Important advantages and features of Microsoft SQL Server Version 2016 in brief
- The integration of Stretch Databases provides extended cloud support by connecting on-premises environments and the cloud, as well as the ability to store OLTP data in Microsoft Azure
- The new Always Encrypted technology supports the protection of corporate data - locally and in the cloud
- In-memory OLTP improves performance when capturing data by making queries more than 100 times faster and processing transactions up to 30 times faster
- Conventional OLAP (Online Analytical Processing) solutions are supported
- The R programming language for statistical analyses with Advanced Analytics can be used
- Higher security through functions such as Always Encrypted, Dynamic Data Masking and Row-Level Security (RLS)
- Maximizing SQL server performance with T-SQL (Transact-SQL)
- PolyBase simplifies the processing of relational and non-relational data in Transact-SQL queries
- Business Intelligence is available for all mobile devices, including Android and iOS smartphones, to publish reports in Excel 2016 for intuitive understanding through rich visualizations
- Advanced Business Intelligence with SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS)
- Hybrid scenarios are available in Microsoft Azure for backup including high availability and local database recovery, including storage of active secondary replicas in Always On availability groups with read-only access
Overview of advantages and performance with Microsoft SQL Server 2016
Microsoft SQL Server 2016 is another version of the intelligent, reliable data platform that supports productive teamwork. With SQL Server 2016 Standard, you can transform different business-critical applications into intelligent applications. The 2016 Standard Edition already offers optimized availability and higher scalability for up to 24 cores. In addition, the open source R-Integration enables extended analysis options.
Windows SQL Server 2016 thus provides a comprehensive business intelligence database for the management and analysis of data. All employees in the company who either have a client access license or are entitled to access per se in the case of 2-core licensing can run a wide range of typical business applications.
Administrators will appreciate efficient database management because SQL Server 2016 requires minimal IT resources. For this purpose, the server version supports a range of development tools, which are intended for local use as well as for cloud-based use. The following new features and functions of the SQL Server 2016 version are especially worth mentioning:
SQL Server 2016 offers even higher performance
The 2016 version of the Microsoft SQL Server software has, among many other features, optimized performance, including many flexible application possibilities. This is also ensured by the integrated in-memory functions, which offer a significant increase in performance for all workloads - at a speed comparable to that of in-memory OLTP. Other features include
Features that also enhance the performance of SQL Server 2016, such as In-Memory Columnstore and Query Store, as well as Temporal Tables, which provides built-in support for historization and concurrent delivery of table data.
R Services for Microsoft SQL Server
By integrating the new SQL Server R Services, Microsoft is making the R statistics language available for the SQL Server 2016. Users who have a client access license can now execute R scripts directly on the SQL Server instead of exporting all data for an analysis first from the SQL database and then importing it into R. R Services not only saves valuable time, but also provides greater security by eliminating the need to transfer sensitive data.
Master Data Services for the efficient management of master data
The Master Data Services (MDS) tool in SQL Server 2016 allows efficient management of master data sets of a company or organization. MDS not only allows data to be organized in the form of models, it also allows rules to be defined for updating, including the authorization of persons to update this data. The master data set can also be released in Excel for specific persons.
Reporting Services (SSRS) for the provision of reports
The SSRS - SQL Server Reporting Services - support the creation and management of mobile and paginated reports with various tools and services. Analysis Services provides analytical data from reporting and business services reports, and can also be used for client applications or business intelligence tools from other providers. For this purpose, the Reporting Services functions allow a user to generate reports from different data sources, including publication in various formats. Employees can read them via a browser in the web portal, by e-mail or on a mobile device.
Higher security level
The Microsoft SQL Server Version 2016 also has some important improvements in terms of security:
With Always Encrypted, particularly sensitive data, such as credit card or ID numbers, is protected and stored in an Azure SQL or SQL Server database. Always Encrypted allows a distinction to be made between those users who are authorised to view this data and those who are only authorised to manage the data but have no access to it.
Row-Level Security (RLS), on the other hand, allows precise access restrictions to be implemented for individual data rows. RLS thus ensures that a particular employee can only access exactly those data rows for which he or she has authorization.
Dynamic Data Masking (DDM) simplifies security coding in applications; DDM prevents unauthorized users from accessing confidential data by masking it.
SQL Server 2016 Standard available from Wiresoft
Wiresoft offers the SQL Server 2016 Edition Standard inexpensively in the two variants 2-core license and server/CALs. This way the differing needs of companies and institutions regarding the scalability of SQL services based on server performance are taken into account.
Microsoft licensing model for SQL Server 2016
With SQL Server Version 2016, Microsoft is also changing the so-called license metric: It calculates the number of licenses required for a server with which the SQL software is used. While it did not matter with previous Microsoft Server versions that there are many cores in one processor, this number is now the basis for determining the license requirement - depending on the respective server edition. Core licensing takes into account the increasing performance of processors due to the ever-increasing number of cores installed, which means that ever-larger workloads can be handled.
For the SQL Server Version 2016, Microsoft offers licensing per server/CALs for the Standard available from Wiresoft in addition to the additional 2-core licensing. Thus, smaller companies also have the possibility to benefit from the performance and virtualization features of SQL Server 2016 Standard if their server performance allows licensing with the cheaper alternative Server & CALs.
Whether licensing the Standard Edition of SQL Server 2016 by cores is more cost-effective for an organization than licensing it by servers plus CALs depends on an organization's deployment, such as the number of employees and the level of virtualization of services. The reverse is also possible, with Server/CAL licensing being the more cost-effective option. A machine with a maximum of 2 processors with 8 cores each can be licensed more economically with the SQL 2016 Server/CAL version, provided that the actual demand for cloud services etc. is lower.
License for SQL Server 2016 per Server/CAL
The Microsoft license per server/CAL is composed of these components:
Each server on which the SQL Server Edition 2016 Standard is to be run requires a separate server license. To allow employees to use all server services and functions, the server license must be supplemented by additional client access licenses - CALs. A separate access license - as a user or device CAL - is required for each user or end device.
License for SQL Server 2016 per 2-core
When licensing SQL Server 2016 based on the processor cores, Microsoft defines the counting method according to the following criteria: One core license is for two cores, as opposed to the previous calculation that estimated one license per processor.
Thus, the total license requirement for SQL Server 2016 is now calculated from the number of cores per processor.
However, it should be noted that Microsoft has introduced the following rule: A minimum of 16 core licenses are required for each server, i.e. 8 2-core license packages. The reason is that Microsoft has generally set this as the lowest number of cores. This means that engines with an actually lower number of cores still cannot be licensed at a lower price. However, in contrast to licensing with the Server/CALs package, no additional CALs are required.
Buy licenses for Microsoft SQL Server 2016 from Wiresoft at a low price
Depending on whether you want to purchase licenses for Microsoft SQL Server 2016 with 2-Core or Server/CAL products, Wiresoft offers you both license packages as original Microsoft licenses - at a particularly favorable price. Because we offer you a price advantage by the sale of unused software licenses, which were acquired by European companies absolutely legally by us. According to the legally valid decision of the European Court of Justice, software products such as server licenses may be resold. You can therefore be sure to purchase a fully operational license package from Wiresoft, all licenses have been thoroughly checked by us beforehand. Many enthusiastic customers already use our license offer. If you have any questions about your licensing for Microsoft SQL Server 2016, please contact us.