SQL Server Upgrade 'Developer > Enterprise'

Question

Hey guys,

My company purchased Visual Studio Pro 2008 last year, which had a 'free' copy of SQL Server Developer, which I have been using for development.

We are wanting to upgrade the copy of developer edition to enterprise (As we now want to use the server as a production server), and have purchased the licenses for this.

Now... Morally we're in the clear... However does this comply with MS licensing T&C's?

We have Developer installed how we want it, and don't really want to uninstall SQL Server Dev just to install SQL Server Ent. Is there a way to transfer the license key to our Enterprise key without having to reinstall?

Thanks,

JD

Answer 1

Upgrade from Developer to Enterprise is a supported upgrade path, so you can simply install the new bits on top of the existing ones (provided your Developer is still at RTM and haven't patched any SP or CU on it).

Whether the license you purchased covers the use of the developer edition for business purposes, it is not explicitly called out in the Licensing document and I can't answer that part.

Answer 2

Here is an msdn article that should help