THE DATABASE UPGRADE THAT HELPS PAY FOR ITSELF - Boost Performance, Cut Costs, and Shrink Your Data Center Footprint

Nov 1, 2026

Uploaded by Angel

High-frequency AMD EPYC server CPUs enable organizations to do more per core, accelerating database throughput while reducing the number of licensed CPU cores required. The document explains that per-core licensing can make additional cores costly, and positions high-frequency designs as a way to lower Microsoft SQL Server and analytics costs. It further highlights consolidation benefits: fewer servers, lower energy consumption, reduced data center footprint, and capacity freed for new AI and high-volume workloads, backed by customer quotes and performance comparisons.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryTechnology

FormatPDF

Pages1

Reading Time3 min

AccessFree to download

The Database Upgrade That Helps Pay for Itself

The Challenge

The Solution

The Results

Upgrade On-Premises and in the Cloud

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THE DATABASE UPGRADE THAT HELPS PAY FOR ITSELF BOOST PERFORMANCE, CUT COSTS, AND SHRINK YOUR DATA CENTER FOOTPRINT MORE CORES, MORE COST Enterprise databases charge by the core, and support fees rise with it, often reaching tens of millions of dollars for large organizations. Do more per core, pay for fewer. That’s the power of high-frequency AMD EPYC™ server CPUs. 31 Microsoft SQL % Server Analytics Performance1 (EPYC 9654 vs. 2P Xeon 8490H) Up to 23 % lower software licensing costs for Microsoft SQL Server 20222 Up to 192 cores with 5th Gen EPYCTM server CPUs, for leadership compute performance HIGHER PERFORMANCE. LOWER COSTS. MORE VALUE. High-frequency CPUs deliver more work per core, so you can run workloads faster while reducing the number of licensed cores required. HIGH-FREQUENCY CPUs GET MORE VALUE FROM EACH SOFTWARE LICENSE Fewer, faster cores do more work per software dollar DATABASE LICENSES CAN COST $1000s PER CORE Per-core software licenses charge for every CPU core used, regardless of how much work gets done SLOWER CORES DO LESS WORK You get less work per software dollar VS FASTER CORES DO MORE WORK You get more work per software dollar Graphic for illustration purposes only. Actual performance varies across workloads and CPU specifications. The Challenge Organizations often increase database performance by adding more servers and CPUs. But when software is licensed per core, more cores mean higher licensing costs. The Solution High-frequency AMD EPYC™ server CPUs increase throughput by doing more work per hour, allowing each single core—and each license—to deliver more value. The Results The right CPUs can cut software license costs by up to 23% .2 CRITEO MEETS EXPANDING “DIGITAL ADVERTISING DEMANDS WITH AMD Jobs are running faster, with a clear impact on the response and processing times using fewer, higher-performing servers powered by AMD EPYC processors. Matthieu Blumberg, Senior Vice President of Engineering Infrastructure, Criteo STREETLIGHT OPTIMIZES TRANSPORTATION IN THE CLOUD WITHAMD EPYC™ SERVER CPUs “ In our opinion, AMD is delivering the best CPU out there. It’s as simple as that. Paul Friedman, CTO, StreetLight | FEWER SERVERS, OPTIMIZED TCO
Faster cores mean smaller data centers | | Because they are typically more power-efficient, refreshing data centers with AMD EPYC™ server CPUs can reduce energy consumption.
AMD EPYC™ server CPUs can save millions in software fees and dramatically shrink your data center footprint by consolidating older, slower servers into fewer modern servers. | | --- | --- | --- | SEE WHAT CONSOLIDATION CAN DO 6 Reduce software licensing costs, lower energy consumption, and free capacity for new AI and high-volume workloads. FEWER SERVERS. LESS POWER. LOWER COSTS. 391,000 SPECRATE® 2017_INT_BASE SCORE DATA CENTER3 347 Count Intel servers 2P 5th Generation Intel® Xeon® 8592+ CPUs Core count 44,416 131 High-performance AMD servers 2P 5th Generation, high-performance AMD EPYC™ 9965 server CPUs Core count 50,304 Energy consumption ~4744 KWH PER YEAR Energy consumption ~2627 KWH PER YEAR Up to62 % FEWER SERVERS3 Up to45 % LESS POWER3 Up to44 % LOWER TCO OVER 3 YEARS3 Illustration compares the number of dual-socket servers required to deliver a 391,000 SPECrate®2017_int_base score using 5th Gen (Emerald Rapids) Intel Xeon Platinum 8592+ CPUs and 5th Generation AMD EPYC™ 9965 server CPUs. For details, see endnote 3. UPGRADE ON-PREMISES AND IN THE CLOUD Reduce software licensing costs, lower energy consumption, and free capacity for new AI and high-volume workloads. AMD EPYC™ Server CPUs Deliver Exceptional Performance for Microsoft SQL Server Powering over 1,000 instances in the public cloud 31% faster Microsoft SQL performance EPYC 9654 server CPUs vs. 2P Xeon 8490H1 Up to 30% higher analytics performance, Micr

FAQs

Why do higher core counts increase database software costs?

Many enterprise database software licenses charge per CPU core, so adding more servers and cores raises licensing expenses regardless of how much work each core performs.

How do high-frequency AMD EPYC server CPUs improve performance and cost efficiency?

They deliver more work per core and per hour, letting workloads run faster with fewer licensed cores, which reduces software licensing costs while increasing throughput.

What outcomes does the document claim from data center consolidation?

Consolidating older, slower systems into fewer modern AMD EPYC-powered servers can cut software fees, reduce energy consumption, shrink the data center footprint, and free capacity for new AI and high-volume workloads.

Nov 1, 2026

Uploaded by Angel