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.
Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 or later versions.
You do not need to install .NET Framework separately if you use Visual Studio as the development environment. Visual Studio installs .NET Framework. For information about system requirements, see Visual Studio Books Online.
Microsoft ActiveSync 4.0 or later versions.
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.