Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express for SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise 4.0

Question

Hi Expert,
I'm going to install SAP BusinessObjects Enterprise 4.0 on my virtualized system (vmware) composed as: windows server 2008 Enterprise Edition R2 + Tomcat. I have some doubts related to the DB version to choose.
Due to the fact that Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express is bundled with SAP BOE 4.0 I want to use this DB.
However, I saw in the Microsoft Portal that Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express (http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/product-info/compare.aspx)  that:
Number of CPUs     1
Maximum memory utilized     1 GB
Maximum database size     10 GB
These my doubts:
1) Could these characteristics  generate performance issues for a production environment?
2) Which is a typical DB size for a production enviroment? could be greater then 10 GB?
3) Can I use Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express  in a virtualized system (vmware)?
Thanks in advance for collabortion
regards
gio'

Answer 1

Hi Gio
Remember that the BOE system database (or repository) only has a few tables in it, with really one main table that stores a reference to each folder, report, user, group, server, etc. on the system. So the table and the database itself do not grow very large. In the past year, we have done over 70 SAP BusinessObjects projects and I can't recall one where the database size would even approach 5GB in total, let alone 10GB.
The reason for this is that the database only stores a reference to the physical objects and content within BOE-- the actual reports, universes, etc. are stored on the file system within the Input and Output file repository folders.
And the memory constraints are not really an issue either with BOE-- the database itself does not come under much strain during the day-to-day operation of the server. If you believe that the memory may be an issue, you can always start with SQL Server 2008 Express and then using the new tools in the 4.0 CMC to monitor the memory usage on the server. If you need to, you can move the system database to another SQL Server edition, or alternately move the database to another one of the supported platforms, including Oracle, DB2, etc.
Hope this helps!
regards
David