Is SQL Express enough?

Question

Is SQL Express enough?

maiyaa

SSC Enthusiast

Points: 172
More actions
May 10, 2022 at 1:20 pm

#4030048

I am assisting a company in upgrading their server. It is a small business with 9 computers. The mostly have a few shared documents and spreadsheet on the server, and the server hosts and MS SQL database for their accounting software. The accounting software has a maximum of 6 users at a time. The database is 1.5 gb will SQL Epress be enough to run the DB quickly?
June 4, 2022 at 8:12 am

This was removed by the editor as SPAM

Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)

You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply

Erland Sommarskog SSC-Insane Points: 24038 More actions · Answer 1

Maybe. With the information you have shared there is nothing that makes me scream out NO! However, there is very little you have told us, so there may be something in the equation that rules out Express Edition.

[font="Times New Roman"]Erland Sommarskog, SQL Server MVP, www.sommarskog.se[/font]

Steve Jones - SSC Editor SSC Guru Points: 736478 More actions · Answer 2

Express has little power and data limits. If they live with those, and perhaps they can, then it will work fine.

ZZartin SSC-Dedicated Points: 30921 More actions · Answer 3

It's also missing a handful of features like SQL agent, so no scheduling stuff directly in SQL Server and no database mail so no easy reporting and notifications from SQL Server. Hardly game breaking but a little effort to work around.

Jeff Moden SSC Guru Points: 1004406 More actions · Answer 4

It's free. Try it. If it doesn't work out, upgrade to the Standard Edition.

And do heed Steve's warning about not being able to create jobs or schedule them. As he also said, there are work arounds for that so "It Depends".

--Jeff Moden

RBAR is pronounced "ree-bar" and is a "Modenism" for Row-By-Agonizing-Row.
First step towards the paradigm shift of writing Set Based code:
________Stop thinking about what you want to do to a ROW... think, instead, of what you want to do to a COLUMN.

Change is inevitable... Change for the better is not.

Helpful Links:
How to post code problems
How to Post Performance Problems
Create a Tally Function (fnTally)

Jeffrey Williams SSC Guru Points: 90304 More actions · Answer 5

Jeff Moden wrote:

It's free. Try it. If it doesn't work out, upgrade to the Standard Edition.
And do heed Steve's warning about not being able to create jobs or schedule them. As he also said, there are work arounds for that so "It Depends".

If you decide to use Express - make sure you build out a process to backup the database and transaction logs at a minimum. These will need to be scripts and scheduled to run (probably in task scheduler unless you have access to some other scheduler). The scripts can be done in powershell, DOS batch scripts, vbscript or even sqlcmd scripts.

Jeffrey Williams
“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”

― Charles R. Swindoll

How to post questions to get better answers faster
Managing Transaction Logs

Y.B. SSChampion Points: 11649 More actions · Answer 6

It's unfortunate that so many people believe SQL Express to be an "inferior" product. While it has limitations (Size, CPU, Memory), it is often more than enough for some lightweight/stand-alone applications. Usually, the lack of SQL Server Agent will be a deal breaker for me in some scenarios. It's amazing how much you tend to rely on the service. That being said even some clever use of Windows Scheduler and PowerShell could easily come to the rescue.

Long story short...if Express can meet your needs don't be afraid to use it where you can. You'll save yourself a lot of money in the long run. Trust me, SQL costs can creep up on you if you are not careful. On a side note, keep track of your inventory. Doesn't matter what you use but you'll want it handy when management eventually comes knocking.

SELECT quote FROM brain WHERE original = 1
0 rows returned

Phil Parkin SSC Guru Points: 246985 More actions · Answer 7

maiyaa wrote:

--snip
The database is 1.5 gb will SQL Epress be enough to run the DB quickly?

This is, as I am sure you are aware, also quite heavily dependent on the underlying hardware.

You mention that the company is 'upgrading their server' ... do they have only one server running multiple applications?

The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.
Martin Rees

You can lead a horse to water, but a pencil must be lead.
Stan Laurel

Phil Parkin SSC Guru Points: 246985 More actions · Answer 8