Hardware and Software Requirements

This topic lists the hardware and software requirements for Microsoft SQL Server Compact 3.5 Service Pack 1 (SP1).

System Requirements

The following table lists the hardware and software requirements for the three SQL Server Compact environments: development, client, and server. For more information about the different environments, see Architecture (SQL Server Compact) and Installing SQL Server Compact.

Environment Requirements

Development environment

Client environment

Desktop and Tablet PC platforms:

  • Windows Vista Home Basic
  • Windows Vista Home Premium
  • Windows Vista Business
  • Windows Vista Enterprise
  • Windows Vista Ultimate
  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2
  • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP2
  • Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002 SP2
  • Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 SP2
  • Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
  • Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition SP2
  • Microsoft Windows XP Embedded SP2
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition SP1
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition SP1
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition SP1
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2, Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2, Enterprise Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2, Datacenter Edition
  • Windows Server 2008 Standard Server
  • Windows Server 2008 Standard Server (without Hyper-V)
  • Windows Server 2008 Enterprise
  • Windows Server 2008 Enterprise (without Hyper-V)
  • Windows Server 2008 Data Center
  • Windows Server 2008 Data Center (without Hyper-V)
  • Windows Server 2008 Web Edition
  • Windows Server 2008 Standard Server x64
  • Windows Server 2008 Standard Server x64 (without Hyper-V)
  • Windows Server 2008 Enterprise x64
  • Windows Server 2008 Enterprise x64 (without Hyper-V)
  • Windows Server 2008 Data Center x64
  • Windows Server 2008 Data Center x64 (without Hyper-V)
  • Windows Server 2008 Web Edition x64

Mobile device platforms:

  • Microsoft Windows CE 4.2
  • Microsoft Windows CE 5.0
  • Microsoft Windows CE 6.0
  • Microsoft Windows Mobile 2003 for Pocket PC
  • Microsoft Windows Mobile 5.0
  • Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.0
  • Between 2 MB and 3 MB of available storage space, depending on processor type and components installed.

Server environment¹

  • SQL Server 2008 or later versions
  • SQL Server 2005 or later versions
    Intel or compatible Pentium 600 MHz or faster processor (recommended processor speed is1 GHz or faster), 256 MB RAM minimum (recommended RAM 512 MB or more), hard disk space 250 MB
    For information about operating system requirements, see "Hardware and Software Requirements for Installing SQL Server 2008" in SQL Server 2008 Books Online.
  • IIS 5.x or later versions
    Supported on Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000 SP4 or later versions, and Windows XP.
    120 MB of available disk space on the server.
    For IIS 7.0, the IIS 6.0 backward compatibility components need to be installed.
  • Microsoft ActiveSync 4.0 or later versions
    Required when you use SQL Server 2008 Management Studio to manage SQL Server Compact databases on connected devices.

¹ Server environment can be set up on either one computer (single server environment) or multiple computers (multiple server environment). For more information, see Installing a Server Environment.

SQL Server Replication Components Requirements

In a multiple-server environment, to exchange data between SQL Server Compact and SQL Server, you must install replication components on the computer that is running IIS. The following table lists how to install the replication components on SQL Server.

SQL Server version Required replication components on the computer that is running IIS

SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008

Install the SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2008 replication components from the product CD.

See Also

Tasks

How to: Install SQL Server Replication Components

Concepts

Installing a Development Environment
Installing a Server Environment
Installing and Deploying on a Device (SQL Server Compact)
Single Server Environment
Multiple Server Environment

Help and Information

Getting Assistance (SQL Server Compact 3.5 Service Pack 1)