Question
You want to get a better understanding of SQL Less CAL. 
 
Answer
With the release of ACT! 2008, an existing SQL installation (with CALs - Client Access License) can be utilized by our product, rather than installing the SQL product that ships with ACT!. If you have an existing SQL Server and wish to also house the ACT! database, you must complete the installation and configuration of an ACT7 instance before proceeding with an installation of the ACT! 2008 software.

Use the following scenarios to determine if this option is best suited for your configuration.

SQL Less CAL Scenarios

The SQL-less CAL represents the Microsoft® SQL Client Access License. This licenses is attached to the ACT! serial number and allows ACT! to connect to a specific Microsoft SQL Server™ instance of Microsoft SQL Express or Microsoft SQL Standard. The CAL existed in ACT9.x installations and will be removed for ACT! 10.x install.

New Product Changes:

New serial numbers will be generated for EX and ST Editions, with the only difference between the two versions being a CAL bit that will be ignored.
ACT! Premium EX will be allowed to connect to SQL Standard - checks are in both install and within the product such as application login, install, backup/restore, sync, import/export, etc.

Preparing for Installation of ACT! on an Existing SQL Standard Server

As stated, a new feature in ACT! 2008 Premium is the ability to install ACT! program files and connect ACT! to an existing ACT7 instance on a SQL Server 2005. For example, if a customer has purchased SQL 2005 Standard with 10 user CALs for another software program they are using, they do not need to purchase 10 additional SQL CALs with ACT! 2008 Premium (ST Edition). Rather, the customer may purchase ACT! 2008 Premium (EX Edition) which does not include a SQL CAL in the purchase price, and install ACT!. If a customer wishers to utilize an existing SQL Server 2005 server to host the ACT! database, they will need to either: 

• Manually create an ACT7 instance.
  
  For information on manually creating an ACT7 instance of ACT!, please refer to the following Knowledge Base Answer:
  Title: How to Manually Create the Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2005 (Standard Edition) ACT7 Instance
  Answer ID: 19231
  
• Upgrade an existing ACT7 instance to SP2. This should be done by first removing the previous version of ACT!, leaving the ACT7 instance installed, and then installing ACT! 2008 Premium and connect to the existing instance.

Note: An "SA" account password will be required to connect to an existing SQL Server if a new instance is to be created, and also is required if connecting to an existing ACT7 instance during install of ACT! 2008.

In environments where Microsoft SQL Server 2005 is already installed, evaluate the conditions of the SQL environment prior to installing ACT! 2008. It is strongly recommended that the following are verified prior to installation:

• "SA" Password
  
  Open the SQL Management Studio and connect to the server instance with the SA username and password.
  
• Required Services are Running
  
  Verify the "SQL Server (ACT7)" service is present and running.
  
  Verify the "SQL Server Browser" service is present and running.
  
  Verify the "sqlserver.exe" and "sqlbrowser.exe" are running.
  
• ACT7 Instance is Present (use one or more of the following methods):
  
  Open the SQL Management Studio and connect to the ACT7 instance with the SA username and password (supplied by customer)
  
  Open the Control Panel\Add\Remove Programs panel, then click the Change button for the Microsoft SQL Server 2005 application to verify an ACT7 instance is listed
  
• SQL Protocols are configured to listen to incoming network connections:
  
  Open the SQL Server Configuration Manager and verify that TCP/IP, Shared Memory, and Named Pipes are enabled for Server Network Protocols
  
  Open the SQL Surface Area Configuration utility to verify that the Surface Area Configuration for Services allows local and remote connections using both TCP/IP and Named Pipes.
  
• Firewall Settings Enable SQL to Communicate (send/receive) data to the network:
  
  Technically, the firewall rules/settings are the responsibility of the customer, however, analysts are advised to ask the customer if the settings have been properly configured, and may run telnet or other network test to verify
  
  - Run telnet from a remote client to the SQL port of the server machine.
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