Ms Sql Server Editions Comparison

SQL Server is available in various editions. This chapter lists the multiple editions with its features. Enterprise − This is the top-end edition with a full feature set. Standard − This has less features than Enterprise, when there is no requirement of advanced features. Workgroup − This is suitable for remote offices of a larger company. Web − This is designed for web applications. May 24, 2017  Editions and supported features of SQL Server 2016.; 17 minutes to read +12; In this article. APPLIES TO: SQL Server Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Data Warehouse Parallel Data Warehouse This topic provides details of features supported by the SQL Server editions. Nov 11, 2017  Editions and supported features of SQL Server 2017.; 18 minutes to read +15; In this article. APPLIES TO: SQL Server Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Data Warehouse Parallel Data Warehouse This topic provides details of features supported by the various editions of SQL Server 2017.

What are the differences among SQL Server editions? Search Knowledgebase. Microsoft offers various editions of SQL Server offering different functionalities to users based upon their needs. SQL Server 2008 Features Comparison; SQL Server 2008 R2 Features Comparison; For product compatibility. Mar 06, 2017  Microsoft SQL server is widely used for e-commerce, line-of-business, and data warehousing solutions. There are dozens of different editions or versions of Microsoft SQL server provided by Microsoft with different feature sets and pricing options. May 16, 2017  It seems as though the only difference between Enterprise and Standard pertains to the following: Performance Features, namely Standard having three of the eleven performance features. Security Features, namely transparent encryption and auditing. Replication, namely change tracking, merge. It is more than that - There is a breakdown here.

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APPLIES TO: SQL Server Azure SQL Database Azure SQL Data Warehouse Parallel Data Warehouse

This topic provides details of features supported by the various editions of SQL Server 2017.

For information about older versions, see:

  • SQL Server 2016.
  • SQL Server 2014.

Installation requirements vary based on your application needs. The different editions of SQL Server accommodate the unique performance, runtime, and price requirements of organizations and individuals. The SQL Server components that you install also depend on your specific requirements. The following sections help you understand how to make the best choice among the editions and components available in SQL Server.

The SQL Server Evaluation edition is available for a 180-day trial period.

For the latest release notes and what's new information, see the following:

Try SQL Server!

Download SQL Server 2017 from the Evaluation Center

SQL Server editions

The following table describes the editions of SQL Server.

SQL Server editionDefinition
EnterpriseThe premium offering, SQL Server Enterprise edition delivers comprehensive high-end datacenter capabilities with blazing-fast performance, unlimited virtualization1 , and end-to-end business intelligence - enabling high service levels for mission-critical workloads and end user access to data insights.
StandardSQL Server Standard edition delivers basic data management and business intelligence database for departments and small organizations to run their applications and supports common development tools for on-premises and cloud - enabling effective database management with minimal IT resources.
WebSQL Server Web edition is a low total-cost-of-ownership option for Web hosters and Web VAPs to provide scalability, affordability, and manageability capabilities for small to large scale Web properties.
DeveloperSQL Server Developer edition lets developers build any kind of application on top of SQL Server. It includes all the functionality of Enterprise edition, but is licensed for use as a development and test system, not as a production server. SQL Server Developer is an ideal choice for people who build and test applications.
Express editionsExpress edition is the entry-level, free database and is ideal for learning and building desktop and small server, which provides an integrated environment for database developers to carry out all their database design work for any SQL Server platform (both on and off premise) within Visual Studio. Database developers can use the enhanced Server Explorer in Visual Studio to easily create or edit database objects and data, or execute queries.
Connectivity ComponentsInstalls components for communication between clients and servers, and network libraries for DB-Library, ODBC, and OLE DB.
DocumentationDescription
SQL Server Books OnlineCore documentation for SQL Server.

Developer and Evaluation Editions
For features supported by Developer and Evaluation editions, see features listed for the SQL Server Enterprise Edition in the tables below.

The Developer edition continues to support only 1 client for SQL Server Distributed Replay.

