Ms Sql Server Versions

The latest version of SQL Server is Microsoft SQL Server 2005, this was released on 7th November 2005, at the time of writing this article I do not know of many organisations that are utilising SQL Server 2005 in a production environment but many organisations that utilise Microsoft SQL Server as a database solution have SQL Server 2005 setup in a test environment and have plans to migrate their production environments to this latest version in the future.

At the time of writing it safe to assume the majority of SQL Server sites are using Microsoft SQL Server 2000 in their production environment, although some may still have version 7 or in some extreme cases version 6.5. The focus of this article "Microsoft SQL Server Editions" is in on SQL Server 2000 but we will also discuss SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 7.

Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Editions
Microsoft SQL Server 2000 comes has 6 Editions:

Enterprise
Enterprise Evaluation
Standard
Developer
Personal/SQL Server CE
MSDE
In a production environment due to licensing requirements and functionality available, I would recommend that you use either Enterprise or Standard editions.

Standard Edition
That standard edition of SQL Server 2000 has the majority of the features that come with the application. It doesn’t come with the features needed to "scale up" and "scale out" to support very large databases and data warehouses.

Enterprise Edition
The enterprise edition comes with all the features available for SQL Server. It allows you to scale to performance levels required to support high transaction systems like websites and Data warehouse solutions.

The enterprise editions come with all the following features:

Failover Clustering Support
Log Shipping
Parallel DBCC statements
Parallel Crate index statements
Enhanced read-ahead and scan
Indexed views
Federated Database Server
SAN Support
I would only recommend installing the standard or enterprise editions for use in a production environment but there four other versions that can be used to meet specific needs. These include:

Enterprise Evaluation
This version contains all the features of the enterprise edition but will stop working after 120 days. It is useful for reviewing the product before paying for a full licence.

Developer Edition
The developer edition contains all the features of the Evaluation edition but is only licensed for test and development environments. It is intended for developers who create applications that will utilise SQL Server as their data store.

Personal/ SQL Server CE
This version is intended for users that use mobile devices in mobile environments and need access to applications that require a local data source.

MSDE
MSDE is a toned down version of SQL Server which is free for non-commercial use as well as certain limited commercial use. MSDE and SQL Server are Microsofts database platforms. It can be distributed with commercial products by registering with Microsoft - in most cases this distribution is also free of charge. The product is intended primarily to compete with MySQL, and get users familiar with SQL Server, so that when they migrate to larger needs they will choose to purchase the retail version of SQL Server, rather than another database solution.

One of the main drawbacks of the MSDE edition of SQL Server is the fact there are no easy to use client tools distributed with it. Which can make it realitively difficult to use. If this is the case I would recommend purchasing MSDE Manage from Vale Software. This software is cheap to purcahse and can allow you to manage all versions of SQL Server although its intended purpose is to support MSDE. This tool provides the user with easy to use client tools that allow you to manage your installation of MSDE with out having to use the tricky syntax driven comand line environment.

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Editions
SQL Server 2005 is the latest release of SQL Server. Like its predecessor it has 6 versions. Microsoft describes each version as follows:

SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition
Enterprise Edition includes the complete set of enterprise data management and business intelligence features. SQL Server Enterprise offers the highest levels of scalability and availability of all the SQL Server 2005 editions. Additionally, it is optimized to run on x64- and Itanium-based servers, helping you achieve higher levels of database scalability and availability.

SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition
Standard Edition is an affordable option for small - and medium-sized organizations. It includes the core functionality needed for non-critical e-commerce, data warehousing, and line-of-business solutions. Standard Edition is optimized to run on win32, x64, and Itanium-based servers.

SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition
Workgroup Edition is the data management solution for small organizations or workgroups within larger entities. It includes all the core database features needed for data management in an affordable and simple-to-manage package.

SQL Server 2005 Express Edition
Express Edition helps developers build robust and reliable applications by providing a free, easy to use, and robust database when protecting and managing information inside and outside of applications is critical. This edition is SQL Server 2005 equivalent of MSDE.

MSDE Manager from Vale Software can bevery useful in managing your instances of SQL Server 2005 Express Edition. This tool provides the user with easy to use client tools that allow you to manage your installation of SQL Server 2005 Express with out having to use the tricky syntax driven comand line environment.

SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition
Developer Edition is designed to enable developers to build any type of application on top of SQL Server 2005. It includes all the functionality of Enterprise Edition (win32, x64, IA64) but with a special development and test license agreement that prohibits production deployment.

SQL Server 2005 Mobile Edition
Mobile Edition enables you to rapidly develop applications that extend enterprise data management and business intelligence capabilities to mobile devices.

Microsoft SQL Server 7 Editions
SQL Server is now the "granddad" of the SQL Server series, by that I mean it is two generations from the latest release. Microsoft moved SQL Server 7 to extended support from mainstream support on 31st December 2005

SQL Server 7 came in three editions:

Standard Edition
Enterprise Edition
Desktop Edition
Standard Edition
This edition runs on the Windows NT Server 4.0 with Service Pack 4, Windows NT Server Enterprise Edition and on the Windows 2000 Server/Advanced Server/Datacenter.

This edition has the following restrictions:

maximum 4 CPU
no SQL Server Failover Support
maximum 2Gb RAM
The Enterprise Edition
The Enterprise Edition can run on the Windows NT Server Enterprise Edition and on the Windows 2000 Advanced Server/Datacenter.

This edition can use up to 32 CPU and more than 2 GB RAM, it also supports Full-text search and SQL Server Failover Support.

Desktop Edition
This edition ran on the Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT Server/Workstation 4.0 with Service Pack 4, Windows NT Server Enterprise Edition and on the all editions of Windows 2000.

This edition has some restrictions:

maximum 2 CPU
no publishing for transaction replication
no SQL Server Failover Support
no Full-text search
maximum 2Gb RAM
maximum 4GB per database
Conclusion
Microsoft is pushing SQL Server 2005 for any new installations although many people are still using SQL Server 2000 and in some extreme cases earlier versions, if you are using earlier versions I would recommend upgrading them soon as Microsoft has recently dropped SQL Server 7 from mainstream support. The editions of both versions (2000 and 2005) are very similar in what they offer in terms of basic functionality and if you are planning on using SQL Server in production environment regardless of the version I would recommend using Enterprise or Standard Editions. If you are using MSDE or SQL Server 2005 Express editions, then purchasing MSDE Manager from http://www.valesoftware.com can provide you with a user friendly interface that removes the need to use the command driven environment that these versions are current shipped with these versions.