>First - A big thanks to the whole community here for all the input. There's so much great info on this site that it almost stuns me each time I find my answer to some obscure question.
>
>So to clarify the information I think I've gathered on MSDE
>(if you don't know, MSDE stands for Microsoft Data Engine and is in essence "SQL Server Lite" or a replacement for Jet database with access...)
>
>1) MSDE is SQL Server - that is they are the same data engine and share the same code base

Yes.

>2) MSDE is PURPOSELY tuned down by microsoft so that once you get a large enough user base, you'll switch to SQL Server. I can connect 20 users at one time if I like, but if they execute 15 simultaneous queries, the queries will be slow until there are only 8 or fewer
>4) MSDE is best under 5 users, 8 users? - M$ literature says 5 or fewer users, but a thread post said 8 or fewer. It wouldn't surprise me if it handled 10 fine, and M$ is keeping it secret. Anyone holding the truth captive?

MSDE is optimized for up to 5 concurrent users.

>3) MSDE has the same functionality as SQL Server - now this one seems a bit much. You mean that it includes things such as security and backend stored procedures? That just seems to good to be true... is it?

Yes, with some limitations that don't affect core functionality. See SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE 2000) at http://www.microsoft.com/SQL/techinfo/development/2000/MSDE2000.asp.

>***NOTE*** I think I read security could not be integrated with NT so security is just at the SQL level?

It's true only if MSDE is installed on Windows 98, otherwise it can use Windows NT authentication.