MS has released a beta of what will be replacing MSDE in 2005.
http://lab.msdn.microsoft.com/express/sql/
From the FAQ:
How is SQL Server Express different from MSDE?
SQL Server Express is an evolution
of MSDE that continues to make the features and functionality of SQL
Server technology widely available. SQL Server Express includes
enhancements to setup and manageability to make it easier to use than
MSDE. SQL Server Express also utilizes simpler and more scalable
performance limits than MSDE, which managed throughput with a workload
governor. |
Does that sound like SQL Express will be able to support more connections than MSDE currently does?
How much does SQL Server Express cost?
SQL
Server Express is free to use and redistribute. Please note that
pre-release preview and beta software is for testing and evaluation
purposes only, and should not be deployed for any other uses.
|
It also requires the .net framework 2.0 which is still in beta as well.
There's a link to it from the download page for SQL Server Express. So
far the tools it comes with don't appear to be any better than MSDE.
The SQL Manager it installs is a fairly weak MMC plugin that doesn't
appear to have any way to create or manage databases and so far I've
been unable to connect to it using Enterprise Manager, so procede at
your own risk.
As with any beta software, especially a server, I wouldn't suggest
installing this on any machine you can't afford to format if things
don't go well.
Edited by JohnKn