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Brian Cryer's Glossary of IT Terms with Links

MSDE

MSDE

Microsoft Data Engine. SQL Server compatible database engine that can be distributed royalty free with applications built using Visual Studio or Office 2000 (some conditions may apply). See also MSDE 1.0 and MSDE 2000.

The main differences between MSDE and SQL Server are that MSDE has a limit of 5 concurrent connections and it does not come with any management tools (such as SQL Server's Enterprise Manager and Query Analyzer). However an MSDE database can be managed using SQL Servers management tools. It also has a maximum 2GB database size, and may limit the number of databases on a single machine.

MSDE is due to be replaced by SQL Server 2005 Express Edition. SQL Server 2005 Express Edition will provide the same functionality as MSDE but be built upon a more up to date kernel and will still be distributed free by Microsoft.

Relevant links:

www.asql.biz/DbaMgr.shtm - Download site for DbaMgr and DbaMgr2k, which is an administrative console for MSDE 1.0 and MSDE 2000 respectively. The site www.snapfiles.com/get/dbamgr.html provides a review of DataMgr.
www.microsoft.com/sql/msde/default.asp - MSDE 2000 home page.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/vstudio/downloads/addins/msde/default.asp.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnsse/html/sseoverview.asp - for details about SQL Server 2005 Express Edition.

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