significantly cheaper than new licences, you can limit your IT costs without any restrictions in terms of functionality or runtime.

What are the differences between Microsoft SQL Server Standard and Enterprise?

The Enterprise Edition is suitable for applications that require business-critical in-memory performance, security and high availability, and is therefore primarily aimed at large enterprises. Licensing is exclusively core-based. The Standard Edition is suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises and, in addition to a core-based server licence, also requires client access licences (CALs) for users or devices.

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