topic Re: ArcSDE for SQL server express in Data Management Questions

ArcSDE for SQL server express

ZarehDemirdjian — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:06:37 GMT

Hello,

Just a quick question regarding ArcSDE for SQL Server Express

Is the ArcSDE for SQL EXPRESS only available for workgroup edition of ArcGIS Server ? or it works as well for the Enterprise Edition

I checked this link http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisdesk...0000004v000000
It only talks about workgroup edition of ArcGIS Server.

I really appreciate your help

Thanks and Regards

Re: ArcSDE for SQL server express

KimPeter — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 20:02:57 GMT

Hi,

For some reason, the link didn't work for me. But I'll try to clarify (it is confusing; I wish it weren't...)

ArcSDE for SQL Server Express is a name used for what are called Database Servers in the Catalog tree UI. If you have ArcGIS Server Workgroup, ArcGIS Desktop (ArcEditor or ArcInfo), or ArcGIS Engine, you can install SQL Server Express and run the ArcSDE for SQL Server Express wizard to register the SQL Server Express instance as a database server. Then you can connect to the database server/SQL Server Express instance, create geodatabases, add users, load/create data, and manage the database server and geodatabases all from the Catalog tree in ArcGIS Desktop. If you have ArcGIS Server Workgroup, you can also publish services using geodatabases on the database server as sources. (In older documentation, posts, and articles, you would have seen these geodatabases referred to as ArcSDE workgroup geodatabases and the ones licensed with ArcGIS Desktop as ArcSDE personal geodatabases.)

If you have ArcGIS Server Enterprise, you can install ArcSDE and use it with SQL Server Express. In that case, ArcGIS considers SQL Server Express as just another edition of SQL Server, like Enterprise or Standard. There are functionality differences and limitations that Microsoft has in place for Express, but it doesn't affect how you create, manage, and interact with enterprise geodatabases using ArcGIS software.

Let me know if further clarification is needed.

-Kim

Re: ArcSDE for SQL server express

ZarehDemirdjian — Tue, 01 May 2012 04:36:38 GMT

Hi,

For some reason, the link didn't work for me. But I'll try to clarify (it is confusing; I wish it weren't...)

ArcSDE for SQL Server Express is a name used for what are called Database Servers in the Catalog tree UI. If you have ArcGIS Server Workgroup, ArcGIS Desktop (ArcEditor or ArcInfo), or ArcGIS Engine, you can install SQL Server Express and run the ArcSDE for SQL Server Express wizard to register the SQL Server Express instance as a database server. Then you can connect to the database server/SQL Server Express instance, create geodatabases, add users, load/create data, and manage the database server and geodatabases all from the Catalog tree in ArcGIS Desktop. If you have ArcGIS Server Workgroup, you can also publish services using geodatabases on the database server as sources. (In older documentation, posts, and articles, you would have seen these geodatabases referred to as ArcSDE workgroup geodatabases and the ones licensed with ArcGIS Desktop as ArcSDE personal geodatabases.)

If you have ArcGIS Server Enterprise, you can install ArcSDE and use it with SQL Server Express. In that case, ArcGIS considers SQL Server Express as just another edition of SQL Server, like Enterprise or Standard. There are functionality differences and limitations that Microsoft has in place for Express, but it doesn't affect how you create, manage, and interact with enterprise geodatabases using ArcGIS software.

Let me know if further clarification is needed.

-Kim

Thank Kim, so I can install the ArcSDE for SQL Server Express from the ArcGIS Desktop media regardless of the limitation issues and its supposed to work fine with the ArcGIS Server Enterprise...I hope i understood correctly..
Thanks again.

Zdemirdjian

Re: ArcSDE for SQL server express

VinceAngelo — Tue, 01 May 2012 10:02:59 GMT

No, you've got it flipped backwards. Enterprise ArcSDE will operate on SQL-Server Enterprise,
Standard, or Express databases, but Workgroup ArcSDE will only work with Express (more specifically,
with the *specific* release of Express with which it ships -- no substitutions).

- V

Re: ArcSDE for SQL server express

ZarehDemirdjian — Wed, 02 May 2012 08:39:16 GMT

No, you've got it flipped backwards. Enterprise ArcSDE will operate on SQL-Server Enterprise,
Standard, or Express databases, but Workgroup ArcSDE will only work with Express (more specifically,
with the *specific* release of Express with which it ships -- no substitutions).

- V

yes my bad you're right
thanks

Re: ArcSDE for SQL server express

KimPeter — Thu, 03 May 2012 00:57:27 GMT

Yes, you can use SQL Server Express with Enterprise. As for "...it's supposed to work fine", there are no functional limitations that ArcGIS places on it, but your performance will likely not be great because of the limitations inherent in SQL Server Express itself (maximum memory used = 1 GB, maximum use 1 socket or 4 cores, maximum database size 10 GB - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645993.aspx) If you truly have a production enterprise system, then Express is not the recommended DBMS to use for your enterprise geodatabase.