Scale limits

FeatureEnterpriseStandardWebExpress with Advanced ServicesExpress
Maximum compute capacity used by a single instance - SQL Server Database Engine1Operating system maximumLimited to lesser of 4 sockets or 24 coresLimited to lesser of 4 sockets or 16 coresLimited to lesser of 1 socket or 4 coresLimited to lesser of 1 socket or 4 cores
Maximum compute capacity used by a single instance - Analysis Services or Reporting ServicesOperating system maximumLimited to lesser of 4 sockets or 24 coresLimited to lesser of 4 sockets or 16 coresLimited to lesser of 1 socket or 4 coresLimited to lesser of 1 socket or 4 cores
Maximum memory for buffer pool per instance of SQL Server Database EngineOperating System Maximum128 GB64 GB1410 MB1410 MB
Maximum memory for Columnstore segment cache per instance of SQL Server Database EngineUnlimited memory32 GB16 GB352 MB352 MB
Maximum memory-optimized data size per database in SQL Server Database EngineUnlimited memory32 GB16 GB352 MB352 MB
Maximum memory utilized per instance of Analysis ServicesOperating System MaximumTabular: 16 GB
MOLAP: 64 GB
N/AN/AN/A
Maximum memory utilized per instance of Reporting ServicesOperating System Maximum64 GB64 GB4 GBN/A
Maximum relational database size524 PB524 PB524 PB10 GB10 GB

1 Enterprise Edition with Server + Client Access License (CAL) based licensing (not available for new agreements) is limited to a maximum of 20 cores per SQL Server instance. There are no limits under the Core-based Server Licensing model. For more information, see Compute Capacity Limits by Edition of SQL Server.

RDBMS high availability

FeatureEnterpriseStandardWebExpress with Advanced ServicesExpress
Server core support 1YesYesYesYesYes
Log shippingYesYesYesNoNo
Database mirroringYesYes
Full safety only
Witness onlyWitness onlyWitness only
Backup compressionYesYesNoNoNo
Database snapshotYesYesYesYesYes
Always On failover cluster instances2YesYesNoNoNo
Always On availability groups3YesNoNoNoNo
Basic availability groups 4NoYesNoNoNo
Online page and file restoreYesNoNoNoNo
Online index create and rebuildYesNoNoNoNo
Resumable online index rebuildsYesNoNoNoNo
Online schema changeYesNoNoNoNo
Fast recoveryYesNoNoNoNo
Mirrored backupsYesNoNoNoNo
Hot add memory and CPUYesNoNoNoNo
Database recovery advisorYesYesYesYesYes
Encrypted backupYesYesNoNoNo
Hybrid backup to Azure (backup to URL)YesYesNoNoNo
Read-scale availability groupYesYesNoNoNoNo
Minimum replica commit availability groupYesYesYesNoNoNo

1 For more information on installing SQL Server on Server Core, see Install SQL Server on Server Core.

2 On Enterprise Edition, the number of nodes is the operating system maximum. On Standard edition there is support for two nodes.

3 On Enterprise Edition, provides support for up to 8 secondary replicas - including 2 synchronous secondary replicas.

4 Standard Edition supports basic availability groups. A basic availability group supports two replicas, with one database. For more information about basic availability groups, see Basic Availability Groups.

RDBMS scalability and performance

FeatureEnterpriseStandardWebExpress with Advanced ServicesExpress
Columnstore 1YesYesYesYesYes
Large object binaries in clustered columnstore indexesYesYesYesYesYes
Online nonclustered columnstore index rebuildYesNoNoNoNo
In-Memory OLTP 1YesYesYesYes, 2Yes
Stretch DatabaseYesYesYesYesYes
Persistent Main MemoryYesYesYesYesYes
Multi-instance support5050505050
Table and index partitioningYesYesYesYesYes
Data compressionYesYesYesYesYes
Resource GovernorYesNoNoNoNo
Partitioned Table ParallelismYesNoNoNoNo
Multiple Filestream containersYesYesYesYesYes
NUMA Aware Large Page Memory and Buffer Array AllocationYesNoNoNoNo
Buffer Pool ExtensionYesYesNoNoNo
I/O Resource GovernanceYesNoNoNoNo
Read-AheadYesNoNoNoNo
Advanced ScanningYesNoNoNoNo
Delayed DurabilityYesYesYesYesYes
Automatic TuningYesNoNoNoNo
Batch Mode Adaptive JoinsYesNoNoNoNo
Batch Mode Memory Grant FeedbackYesNoNoNoNo
Interleaved Execution for Multi-Statement Table Valued FunctionsYesYesYesYesYes
Bulk insert improvementsYesYesYesYesYes

1 In-Memory OLTP data size and Columnstore segment cache are limited to the amount of memory specified by edition in the Scale Limits section. The max degrees of parallelism is limited. The degrees of process parallelism (DOP) for an index build is limited to 2 DOP for the Standard Edition and 1 DOP for the Web and Express Editions. This refers to columnstore indexes created over disk-based tables and memory-optimized tables.

