The Enabler uses a Microsoft SQL Server database to store configuration and historical information.

The Enabler SDK installer package includes the free version of Microsoft SQL Servers: SQL Server 2008R2 Express SP1, SQL Server 2005 Express SP2 and MSDE 2000.

The Enabler SDK installer package is provided with multiple versions of Microsoft SQL Server (refer to list below). The bundled SQL Server will be installed as part of the Enalber installation if there is no existing SQL Server installed on the system.

As an integrator you are free to choose another version of Microsoft SQL Server for performance/reliability reasons, or depending on the features you require. The following database versions have been used successfully with the Enabler:

• SQL 2008 R2 Express Edition SP1
• SQL 2005 Express Edition SP2
• SQL Server 2000 Desktop Edition (aka MSDE 2000)

MSDE 2000 has been tested that works with Enabler but it is not recommended since Microsoft no longer provides support for MSDE 2000.

Enabler has not been tested with FULL versions of SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2008/2008R2. If using any of these is a priority for you, please contact us.

Maintenance

For optimum performance and reliability we recommend to install the latest service pack for the database version you are using. See Service Packs for SQL Server

For client computers, connecting to the Enabler database, you should check for MDAC (Microsoft Data Access Components) updates. See the Microsoft MDAC site. Generally, you can use the latest update available.

We have observed that using MSDE 1.0 on Windows XP causes very slow operation with Enabler Configuration. Updating to MSDE Service Pack 4 fixes this issue.

SQL2019 Express Edition

SQL Server 2019 only supports 64 bit platforms and Windows 10 or newer. For more information see hardware and software requirements.

SQL2017 Express Edition

SQL Server 2017 only supports 64 bit platforms. This has been tested and shown to work on Windows 10 64 bit. For more information see hardware and software requirements.

SQL2016 Express Edition SP1

SQL 2016 does not support 32 bit platforms. This has been tested to work in the following 64 bit platforms only: Windows 8.1 64bit and Windows 10 64bit. If you’re using the Enabler installer, you may be prompted first to install Windows updates required by the SQL Server.

SQL2014 Express Edition

SQL Server 2014 has been tested to work with Windows 7 32/64 bits, Windows 2008 Server 64 bit, Windows 8/8.1 32/64 bits, Windows 2012R2 Server 64 bit, Windows 10 32/64 bits.

SQL2012 Express Edition SP1

SQL Server 2012 is not supported by Windows XP and Itanium CPU based PC. Selecting SQL 2012 Server Express as SQL server choice in Enabler installer will not warn in advance but it will fail in Windows XP or in an Itanium architecture PC.

The SQL 2012 Server Express Edition has been tested to work with Windows Vista 32/64 bits, 7 32/64 bits, 2008 Server 64 bit and Windows 8.1 32/64 bits.

The benefits of SQL Server 2012 Express over SQL Server 2008 Express are:

• 4 CPU cores available compared to 1 CPU core
• 10GB of maximum relational Database size compared to 4GB

Note: Check the prerequisites Service Pack 1 & 2 and .NET 4.0 Framework are met before installing SQL2012 in Vista and 2008 Server 32/64 bits since Windows Update does not install these prerequisites automatically.

SQL2008 R2 Express Edition

SQL2008 R2 Express requires the following software prerequisites:

• Windows MSI 4.5 Installer (or later)
• .NET 2.0 Framework with Service Pack 2

The Enabler installer (prior to v4.9.0) is packaged with the Windows MSI 4.5 Installer and the .NET 3.5 Framework redistributables. There is no redistributable for .Net 2.0 Framework SP2 and you need to install .NET Framework 3.5 to get this. Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 both come pre-installed with .NET Framework 2.0 SP2.

For the complete list of SQL 2008 R2 Express Edition hardware and software requirements, see SQL2008 R2 Express Edition Requirements.

