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I am looking for some comparison or data for sql 2008 deployment , what are the advantages and disadvantages installing multiple VM vs multiple named instance ?

How can i save license cost using VMs vs physical server for sql 2008 ?

is there a way to find out what is maximum number of connections to database at any time or in the past - need to calculate needed CAL license ?

Thanks.

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Connections != CAL - the number of connections is irrelevant. Distinct licensed users may open more than one connection. – TomTom Apr 20 '10 at 4:06
Not related the the licensing question, there are significant performance implications for running IO intensive tasks like SQL2008 in VMs. Depending on your application(s) this might be a greater issue than the difference in CAL costs. – David Spillett Apr 20 '10 at 11:21
Here's a question by SQLRockstar that covers a lot of the benefits of virtualizing: serverfault.com/questions/25840/virtual-vs-named-sql-instances. – Sean Howat Apr 20 '10 at 13:41
I have 245 number of connections ( maximum at a given time), what is the best way to license my sql server 2008 ? i have two CPU with multiple core, i may go VM on sql server not decided yet. thx – user40997 Apr 21 '10 at 6:18
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2 Answers

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You can't have more than 50 instances on a single server, and the practical limit is probably lower than that, each instance will have a fair amount of memory overhead; if you're going to run multiple instances, you need to be sure to manage your memory; if you just use the defaults, all the instances will consume as much as needed and you'll have a performance nightmare.

If you buy the Enterprise edition of SQL and license per processor, you can scale VM's out pretty far, certainly beyond 50.

But a lot depends on the application, size of the database, growth rate, your budget, etc.

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+1. The very expensive processor licensing can actually become quite a cost saver if you make good use of virtual SQL servers with it. – Sean Howat Apr 20 '10 at 13:42
If i have around 250 user connecting to the server, is it a good idea to purchase an enterprise processor license or just go for CAL license only ? ( keeping in mind creating 5 or 6 sql8 VMs on the same box ? please advise. – user40997 Apr 21 '10 at 6:21
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Why would you want to use VM's they are going to take up more resources? Additionally each VM will require its own license. Use named instances. I believe you can have multiple named instances with one license. Hope that answers your licensing issues as well as your deployment scenario.

Check out the licensing section of the SQL Server 2008 Licensing Frequently Asked Questions site all your CAL answers are very clearly outlined in the first few Licensing questions.

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Actually, if you license all sockets in a physical box, you can install SQL Server 2008 on as many VMs in that box as you want. It's in the virtualization section of the EULA. – MDMarra Apr 20 '10 at 11:09
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Also, to find out why you'd want to use VMs, read Brent's post from my comment above. There's quite a few advantages to using VMs depending on what you're trying to do. – Sean Howat Apr 20 '10 at 13:44
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