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It’s not often Microsoft gives stuff away and there’s usually a catch, as with MSDE (Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine), the cut-down version of its SQL Server product, for example.
Widely used by third-party developers and small businesses, MSDE may be free, but it suffers from performance and capacity limits, and a lack of management tools.
However, that’s all history because, with the launch of SQL Server 2005 last year, Microsoft replaced MSDE with a free, yet full, implementation of its database engine, called SQL Server 2005 Express.
There are still a few catches, some of which might seem retrograde. SQL Express, for example, can only use one processor, whereas MSDE supported two, and it can’t store data in more than 1GB of memory, compared to 2GB previously.
Plus there’s still a database size limit, although this has been raised to 4GB.
But there’s plenty of good news. Out goes the workload throttle, which stopped more than five concurrent tasks being handled, and the MSDE connection limits, while the SQL Server 2005 engine itself is much nimbler than its predecessor.
It’s also a full implementation, complete with support for the Common Language Runtime (CLR) and new XML data types.
Whereas MSDE only had a command-line interface, Microsoft has announced a free set of graphical management tools to go with SQL Express – SQL Server Management Studio Express.
We downloaded both packages and found them easy enough to install, although the process can take a while to complete.
The downloads are large (53MB for SQL Express and 30MB for the Management Studio) and they need to be installed onto a well-specified PC running Windows 2000 (SP4 ), XP or Windows Server 2003.
You also need Windows Installer 3.0, and version 2.0 of the .Net Framework. The setup program prompts for these if they’re not configured already.
Finally, it’s important to register if you intend to distribute the database with your own software, although client licences aren’t required.
A silent install option is still available – important if distributing with another application.
There’s also a new graphical setup tool with a wizard to guide you through the various setup options, including the choice of built-in security, NT authentication or mixed-mode deployment.
The new database is now tightly locked down, which means having to explicitly enable remote access using named pipes or TCP/IP.
But that’s easily done, and once installed the SQL engine runs as a background service, with a simple management utility to stop and start it and fine-tune the various parameters.
Management Studio Express can then be installed separately, adding tools to create databases, design queries, edit data and take backups.
For developers, full integration with Visual Studio 2005 also comes as standard, and there’s a free Express edition of that until 6 November 2006.
SQL Server 2005 Express is a welcome addition to a growing band of free database servers, which now includes Oracle as well as MySQL and other open-source products.
Performance and capacity limits mean it can’t be used for everything, but if you’re a small software developer it’s a no-brainer.
It’s also great for demonstrations, and for supporting a growing list of applications that need a database to run, such as network inventory tools and content management systems, where the cost of a full SQL Server licence might otherwise put such applications out of reach.
System requirements
Pentium III or better (1GHz processor recommended)
192MB Ram (512MB recommended)
525MB hard disk
Windows 2000 (SP4), XP (SP2) or Server 2003 (SP1)
Net Framework 2.0
Windows Installer 3.0
All Backup Tools
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