How To Select The Best Embedded Database Development Software

Which InterBase Product Edition is Right for Me?

There are several options to consider when selecting the best InterBase product edition for your needs:

Desktop	To Go	Server
Build amazing single-user applications.	Embed amazing power directly inside processes.	Light-weight yet scales to handle hundreds of users.
InterBase Desktop Edition provides a powerful RDBMS for stand-alone, single-user applications. Desktop edition is for use with, or embedding in, applications that will deploy on desktop, laptop, or mobile computers for use by a single end user. Typical applications are stand-alone applications, such as product catalog applications used by a field sales organization or a dedicated system for signal data collection and analysis, etc.	To-Go Edition also runs in a stand-alone environment, but allows deployment of applications which directly utilize the InterBase engine DLLs. With no separate database server process running, the database engine is executing in the application process space. InterBase To-Go provides the robust RDBMS functionality of InterBase in an extremely small footprint.	Server Edition allows hundreds of simultaneous users to connect to the database and provides enterprise features such as at-rest and over-the-wire data encryption. Typical InterBase Server applications are networked, multi-user applications such as a web-based product catalog application, an ERP system with centrally located database, online CRM application, etc.
Platforms:
Available for Windows	Available for Windows Mac OS X	Available for Windows Linux Solaris Mac OS X
Licensing:
Per Desktop	Per Deployment	Server plus Simultaneous Users
Volume Packaging:
20 Desktops 100 Desktops	20 Deployments 100 Deployments	5 Users 10 Users 25 Users 50 Users Unlimited Users

All production Editions are available on a CD or via electronic download and include the InterBase software and the complete documentation set in PDF format.

InterBase Developer Edition allows software developers to freely develop InterBase applications before they deploy them. All the functionality of InterBase Server Edition is included with Developer Edition.

Developer Edition Limitations
Forty-eight (48) hours after the server is started new connections are disallowed. To allow new connections after 48 hours the server must be restarted. Developer Edition is self-contained does not support add-on InterBase licenses such as additional users. The following restrictions are enforced:

Supports up to 4 cores
20 users (80 simultaneous connections)

To purchase InterBase, contact your local Embarcadero sales office.

ISV, OEM, VAR Licensing
ISVs, OEMs, and VARs may want to embed InterBase with their applications, requiring a "silent install" that bypasses the normal registration process. This is possible by setting up a VAR agreement. Please contact Embarcadero Sales for more information.

Trial Licensing
An InterBase Server Trial License allows you to test-drive and develop with InterBase for 90 days using up to 8 CPUs and 20 simultaneous users. The Trial edition may be downloaded from the Embarcadero website: https://downloads.embarcadero.com/free/interbase

InterBase Licensing

You must purchase a Desktop license for each Desktop edition you plan to deploy.

You must purchase a To-Go license for each To-Go edition you plan to deploy.

An InterBase Server License activates the InterBase Server software and a license for 1 User connection or for the number of of users based on the volume license purchased.

All InterBase Edition license include support for up to 8 cores. To add support for more than 8 cores on a single machine, additional licenses are required.

To purchase additional simultaneous user licenses to an existing InterBase Server installation, additional Simultaneous User Licenses can be purchased in the same quantities listed above to allow additional users to connect.

Each Simultaneous User License consists of a license certificate with a serial number. Entering and registering the serial number using the InterBase License Manager will add additional simultaneous user connections to the InterBase Server.

Strong Encryption (AES) Licensing
By default, InterBase uses weak (DES) encryption when data encryption is desired. Strong Encryption (AES) can be added to InterBase so that strong encryption algorithms will be used when encryption is enabled. A Strong Encryption License must be obtained for each instance of InterBase where strong encryption is used. Strong Encryption can be added to the InterBase Desktop, To-Go and Server Editions. Strong Encryption is not available for InterBase Developer and Trial Editions. Note: The use of Strong Encryption is subject to United States export controls.

To obtain a Strong Encryption License for InterBase SMP, contact your local Embarcadero sales office.

Technical resources

More information