Microsoft Sharepoint Products and Technologies Resource Kit eBook

276 Part IV: Deployment Scenarios
are members of a Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows Server
2003 domain. When you install SharePoint Portal Server 2003, setup automatically
installs Windows SharePoint Services if it is not already installed. The single-server
database options would be as follows:
■ WMSDE. In SharePoint Portal Server 2003 setup, choose to install SharePoint
Portal Server with the database engine on the server. This installs the MSDE to
store the databases. WMSDE has the same limited throughput ability and
capacity with SharePoint Portal Server as it has with Windows SharePoint Services,
as discussed in the previous section. It supports databases with a maximum
size of 4 gigabytes (GB). If your deployment requires significant
scalability or must store more than 2 to 4 GB of documents, you should use
SQL Server in your deployment.
■ SQL Server. This server has SQL Server installed prior to the start of the
SharePoint Portal Server installation process, and then in the installation process
you choose the option to install SharePoint Portal Server without the database
engine on the server.
For more information on SharePoint Portal Server 2003 installation and configuration
considerations, please refer to Chapter 3.
Database Automation and Maintenance
Once you have installed Windows SharePoint Services or SharePoint Portal Server
on a single server, the deployment is not complete until you have set up maintenance
tasks and operational procedures. This is another differentiating aspect that
you should take into consideration when you choose between WMSDE and SQL
Server.
You can complete many of the tasks needed to maintain and back up Windows
SharePoint Services and SharePoint Portal Server 2003 by using the administration
Web pages. (See Chapter 10, “Performance Monitoring in Microsoft Office Share-
Point Portal Server 2003,” Chapter 28, “Disaster Recovery in SharePoint Products and
Technologies,” and Chapter 29, “Usage Analysis Tools in SharePoint Products and
Technologies.”) However, there are other SQL Server administrative tasks that you
might want to complete, especially if the website is heavily used, business critical, or
has a high profile. Using the SharePoint Portal Server Central Administration pages,
such database-specific tasks that are not available include backing up the system
databases, monitoring processes, checking for database errors, and the ability to
alert someone when database-related events occur.
The automation and maintenance of database administration tasks is easier
with SQL Server than with WMSDE. You can manage SQL Server 2000 installations
by using the SQL Server Enterprise Manager, which allows for local and remote management
of SQL Servers. It also includes administration wizards that are designed to