This is in no way the first time this has been asked, but I can still not find a definitive answer here or elsewhere.I have found one pretty thorough guide to installing on Win 2008 x86 ( http://blog.exceedio.com/2008/05/01/installation-guide-for-system-center-essentials-sp1-on-windows-server-2008-x86/ ), but nothing similar for x64.I have pretty decent server that is unable to run Hyper-V, therefor I want it to run SCVMM and SCE on a physical installation to make the most of it. (Two pretty big services that are not critical to end users.)I run into some problems when trying to install SCE 2007. I already have installed SCVMM (and the MSSQL version that is installed by default with SCVMM), WSUS, IIS with necessary components.I basically have two questions.1) Is the "SCE 2007 SP1 RTM Eval" possible to install and use as production software, even though it is called Eval? (Can make sense of it... since there is no non-eval SCE 2007 SP1)2) How do I manage to get SCE installed on this 2008 x64 server?I think perhaps the MSSQL version is the only thing stopping me now, as I can just cancel the WSUS install and then I get to the MSSQL selection step where everything is greyed out. Which is where it gets a bit tricky since I already run the MSSQL that SCVMM installed, and since it is greyed out it seems it is not good enough for SCE... Can I change/upgrade the MSSQL version now, without breaking SCVMM? Can I run two MSSQL versions in paralell? or should I just install SCE on a 2003 R2 VM and do it the fully supported way?I am a bit frustrated at the "mess" of supported/not-supported versions of windows, MSSQL, WSUS and Essentials versions. MS could do a lot better here.

Hi Pl Rtnes,1) There are two versions of SCE 2007: SCE 2007 RTM and SCE 2007 SP1. They are both official software version. You can download theEvaluation copy of SCE 2007 SP1 from the link below:http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=246DF207-F051-47C3-BD64-C9072281C3C8&displaylang=enIf you want to buy SCE, visit here:http://www.microsoft.com/Systemcenter/essentials/en/us/how-to-buy.aspx2)Systems Center Essentials 2007 SP1 is the only version that works with Windows 2008. Andif you want to install SCE SP1 on Windows Server 2008 x64, you need to install SQL Server 2005 SP2 firstly.SQL Express, which is the fefaultversion with SCVMM,is not supported.To install Essentials2007 SP1 on Windows Server 2008SQL Express is not supported if you want to install SCE SP1 on Windows Server 2008, you need to install SQL Server 2005 SP2, the following are the steps for how to install SCE SP1 on Windows Server 2008:1.In Server Manager on the Windows Server 2008-based server, in Server Manager, install Microsoft .NET 3.0. 2.Do one of the following: Install Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0 in Server Manager. When configuring IIS 7.0, select the Web Server check box to enable Web Server Role services. Then, under Application Development ensure that Active Server Pages (ASP) and ASP .NET are selected. Use the following command line to install and configure IIS 7.0: call start /w %SYSTEMDRIVE%\windows\system32\pkgmgr /l:log.etw /iu:IIS-WebServerRole;IIS-WebServer;IIS-CommonHttpFeatures;IIS-StaticContent;IIS-DefaultDocument;IIS-DirectoryBrowsing;IIS-HttpErrors;IIS-HttpRedirect;IIS-ApplicationDevelopment;IIS-ASPNET;IIS-NetFxExtensibility;IIS-ASP;IIS-CGI;IIS-ISAPIExtensions;IIS-ISAPIFilter;IIS-ServerSideIncludes;IIS-HealthAndDiagnostics;IIS-HttpLogging;IIS-LoggingLibraries;IIS-RequestMonitor;IIS-HttpTracing;IIS-CustomLogging;IIS-ODBCLogging;IIS-Security;IIS-BasicAuthentication;IIS-WindowsAuthentication;IIS-DigestAuthentication;IIS-ClientCertificateMappingAuthentication;IIS-IISCertificateMappingAuthentication;IIS-URLAuthorization;IIS-RequestFiltering;IIS-IPSecurity;IIS-Performance;IIS-HttpCompressionStatic;IIS-HttpCompressionDynamic;IIS-WebServerManagementTools;IIS-ManagementConsole;IIS-ManagementScriptingTools;IIS-ManagementService;IIS-IIS6ManagementCompatibility;IIS-Metabase;IIS-WMICompatibility;IIS-LegacyScripts;IIS-LegacySnapIn;IIS-FTPPublishingService;IIS-FTPServer;IIS-FTPManagement;WAS-WindowsActivationService;WAS-ProcessModel;WAS-NetFxEnvironment;WAS-ConfigurationAPI3.Prepare SQL Server 2005 SP2. Only SQL Server 2005 SP2 is supported on Windows Server 2008-based servers. Install SQL Server before beginning Essentials 2007 setup, because SQL Server 2005 Express Edition cannot be installed by Essentials 2007 setup on Windows Server 2008-based servers.4.Insert the product CD into the CD drive.5.Run SetupSCE.exe from the root of the CD.6.Click Read Release Notes to read important information that might be needed during deployment.7.On the Start page, click Full Setup to start the System Center Essentials Setup Wizard.8.Enter the requested information, and complete the wizard.Read this article for more information:http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb422968.aspxHope this helps.Yog Li - MSFT

Does SQL 2005 SP2 have to reside on the same server as the SCE software? And will SQL 2008 work?