SQL express versus Full Version

[sigdoc1]

I am taking the Veeam Recovery Orchestrator (VRO) Essentials Class thru Veeam University. One of the other members of the team installed it, and I am checking our installation and configuration as I go thru the course. We have a small VMware cluster with only 10-12 VMs. At a remote, but nearby second office we have VBR installed on another server and the two are connected by fiber.

We only have the SQL express installed on the VBR server, the instance that comes with the installation.

The course indicates that you should install the full version of SQL. I am not exactly sure why, and assume it is related to the size of the database. Given our small system, do we need to have the full version of SQL or can we continue to use the express version, Are there any other limitations other than the size of the database?

[david.domask]

Hi sigdoc1,

SQL Express has limitations on usable cpu/memory and other such limitations that make it unsuitable for production use.

For testing/lab work like you're doing, SQL Express is probably enough, but if you were going to be managing a normal workload, you would likely see performance issues in the product due to SQL Express limitations and also you would have to constantly watch for the 10 GB database limit which could be hit pretty fast if the system was being used regularly.

So for testing/evaluation, Express is fine, but for an actual VRO deployment, a full version would be required.

[tomsinner]

I am taking the Veeam Recovery Orchestrator (VRO) Essentials Class thru Veeam University. One of the other members of the team installed it, and I am checking our installation and configuration as I go thru the course. We have a small VMware cluster with only 10-12 VMs. At a remote,Block Blast but nearby second office we have VBR installed on another server and the two are connected by fiber.

We only have the SQL express installed on the VBR server, the instance that comes with the installation.

The course indicates that you should install the full version of SQL. I am not exactly sure why, and assume it is related to the size of the database. Given our small system, do we need to have the full version of SQL or can we continue to use the express version, Are there any other limitations other than the size of the database?

You can continue using SQL Express for now given your small environment with only 10–12 VMs. However, you should plan to upgrade to the full version of SQL if you expect growth, need better performance, or want to fully utilize Veeam’s advanced features.