1024 GB (1 TB) for Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition. This effectively
resolves the memory constraint that exists with the 32-bit versions of Windows
Server and SQL Server.
Several editions of SQL Server 2005 have varying support for x64; however, only
these versions are suitable for creating a consolidated SQL Server environment:
SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition (32-bit and 64-bit)
SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition (32-bit and 64-bit)
For medium and large-scale SQL Server consolidation projects, the Standard
Edition and Enterprise Edition versions both have native x64 versions; however,
many of the advanced scalability features are only found in the Enterprise
Edition. Developer Edition has all the features of Enterprise Edition, but is
licensed only for development and testing, not for production use.
It is important to note that a database created using SQL Server 2005 Express
Edition can be moved to an installation of SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition
without any modifications. This provides a clear growth strategy for all new
databases created with SQL Server 2005 and demonstrates the ease with which
databases can be scaled-up on this platform.
Hot-add memory
Additional physical memory can be installed in a running server, and SQL Server
2005 will recognize and use the additional memory immediately. This could prove
useful if you must increase available memory to service new business
requirements without affecting database availability. This feature also requires
hot-add memory support as provided in servers such as the IBM System
x3850 M2 and x3950 M2.
Feature comparisons
Most of the features that are mentioned in the following sections are found only in
the Enterprise Edition. For a detailed analysis of what is supported by Standard
Edition and Enterprise Edition, see the following documents:
Comparison Between SQL Server 2005 Standard and Enterprise Editions
http://www.microsoft.com/sql/editions/enterprise/comparison.mspx
SQL Server 2005 Features Comparison
http://www.microsoft.com/sql/prodinfo/features/compare-features.mspx
Server Resource Management
Given the availability of server hardware that has large memory capacity, up to
32 processors and multiple network cards, having control over how those
considerable resources are allocated is necessary. This section introduces
Chapter 2. Product positioning
81