Installing Essentials 2007 on a remote instance of SQL Server

Did you know can use a remote SQL server for the databases? It's true, but there are a few things to be aware of... SQL Reporting 2005 SP1 must be installed and configured on the SCE server - it cannot reside on the remote SQL instance. If you are unable to select a remote SQL server in the installation wizard, there can be several causes: -SCE is 32-bit, remote SQL is 64-bit. Inter-mingling 32/64 bit not supported in either direction. -Remote SQL is not SQL 2005 SP1 or greater (SP2 is supported) -Remote SQL has an existing database named OperationsManager -Remote SQL does not have enough disk space. -No support for IA64 or high availability configs (clustering, mirroring) Most recently, it was also discovered that if the drive letter used on the remote SQL instance (G: for example) did not also exist on the SCE Server, installation would fail....very strange. A workaround would be to create a drive with the same letter on the SCE Server.   For System Center news, articles and tutorials, visit www.systemcenterforum.org