The BCM database can be hosted on any sql server. Out of the box, BCM
2007 (version 3) setup installs Xpress, creates a sql instance, and by
default creates databases in that instance. Version 2 did much the same
with MSDE.
Some folks managed to get the central BCM database installed on their
own sql server running on a server machine and connect the clients to
it, but BCM v2 did not provide any support for such a configuration.
There have been posts on this newsgroup over the years with the traps
and tips for hosting the database on your own server. BCM uses a
particular TCP port, the port must be open on the firewall, etc.
BCM v3 does support hosting the database on a central server. The first
use wizard that creates the database allows you create the database on
another host. I haven't heard any beta users describe how well that
works, though.
Both BCM v2 and v3 say that they will work with 5 users. That's really
an estimate for the version of sql they ship with on a decent desktop
PC. The maximum number of users will scale with the speed and memory
available on the database host, what sorts of operations the users
engage in, and the capabilities of the version of sql server used; e.g.
MSDE and Xpress are limited to a single cpu, MSDE only handles 5
concurrent client requests, and so on.
