Most of Microsoft software are licensed per CPU or per users, so do the most of others. but when i am going to purchase SUSE Linuxe Enterprise Server 10 for the newly purchased file server, i found that the SUSE Linux is not licensed per CPU or user/connection. they count license per socket(CPU socket).

All the old servers we bought 2 years ago that runing Linux have only up to 2 solo core cpus. The new server is equipted with 2 multi-core CPUs, each have 4 CPUs inside a sigle CPU shell. Intel quard -core. they are physical CPUs that inside one shell, it will be count as 8 cpus in windows Server. but when we buy Suse linux, we only need purchase 1-2 cpus edition. No matter how many physical cpus inside a multi-core cpu. Novel treat them as one. in Novel's dictionary, 1 cpu is one cpu socket.

so that SUSE Linux Enterprise 1-2 cpus editon should be enough for the new intel quard-core file server. it has up to 2 cpu socket.

asked the local software provide, they have 2 editions avaliable: 1-2 cpu sockets and the 32 cpu sockets editon.