Editions of SQL Server 2005

The available features in SSIS and SQL Server vary widely based on what edition of SQL Server you're using. As you can imagine, the more high-end the edition of SQL Server, the more features are available. In order from high-end to low-end, the following SQL Server editions are available:

• SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition: The edition of SQL Server for large enterprises that need higher availability and more advanced features in SQL Server and business intelligence. For example, there is no limit on processors or RAM in this edition. You're bound only by the number of processors and amount of RAM that the OS can handle. This edition is available for an estimated retail price (ERP) of $24,999 (U.S.) per processor or $13,499 (U.S.) per server (25 CALs). Microsoft will also continue to support Developer Edition, which lets developers develop SQL Server solutions at a much reduced price. That edition has all the features of Enterprise Edition but is licensed for development purposes only.

• SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition: This edition of SQL Server has a lot more value in SQL Server 2005. For example, you can now create a highly available system in Standard Edition by using clustering, database mirroring, and integrated 64-bit support. These features were available only in Enterprise Edition in SQL Server 2000 and caused many businesses to purchase Enterprise Edition when Standard Edition was probably sufficient for them. Like Enterprise Edition in SQL Server 2005, it also offers unlimited RAM! Thus, you can scale it as high as your physical hardware and OS will allow. There is a cap of four processors, though. Standard Edition is available for an ERP of $5,999 (U.S.) per processor or $2,799 (U.S.) per server (10 CALs).

• SQL Server 2000 and 2005 Workgroup Editions: This new edition is designed for small and medium-sized businesses that need a database server with limited business intelligence and Reporting Services. Available for an ERP of $3,899 (U.S.) per processor or $739 (U.S.) per server (5 CALs), Workgroup Edition supports up to two processors with unlimited database size. In SQL Server 2000 Workgroup Edition, the limit is 2 GB of RAM. In SQL Server 2005 Workgroup Edition, the memory limit has been raised to 3 GB.

• SQL Server 2005 Express Edition: This edition is the equivalent of Desktop Edition (MSDE) in SQL Server 2000 but with several enhancements. For example, MSDE never offered any type of management tool, and this is included in 2005. Also included are the Import and Export Wizard and a series of other enhancements. This remains a free addition of SQL Server for small applications. It has a database size limit of 4 GB. Most important, the query governor has been removed from this edition, allowing for more people to query the instance at the same time.

As for SSIS, you'll have to use at least Standard Edition to receive the bulk of the SSIS features. In the Express and Workgroup Editions, only the Import and Export Wizard is available to you. You'll have to upgrade to Enterprise or Developer Edition to see some features in SSIS. The following advanced transformations are available only with Enterprise Edition:

• Analysis Services Partition Processing Destination

• Analysis Services Dimension Processing Destination

• Data Mining Training Destination

• Data Mining Query Component

• Fuzzy Grouping

• Fuzzy Lookup

• Term Extraction

• Term Lookup

Half of the above transformations are used in servicing Analysis Services. To continue that theme, one task is available only in Enterprise Edition — the Data Mining Query task.