SQL Server 2005 - Selecting the Correct SQL Server 2005 Edition

Microsoft Corporations long-awaited SQL Server 2005 represents significant change for administrators—the database server includes several new features that add capability and improved performance, but they increase complexity as well.

Many organizations who already have their applications in SQL Server 2000, I would strongly recommend migrating to SQL Server 2005 as it would bring an additional management interface, improved performance and additional support for XML which made the management of the database more easy and more suitable for our applications.

Scenario: Business have decided to upgrade their database version from SQL Server 2000 - SQL Server 2005

Either migrating the existing database version to 2005 or setting up a new application with SQL 2005 as back-end database we need to be careful at each and every step we take in
performing the activity.
First step is "Selecting the Correct SQL Server 2005 Edition" understanding the different SQL Server editions and the features and functionality of each of these editions is a key to select the edition as per user requirements.

Following are the different SQL Server 2005 Editions:
1. SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition (32-bit and 64-bit) : Enterprise Edition is designed to support the largest enterprise online transaction processing (OLTP) environments, highly complex data-analysis requirements, data-warehousing systems, and active Web sites. DBAs designing large database installations should consider only Enterprise Edition

2. SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition (32-bit and 64-bit) : Standard Edition includes the essential functionality needed for e-commerce, data warehousing, and lineof business solutions that most small- and medium-sized organizations use. Organizations with databases that will contain large amounts of data but do not need installations with all the features of Enterprise Edition might consider Standard Edition.

3. SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition (32-bit only) : Workgroup Edition is the datamanagement solution for small organizations that need a database that has no limits on size or number of users and has the capability to serve as a back end to small Web servers and departmental or branch-office operations. DBAs working with small amounts of data on smaller servers might want to consider using Workgroup Edition.

4. SQL Server 2005 Developer Edition (32-bit and 64-bit) : Developer Edition includes all the functionality of SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition, but it is licensed only for use as a development and test system, not as a production server. Developer Edition is suited for developers in larger companies who need to develop applications that will use Enterprise Edition but who do not want to install Enterprise Edition on development or test servers.

5. SQL Server 2005 Express Edition (32-bit only) : SQL Server Express is a free, easyto-use, and simple-to-manage database that can be redistributed to function as the client database as well as a basic server database. Express Edition is usually suited only for very small data sets. Developers who are developing applications that require a small data store should consider using Express Edition.

Lets discuss the infrastructure requirements in the next item....Thanks for reading soo patiently :-)