SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional SQL Server Changes for 2022

SQL 2014 SP3 End of Life

SOLIDWORKS 2021 SP5 will be the last release of PDM Professional / Manage that will support the use of SQL Standard 2014.

Don't Forget! Download a Copy >> SQL Licensing Changes Effective in 2022

Important: This will only affect PDM Professional, not PDM Standard. PDM Standard uses a free SQL Express that does not require any paid licensing. However, the installed version of SQL Express will still need to be upgraded.

Many customers, if they have upgraded to SOLIDWORKS 2020 / 2021, will have noticed that they needed to upgrade the SQL Server to 2014 SP3. When upgrading to SOLIDWORKS 2022, you will need to upgrade your SQL Server to 2016 or 2019.

SQL Server Licensing changes

For customers who purchased PDM Professional or SOLIDWORKS Manage prior to October 2019, a SQL Server Core license was included with the purchase. The included license is good up through SQL Server 2014 SP3. SOLIDWORKS PDM / Manage licenses purchased after October 2019 will have SQL licenses listed on the bill of sale as their own line item.

When upgrading to SOLIDWORKS PDM / Manage 2022, customers will need to provide their own SQL Server licensing.

SQL Server Licensing Requirements

• SERVER + CAL Model
• 1 SERVER license required per SQL Database Server
• Replicated archive servers do not require a SQL Server license
• Test servers may be covered by SQL Server Developer Edition
• 1 CAL is required per PDM User
• SQL CAL licenses are per named user
• To ensure Microsoft compliance, customers will need 1 CAL per user or device that is connecting to PDM
• CORE Model
• SQL core licensing is based on the number of CPU Cores on the Database Server
• Individual users do not require CALs
• For Microsoft compliance, the customer will need to have enough licenses to cover the total logical processors on the server.

Where to obtain SQL Server Licensing

Contact your existing Microsoft Partner, if you do not have one, here is our recommendation. 

Go Engineer can provide both Server + CAL and Core licensing on request, with or without Software Assurance as needed, however, we recommend purchasing through your Microsoft Partner.

Software Assurance

SQL Licensing can be purchased with an optional Software Assurance. This is a Microsoft subscription service that provides technical support and access to future releases. This is sold in 2-year increments.

This is not required for PDM, however, as new versions get released it will provide access to the necessary versions of SQL Server.

Summary

• SOLIDWORKS 2021 SP5 will be the last version supporting SQL Server 2014 SP3
• SQL Server licensing as of October 2019 is no longer included with any PDM Professional licensing
• Customers will need to purchase SQL Server licensing either from Microsoft or GoEngineer to upgrade to 2022.
• Can be either SERVER + CAL or Core model of licensing

If you have any questions, please reach out to GoEngineer Technical Support or your local account representative.

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