How to get data from an occasionally connected device (laptop) to backend SQL Server

Question

I am writing a program for my work that would allow an employee to use a laptop in the field and sync what they have done back to the server once they return to the office.

I have completed this task with Windows Mobile 6.5 and RDA through Microsoft SQL Server Compact Edition 3.5. My problem is that SQL Server CE 3.5 does not support geospatial datatypes which are needed.

Also newer versions of SQL Server CE do not support RDA (remote data access). In the past I have tried replication but found it to be overkill for the small projects I am working on.

Can I use SQL Server Express to sync back data to the database once the user returns to the network?? I'm using SQL Server 2008 R2 standard on the network.

Answer 1

Yes, you can use SQL Server Express, as long as the database size doesn't get larger than the limit. That maximum, for SQL Server Express 2008 R2 is 10 GB. Further, I would recommend SQL Server Express over SQL Server CE any day.

I did an offline database project one time and we found that SQL Server Express was the right approach as well. It's a fully featured database.