edition of sql 2005 to use as testing server

Dear all,
if i want to install a sql 2005 into windows 2003 server for the testing
purpose, what edition of sql 2005 should i use, the testing db server is use
d
for developers and end users to test the application, which edition should i
useIf it's for testing what will be going into production (i.e. UAT - user
acceptance testing) then you should use whatever edition you plan to use
in production, otherwise you might find that some app/code works in your
test environment but not in your production environment.
You should talk to Microsoft about licensing
<http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/default.mspx>. I know in some cases
you can implement SQL Server on a server cost-free (ie. without
licensing it), like when the server is a disaster recovery server and
will never get used except in case of DR, but I don't believe a "test"
server will qualify for free software (I know ours don't).
*mike hodgson*
blog: http://sqlnerd.blogspot.com
Joe wrote:

>Dear all,
>if i want to install a sql 2005 into windows 2003 server for the testing
>purpose, what edition of sql 2005 should i use, the testing db server is us
ed
>for developers and end users to test the application, which edition should
i
>use
>|||this mean if i use standard edition in production server
then i need to use standard edition also to testing server?
"Mike Hodgson" wrote:

> If it's for testing what will be going into production (i.e. UAT - user
> acceptance testing) then you should use whatever edition you plan to use
> in production, otherwise you might find that some app/code works in your
> test environment but not in your production environment.
> You should talk to Microsoft about licensing
> <http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/default.mspx>. I know in some cases
> you can implement SQL Server on a server cost-free (ie. without
> licensing it), like when the server is a disaster recovery server and
> will never get used except in case of DR, but I don't believe a "test"
> server will qualify for free software (I know ours don't).
> --
> *mike hodgson*
> blog: http://sqlnerd.blogspot.com
>
> Joe wrote:
>
>|||Hi
It is best to mach the versions between Test (UAT) and Production, otherwise
you are not really simulating production, and you might get some surprises
when you promote code to production if it was making use of performance
benefits it can get from Enterprise Edition.
Regards
--
Mike Epprecht, Microsoft SQL Server MVP
Zurich, Switzerland
IM: mike@.epprecht.net
MVP Program: http://www.microsoft.com/mvp
Blog: http://www.msmvps.com/epprecht/
"Joe" <Joe@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:52A3EA45-D91D-43F8-95AF-942DC6A3E48B@.microsoft.com...[vbcol=seagreen]
> this mean if i use standard edition in production server
> then i need to use standard edition also to testing server?
> "Mike Hodgson" wrote:
>|||Can i use developer edition to testing server for testing
"Mike Epprecht (SQL MVP)" wrote:

> Hi
> It is best to mach the versions between Test (UAT) and Production, otherwi
se
> you are not really simulating production, and you might get some surprises
> when you promote code to production if it was making use of performance
> benefits it can get from Enterprise Edition.
> Regards
> --
> Mike Epprecht, Microsoft SQL Server MVP
> Zurich, Switzerland
> IM: mike@.epprecht.net
> MVP Program: http://www.microsoft.com/mvp
> Blog: http://www.msmvps.com/epprecht/
> "Joe" <Joe@.discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:52A3EA45-D91D-43F8-95AF-942DC6A3E48B@.microsoft.com...
>
>|||Developer Edition is basically the same as Enterprise Edition except
licensed differently. Therefore, if your "test" server is Developer
Edition it may take advantage of some Enterprise/Developer Edition
feature or optimisation that isn't supported by Standard Edition, which
will mean that that particular part of the application you are testing
may either not work in production or behave differently (eg. return slower).
It's not an accurate test if the test & production instances of SQL
server are not the same /edition/ and /product level /(service pack &
patch level). Then again, how many UAT tests are performed under a
realistic production load...?
*mike hodgson*
blog: http://sqlnerd.blogspot.com
Joe wrote:
[vbcol=seagreen]
>Can i use developer edition to testing server for testing
>"Mike Epprecht (SQL MVP)" wrote:
>
>|||I want to know that does the license of developer edition permit to install
into the testing server for developers and end users to test the application
.
Since i just want to test for UAT. It doesn't matter how the performance or
workload characteristics of the developer edition
Once the application and the database schema are fully tested, it can deploy
into the production server with licensed enterprise or standard edition sql
server.
Does the license concept of the abouve is OK?
"Mike Hodgson" wrote:

> Developer Edition is basically the same as Enterprise Edition except
> licensed differently. Therefore, if your "test" server is Developer
> Edition it may take advantage of some Enterprise/Developer Edition
> feature or optimisation that isn't supported by Standard Edition, which
> will mean that that particular part of the application you are testing
> may either not work in production or behave differently (eg. return slower
).
> It's not an accurate test if the test & production instances of SQL
> server are not the same /edition/ and /product level /(service pack &
> patch level). Then again, how many UAT tests are performed under a
> realistic production load...?
> --
> *mike hodgson*
> blog: http://sqlnerd.blogspot.com
>
> Joe wrote:
>
>|||Well, given that you understand the capabilities
<http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms143761.aspx> (not just the
performance) of Developer Edition are greater than the capabilities of
Standard Edition (eg. online indexing, updateable partitioned views, a
swag of data mining algorithms, SSIS transformations, etc.), then my
understanding of the licensing model for Developer Edition is as follows
(from the SQL Licensing FAQ
<http://www.microsoft.com/sql/howtobuy/faq.mspx> and the SQL Licensing &
Pricing Whitepaper
<http://www.microsoft.com/sql/howtob...rlicensing.mspx> ):
* It can only be used for development & testing purposes
* It's licensed per developer/tester
* It's not free (but it is very cheap) - costs about USD$50 per
license <http://www.microsoft.com/sql/howtobuy/default.mspx>. Of
course, that's just the standard public pricing; there are other
pricing programs which change matters slightly, like Volume
Licensing
<http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/...es/default.mspx>, Open
License
<http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/...en/default.mspx>,
Select License
<http://www.microsoft.com/licensing/...el/default.mspx>, etc.
So, for example, if you plan to have 5 developers and 3 testers using
it, you'd have to buy 8 licenses, which would cost you about $400 US.
That's how I interpret the arrangement. However bear in mind, I don't
work for Microsoft and I could have misinterpreted the licensing
documentation. You'd be best to confirm this with your local Microsoft
rep (see the "Obtain SQL Server 2005" section at the bottom of the How
To Buy <http://www.microsoft.com/sql/howtobuy/default.mspx> page).
*mike hodgson*
blog: http://sqlnerd.blogspot.com
Joe wrote:
[vbcol=seagreen]
>I want to know that does the license of developer edition permit to install
>into the testing server for developers and end users to test the applicatio
n.
>Since i just want to test for UAT. It doesn't matter how the performance o
r
>workload characteristics of the developer edition
>Once the application and the database schema are fully tested, it can deplo
y
>into the production server with licensed enterprise or standard edition sql
>server.
>Does the license concept of the abouve is OK?
>"Mike Hodgson" wrote:
>
>