Serenic Navigator - C/SIDE vs SQL - which to select?

mdronzek

Just starting our Global Financials project with Serenic Navigator; headquarters in North Carolina, USA, and will have multiple instances internationally over next couple of years. Our IT is a pure Microsoft shop. Serenic, while a Microsoft partner, is sitting on both sides of the fence - half saying C/SIDE is the way to go, half saying SQL. From what I've heard, C/SIDE offers better performance and much lower maintenance & support...it's just not well known in the States.
Serenic won't provide documentation saying one over the other since they're a Microsoft partner and their future direction is to SQL since MS bought Navision. Any good and/or bad experiences with either selection that you are willing to share?
Thanks,
Mark

Alex_Chow

Using native database will save you on maintance cost. However, Microsoft is going towards SQL in the future.

Bottom line assuming you just want to use Navision without connecting other programs to it, in my opinion, I see no benefit using SQL.

kine

I will not look at technical side (performance etc.) but to the "customer point of view":
1) Native DB is blind alley... there will be just MS SQL in the future...
2) MS SQL is "setup and forget" just if you have some good IT which will create needed scripts...
3) Native DB is "setup and forget" but you need to do Backups manually (or use hotcopy - 1:1 copy of the DB) and you need to extend the files manually (if you did not prepare files big enough for next two years)
4) MS SQL is able to use full performance of your server
5) Native DB use just one CPU and max 1GB of RAM
6) External apps can connect to the MS SQL through all MS SQL interfaces (ADO, ODBC, direct acces etc.) and C/Front
7) External apps can connect to Native DB just through C/ODBC (or N/ODBC, veri limited functionality and performance) and C/Front

it is just a part of things about that.

mdronzek

Thank you both for your responses. Good stuff. Thinking at this point - pending more info - is to deploy C/SIDE internationally (regional servers; little or no IT field support available) and SQL (clustered) at headquarters. Consolidations of regional dbs would be into SQL. With main cluster it gives us built-in migration path to long-term Navision base of SQL. Best of both worlds ? I'll keep you posted...thanks again

Alex_Chow

Yes, that would be the best setup. Installing SQL Server on companies with no IT is trouble.

kine

But do not forget, that you need to check date fields when transfering data between Native DB and MS SQL - for example when user mistype the date and instead 180806 enters 1808006. In this case you will have problem to save this date into MS SQL server... :-)