2 This feature is not included in the LocalDB installation option.

Sql

RDBMS security

FeatureEnterpriseStandardWebExpressExpress with Advanced Services
Row-level securityYesYesYesYesYes
Always EncryptedYesYesYesYesYes
Dynamic data maskingYesYesYesYesYes
Basic auditingYesYesYesYesYes
Fine grained auditingYesYesYesYesYes
Transparent database encryptionYesNoNoNoNo
Extensible key managementYesNoNoNoNo
User-defined rolesYesYesYesYesYes
Contained databasesYesYesYesYesYes
Encryption for backupsYesYesNoNoNo

Replication

FeatureEnterpriseStandardWebExpress with Advanced ServicesExpress
Heterogeneous subscribersYesYesNoNoNo
Merge replicationYesYesYes (Subscriber only)Yes (Subscriber only)Yes (Subscriber only)
Oracle publishingYesNoNoNoNo
Peer to peer transactional replicationYesNoNoNoNo
Snapshot replicationYesYesYes (Subscriber only)Yes (Subscriber only)Yes (Subscriber only)
SQL Server change trackingYesYesYesYesYes
Transactional replicationYesYesYes (Subscriber only)Yes (Subscriber only)Yes (Subscriber only)
Transactional replication to AzureYesYesNoNoNo
Transactional replication updateable subscriptionYesNoNoNoNo

Management tools

FeatureEnterpriseStandardWebExpress with Advanced ServicesExpress
SQL Management Objects (SMO)YesYesYesYesYes
SQL Configuration ManagerYesYesYesYesYes
SQL CMD (Command Prompt tool)YesYesYesYesYes
Distributed Replay - Admin ToolYesYesYesYesNo
Distribute Replay - ClientYesYesYesNoNo
Distributed Replay - ControllerYes (Up to 16 clients)Yes (1 client)Yes (1 client)NoNo
SQL ProfilerYesYesNo 1No 1No 1
SQL Server AgentYesYesYesNoNo
Microsoft System Center Operations Manager Management PackYesYesYesNoNo
Database Tuning Advisor (DTA)YesYes 2Yes 2NoNo

1 SQL Server Web, SQL Server Express, SQL Server Express with Tools, and SQL Server Express with Advanced Services can be profiled using SQL Server Standard and SQL Server Enterprise editions.

2 Tuning enabled only on Standard edition features

RDBMS manageability

FeatureEnterpriseStandardWebExpress with Advanced ServicesExpress
User instancesNoNoNoYesYes
LocalDBNoNoNoYesNo
Dedicated admin connectionYesYesYesYes with trace flagYes with trace flag
SysPrep support 1YesYesYesYesYes
PowerShell scripting support2YesYesYesYesYes
Support for data-tier application component operations - extract, deploy, upgrade, deleteYesYesYesYesYes
Policy automation (check on schedule and change)YesYesYesNoNo
Performance data collectorYesYesYesNoNo
Able to enroll as a managed instance in multi-instance managementYesYesYesNoNo
Standard performance reportsYesYesYesNoNo
Plan guides and plan freezing for plan guidesYesYesYesNoNo
Direct query of indexed views (using NOEXPAND hint)YesYesYesYesYes
Automatic indexed views maintenanceYesYesYesNoNo
Distributed partitioned viewsYesNoNoNoNo
Parallel indexed operationsYesNoNoNoNo
Automatic use of indexed view by query optimizerYesNoNoNoNo
Parallel consistency checkYesNoNoNoNo
SQL Server Utility Control PointYesNoNoNoNo
Buffer pool extensionYesYesNoNoNo

