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 Which Edition of SQL Server?

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wildthing1
Starting Member

2 Posts

Posted - 2011-12-29 : 23:02:14
I have been teaching myself C# and SQL for a while now and have reachedthe point where I am building small databse applications on my PC using SQL Server 2008 Express and Visual Studio 2010 Express.

I have recently been invited by two small business to produce a database application for them. I am confident enough that I can develop the apps they need, however I have never deployed an app commercialy before. Initially I thought I would just install SQL Express on a dedicated PC in their offices to act as server, and point the applications on the other office PCs to the server database file. However a few things occured to me:

1. Will the Express version of SQL be able to cope with multiple users? Is there a limit to how many users it can handle?

2. What are the licensing issues? Should I be purchasing one of the other editions of SQL Server for licensing purposes and if so, which? The info on the microsoft SQL website is very technical and doesn't really answer my questions.

Bascially I am trying to make my first step from developing database apps on my own PC, to producing deployable apps to small commercial clients, and would appreciate any advice people can give me on how this should be done.

tkizer
Almighty SQL Goddess

38200 Posts

Posted - 2011-12-29 : 23:09:10
Check this comparison page out: http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/product-info/compare.aspx

1. Yes. Limit is the same for all editions, which is like 32k connections, your hardware will fall short first.
2. No licensing issues, you just won't have all of its features/scalability/etc.

Whether or not Express will work for your application though is not something we can answer given what you've provided. We would really need to know its requirements, size, and other things. My systems are all on Enterprise edition with CPU licensing as that's what we require. These days that's 25k for each CPU socket. So we pay a pretty penny for our licenses, but again it's because we require it due to Enterprise edition's features.

Tara Kizer
Microsoft MVP for Windows Server System - SQL Server
http://weblogs.sqlteam.com/tarad/

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wildthing1
Starting Member

2 Posts

Posted - 2011-12-29 : 23:23:27
The databases I am building will have no more than 20 users. They will use a windows forms application I develop to access the database. They will only be performing standard type database functions i.e. queries, updates, inserts etc. So are you saying this CAN be run on the Express version, and without the need for any licences?
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tkizer
Almighty SQL Goddess

38200 Posts

Posted - 2011-12-29 : 23:25:13
The simple answer is yes, or at least probably. The right answer is "it depends". You'll need to see if the Express edition meets your client's requirements. It's not something that we can answer with the information provided. A major drawback of the express edition is the database size limitation. It's a much higher maximum these days, but still limits a system.

Tara Kizer
Microsoft MVP for Windows Server System - SQL Server
http://weblogs.sqlteam.com/tarad/

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