How to Install SQL Server 2016 Express on Windows 10
How to Download 2016 SQL Server Express
SQL Server Express is a free edition of SQL Server, a powerful and reliable data management system that can run on your desktop, web, or small server applications. In this article, you will learn what SQL Server Express is, why you should choose the 2016 version, and how to download and install it on your computer.
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What is SQL Server Express?
SQL Server Express is a subset of SQL Server that provides core database functionality. It is ideal for learning, developing, and powering lightweight applications that do not require advanced features such as business intelligence, data warehousing, or high availability.
Features of SQL Server Express
Some of the features that SQL Server Express offers are:
A relational database engine that supports up to 10 GB per database
A graphical management tool (SQL Server Management Studio) that allows you to create, manage, and query your databases
A reporting service (SQL Server Reporting Services) that enables you to create and deploy reports for your applications
A full-text search service that allows you to perform fast and flexible text searches over your data
A data integration service (SQL Server Integration Services) that allows you to extract, transform, and load data from various sources
A data quality service (Data Quality Services) that allows you to cleanse and enrich your data
A machine learning service (Machine Learning Services) that allows you to run R and Python scripts in your database
A spatial and location service (Spatial Services) that allows you to store and query spatial data
A JSON support service that allows you to import, export, parse, and store JSON data
A temporal table service that allows you to track the history of data changes
A query store service that allows you to monitor and troubleshoot query performance issues
A polybase service that allows you to query external data sources such as Hadoop or Azure Blob Storage
A stretch database service that allows you to migrate your historical data to Azure SQL Database
An always encrypted service that allows you to protect your sensitive data with encryption keys that are never revealed to SQL Server
A dynamic data masking service that allows you to hide your sensitive data from unauthorized users
A row-level security service that allows you to restrict data access based on user roles or predicates
Limitations of SQL Server Express
Before deploying SQL Server Express, you should be aware of its limitations which include:
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A maximum memory usage of 1.4 GB by the database engine
A maximum number of cores of 4 per instance
A maximum number of databases of 50 per instance
No support for high availability features such as Always On Availability Groups or Failover Clustering
No support for advanced analytics features such as Analysis Services or Data Mining
No support for advanced business intelligence features such as Power Pivot or Power View
No support for distributed transactions or Service Broker
No support for online indexing or online schema changes
No support for transparent data encryption or backup compression
No support for auditing or change data capture
No support for filestream or filetable
No support for in-memory OLTP or in-memory columnstore indexes
No support for partitioning or compression
No support for resource governor or performance data collector
No support for database snapshots or database mirroring
Why Choose SQL Server 2016 Express Edition?
SQL Server 2016 Express Edition is the latest version of SQL Server Express that was released in June 2016. It offers several improvements and enhancements over the previous versions, making it a great choice for your data needs.
Benefits of SQL Server 2016 Express Edition
Some of the benefits that SQL Server 2016 Express Edition provides are:
It is free to download, install, and use for any purpose
It is compatible with Windows 10, Windows Server 2016, and other operating systems
It supports the latest security standards and protocols such as TLS 1.2 and SHA-2
It supports the latest development tools and frameworks such as Visual Studio 2019, .NET Core, and Entity Framework Core
It supports the latest cloud technologies and services such as Azure SQL Database, Azure Data Factory, and Azure Data Lake Storage
It supports the latest data formats and types such as JSON, XML, spatial, temporal, and graph
It supports the latest data analysis and machine learning techniques such as R and Python integration, polybase, and query store
It supports the latest data protection and privacy features such as always encrypted, dynamic data masking, and row-level security
New Features in SQL Server 2016 Express Edition
Some of the new features that SQL Server 2016 Express Edition introduces are:
A stretch database feature that allows you to migrate your historical data to Azure SQL Database without changing your application code or queries
An always encrypted feature that allows you to encrypt your sensitive data at rest and in transit without revealing the encryption keys to SQL Server
A dynamic data masking feature that allows you to hide your sensitive data from unauthorized users by replacing it with obfuscated values
A row-level security feature that allows you to restrict data access based on user roles or predicates
A polybase feature that allows you to query external data sources such as Hadoop or Azure Blob Storage using T-SQL
A query store feature that allows you to monitor and troubleshoot query performance issues by capturing and storing query execution plans and statistics
A temporal table feature that allows you to track the history of data changes by automatically storing previous versions of rows in a separate table
A JSON support feature that allows you to import, export, parse, and store JSON data using built-in functions and operators
A machine learning service feature that allows you to run R and Python scripts in your database using stored procedures
How to Download and Install SQL Server 2016 Express Edition?
If you are convinced that SQL Server 2016 Express Edition is the right choice for you, then you can follow these steps to download and install it on your computer.
System Requirements for SQL Server 2016 Express Edition
Before downloading SQL Server 2016 Express Edition, you should make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements which are:
A 64-bit processor with a minimum speed of 1.4 GHz
A minimum of 512 MB of RAM (recommended 2 GB or more)
A minimum of 6 GB of available hard disk space
A DVD drive or a USB port if you are installing from a media
An internet connection if you are installing from a web download
A Windows operating system that supports SQL Server 2016 Express Edition such as Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012, or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
Steps to Download SQL Server 2016 Express Edition
To download SQL Server 2016 Express Edition, you can follow these steps:
Go to the official Microsoft website for SQL Server downloads at
Select the edition that you want to download from the drop-down menu. In this case, choose SQL Server 2016 Express.
Select the language that you want to download from the drop-down menu. In this case, choose English.
Select the file type that you want to download from the options below. You can choose between a web installer ( a web installer (SQLServer2016-SSEI-Expr.exe), a media installer (SQL