1 For more information, see Considerations for Installing SQL Server Using SysPrep.

2 On Linux, PowerShell scripts are supported, from Windows computers targeting SQL Servers on Linux.

Development tools

FeatureEnterpriseStandardWebExpress with Advanced ServicesExpress
Microsoft Visual Studio integrationYesYesYesYesYes
Intellisense (Transact-SQL and MDX)YesYesYesYesYes
SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT)YesYesYesYesNo
MDX edit, debug, and design toolsYesYesNoNoNo

Programmability

FeatureEnterpriseStandardWebExpress with Advanced ServicesExpress
Basic R integration 1YesYesYesYesNo
Advanced R integration 2YesNoNoNoNo
Basic Python integrationYesYesYesYesNo
Advanced Python integrationYesNoNoNoNo
Machine Learning Server (Standalone)YesNoNoNoNo
PolyBase compute nodeYesYes 3Yes 3Yes 3Yes 3
PolyBase head nodeYesNoNoNoNo
JSONYesYesYesYesYes
Query StoreYesYesYesYesYes
TemporalYesYesYesYesYes
Common Language Runtime (CLR) IntegrationYesYesYesYesYes
Native XML supportYesYesYesYesYes
XML indexingYesYesYesYesYes
MERGE & UPSERT capabilitiesYesYesYesYesYes
FILESTREAM supportYesYesYesYesYes
FileTableYesYesYesYesYes
Date and Time datatypesYesYesYesYesYes
Internationalization supportYesYesYesYesYes
Full-text and semantic searchYesYesYesYesNo
Specification of language in queryYesYesYesYesNo
Service Broker (messaging)YesYesNo (Client only)No (Client only)No (Client only)
Transact-SQL endpointsYesYesYesNoNo
GraphYesYesYesYesYes

1 Basic integration is limited to 2 cores and in-memory data sets.

2 Advanced integration can use all available cores for parallel processing of data sets at any size subject to hardware limits.

3 Scale out with multiple compute nodes requires a head node.

Integration Services

For info about SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) features supported by the editions of SQL Server, see Integration Services Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server.

Master Data Services

For information about the Master Data Services and Data Quality Services features supported by the editions of SQL Server, see Master Data Services and Data Quality Services Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server.

Data warehouse

FeatureEnterpriseStandardWebExpress with Advanced ServicesExpress
Create cubes without a databaseYesYesNoNoNo
Auto-generate staging and data warehouse schemaYesYesNoNoNo
Change data captureYesYesNoNoNo
Star join query optimizationsYesNoNoNoNo
Scalable read-only Analysis Services configurationYesNoNoNoNo
Parallel query processing on partitioned tables and indexesYesNoNoNoNo
Global batch aggregationYesNoNoNoNo

Analysis Services

For information about the Analysis Services features supported by the editions of SQL Server, see Analysis Services Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server.

BI semantic model (Multi Dimensional)

For information about the Analysis Services features supported by the editions of SQL Server, see Analysis Services Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server.

BI semantic model (Tabular)

For information about the Analysis Services features supported by the editions of SQL Server, see Analysis Services Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server.

Power Pivot for SharePoint

For information about the Power Pivot for SharePoint features supported by the editions of SQL Server, see Analysis Services Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server.

Microsoft Sql Server 2008 Editions Comparison

Data mining

Editions

For information about the Data Mining features supported by the editions of SQL Server, see Analysis Services Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server.

Reporting Services

For information about the Reporting Services features supported by the editions of SQL Server, see Reporting Services Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server.

Business intelligence clients

For information about the Business Intelligence Client features supported by the editions of SQL Server, see Analysis Services Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server or Reporting Services Features Supported by the Editions of SQL Server.

Spatial and location services

Feature NameEnterpriseStandardWebExpress with Advanced ServicesExpress
Spatial indexesYesYesYesYesYes
Planar and geodetic datatypesYesYesYesYesYes
Advanced spatial librariesYesYesYesYesYes
Import/export of industry-standard spatial data formatsYesYesYesYesYes

Additional database services

Feature NameEnterpriseStandardWebExpress with Advanced ServicesExpress
SQL Server Migration AssistantYesYesYesYesYes
Database mailYesYesYesNoNo

Other components

Feature NameEnterpriseStandardWebExpress with Advanced ServicesExpress
StreamInsightStreamInsight Premium EditionStreamInsight Standard EditionStreamInsight Standard EditionNoNo
StreamInsight HAStreamInsight Premium EditionNoNoNoNo

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Ms Sql Edition Comparison

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