SQL2008 Express Edition

If you have SQL 2008 64bit installed and you are upgrading to Enabler v3.75.1 or newer then you will need to update the SQL native client driver to the SQL 2008 R2 native client driver. There is a bug with the SQL 2008 driver running on 64 bit and it is not able to return values correctly. Previous versions of Enabler were not using the native client driver.

You can download the SQL 2008 64bit Native client driver from the Microsoft website.

SQL2005 and Administrator users

With SQL2005 Express, only the specific Administrator will have administrator rights or trusted connection rights to the database. This may prevent Enabler’s pump server
and other components to connect to the database. To fix this, you may either:

• Add the user as one of the Database Administrators using the SQL2005 Surface Manager tool; Or
• Set the machine machine in a WORKGROUP instead of a domain. The logged-in user may not have access privileges in the domain to connect to the database.

SQL2005 Express Edition

The following are the minimum software prerequisites in the target Windows platform.

• Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) v2.8
• Internet Explorer 6.1 Service Pack 1
• Windows MSI 3.1 Installer
• .NET 2.0 Framework

The Enabler installer is packaged with the Windows MSI 3.1 Installer and the .NET 2.0 Framework re-distributable.

The requirements for SQL Editions prior to 2014 are no longer available online. We recommend using SQL 2016 or later.

For the complete list of SQL 2005 Express Edition hardware and software requirements, see SQL2005 Express Edition Requirements.

MSXML Error When Installing SQL2005

The SQL2005 install may fail if MSXML SP2 or SP3 is already installed. SQL2005 also installs MSXML and sometimes is unable to remove the existing MSXML package resulting in the SQL2005 install failing.

This is a known issue to Microsoft provided a workaround – but it is not available online any more. The workaround involves removing the current MSXML package on the system and then reinstalling SQL2005 (or re-installing Enabler if using the SQL2005 that comes with Enabler).

Full vs Free Editions

The free SQL Server editions generally function the same as the full versions, except that Microsoft deliberately limits them in certain ways to prevent them being used for major installations with multiple clients – such as web servers. The most relevant limitations of the Express Edition are listed below:

• The management applications are not included – you must use direct SQL or another program to manage.
• Database size is limited to:
  • 2GB in MSDE
  • 4GB in SQL2005 / 2008R2 Express Edition
• RAM memory usage in:
  • MSDE is limited to 2GB of system RAM
  • SQL2005 / 2008R2 Express Edition to 1GB of system RAM
• For multi CPU systems (or multi-core CPUs):
  • MSDE is limited to two CPU cores
  • SQL2005 / 2008R2 Express Edition limited to one CPU core
• Prior to SQL2005, a “query governor” limits the performance slightly: if more than 8 simultaneous queries are used, the database will add a small delay to each query.

• The management applications are not included – you must use direct SQL or another program to manage.
• Database size is limited to:
  • 4GB in 2008R2 Express Edition
  • 10GB for SQL2012 / SQL2014 / SQL2016 / SQL2017 / SQL2019 Express.
• RAM memory usage in:
  • SQL2008R2 / SQL2012 / SQL2014 / SQL2016 / SQL2017 / SQL2019 Express Editions to 1GB of system RAM
• For multi CPU systems (or multi-core CPUs):
  • 2008R2 Express Edition is limited to one CPU core
  • SQL2014 / SQL2016 / SQL2017 / SQL2019 Express limited to 4 cores.

The limitations on the free editions are negligible and will not affect Enabler under normal operations and most requirements. It is adviseable to purchase full versions instead of Express Edition when more than four (4) Clients are used, or unless your own application (e.g. POS) will use the same SQL server to store large amounts of data.

Known Issues

Windows Updates may cause issues with the SQL Server which results in Pump Server being unable to start up correctly.
If Pump Server suddenly stops working, check for recent updates that may have been installed.

These updates are known to cause issues with SQL Server:

• KB5019959 – Windows November 2022 Security Update – see here for more details.