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An
Innovative Solution to Administer
General Assistance
SQL 2005 Express
Technology behind the VisualGA.net Database
Server
VisualGA.net
is designed to utilize the power of Microsoft's
SQL 2005 Express, a scaled-down
version of Microsoft’s enterprise-level
database application, SQL (“Sequel”)
Server. Below you’ll find answers to
the most common questions about what SQL 2005
Express is, how it is related to SQL Server,
how it works, and why we chose to use it as
our database platform for VisualGA.net.
“What
is Microsoft SQL 2005 Express ?”
“How
Does ‘Governing’ Affect Performance?”
“Why
Did We Choose SQL 2005 Express as the VisualGA.net
Database Platform?”
“So
I Can Run VisualGa.net Off My Company's Existing
SQL Server?”
“What
If I Already Have SQL 2005 Express or SQL Server Installed
on My Machine?”
“If
I Install SQL 2005 Express Can I Get the Slammer Virus?”
“Where
Can I Get More Information About SQL 2005 Express?”
“What
is Microsoft SQL 2005 Express?”
SQL 2005 Express is Microsoft's first
client/server database platform meant to be installed
on non-server Windows operating systems. Companies
that use SQL 2005 Express in database-driven
applications like VisualGA.net are licensed to distribute
it royalty-free to its clients.
SQL 2005 Express
is the little brother of Microsoft's SQL Server
enterprise database server, which provides the
data storage for many of the world's largest
companies. Built with the same core technologies
as SQL Server, SQL 2005 Express employs a technique called "governing" to
ensure that it won’t compete with the full
version of SQL Server when subjected to a large
number of connections. This prevents companies
from using SQL 2005 Express in place of SQL Server as their
primary database platform.
“How Does ‘Governing’ Affect
Performance?”
Governing
essentially throttles the performance of the
database server. SQL 2005 Express will only use
one CPU (processor) on the computer and can only
access 1 gigabyte of memory. SQL 2005 Express does
not throttle the number of database requests like
previous versions.
“Does
This Mean That VisualGA.net Can Only
Scale to Eight Users Before Slowing Down?”
Absolutely
not. The reason is the VisualGA.net desktop
clients never communicate directly with the SQL 2005 Express
database. VisualGA.net clients communicate
only with the VisualGA.net server, which
in turn maintains a minimal number of connections
to the SQL 2005 Express database. This architecture allows the
server to aggregate client requests into a handful
of database connections, maintaining the minimum
number of open connections needed to fulfill concurrent
data requests. Since most data requests are extremely
short (hundredths of a second), the number of database
connections remains small even for many clients.
“Why
Did VisualGA.net Choose SQL 2005 Express for the
Database Platform?”
We
picked SQL 2005 Express for two primary reasons:
Reliability: Because SQL 2005 Express is built on the same engine as
SQL Server, it benefits from all the advances
in reliability that are built into Microsoft's
SQL Server database offering.
Scalability: The
advantage of SQL 2005 Express is that it is 100%
compatible with SQL Server. Thus, it is easy
for companies with existing SQL Server installations
to run VisualGA.net from it rather than SQL 2005
Express. The VisualGA.net code works equally
well with both platforms.
“So
I Can Run VisualGA.net Off My Company's
Existing SQL Server?”
Yes,
as long as you are running SQL Server 2000 or SQL
Server 2005. For information on how to use SQL Server
as your VisualGA.net server, consult your local IT
manager for details.
If you need more information, please contact VisualGA.net
Customer Support.
“What
If I Already Have SQL 2005 Express or SQL Server Installed
on My Machine?”
No
problem. When VisualGA.net installs
SQL 2005 Express, it creates a "named instance" of
the database, essentially its own, isolated database
system—which
operates independently of any other existing database
on the computer. VisualGA.net uses the
name "VISUALGA" for this instance. If you
look in the VisualGA.net Server Services
Manager, you will see "MSSQL$VISUALGA," which
is your SQL 2005 Express named-server instance. You can also
connect to this instance with tools like the SQL
Enterprise Manager, using "MachineName\VISUALGA" (where "MachineName" is
the name of your VisualGA.net Server).
“If
I Install SQL 2005 Express Can I Get the Slammer Virus?”
No.
The version of SQL 2005 Express we install is already
patched to prevent the spread of Slammer. However,
if you do not provide adequate firewall protection
for your SQL Server, you may not be immune to future
viruses or worms. In particular, you should not
permit connections to ports 1433 (TCP) and 1434
(UDP), both used by SQL Server, from outside of
your trusted LAN.
“Where
Can I Get More Information About SQL 2005 Express?”
Microsoft
provides detailed information about SQL 2005 Express
in its document Choosing
and Using SQL 2005 Express as the Database
Engine for Your Application.
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