This typically refers to a copy of P6 where the database and client application are running on the same machine - often a laptop. Prior to the acquisition of Primavera Inc. by Oracle, this was a standard option in the installer which performed a hands-off installation of a database server (originally Borland Interbase, then SQL Server Express) on to the machine in QUESTION as part of the process. With the release of P6 v7 the database was changed to Oracle XE and then at P6 R8.0 the standalone option was withdrawn. It now exists again - from P6 R8.1 PPM onwards, you are able to select a standalone installation that uses Oracle 10g XE as the back end.

The advantage of this TYPE of installation is that you do not have to have previously installed a database on the machine, as one is provided free of charge. There are restrictions associated with Oracle XE though - it is limited to 4GB of data, will only use up to 1GB of any AVAILABLE memory, and will only execute on 1 CPU core. If any of these are likely to cause problems you should use a full copy of Oracle or SQL Server to store your data. Note that that P6 R8.x will not work with SQL Server Express unless you are upgrading an existing standalone system based on an earlier version of P6.

As of P6 R8.4 the situation has changed again since the product now ships with SQLite - an embedded relational database - providing the storage for standalone systems. The pros of this are that installation is much simpler, and you can once again have multiple P6 databases accessible in a standalone configuration. The cons are that a number of the add on tools - such as Claim Digger - no longer work, ALTHOUGH Oracle have said that it is their intention to reinstate this functionality in later releases. Note that you can still choose to deploy Oracle XE as a back end to work around these issues, although you will have to manually DOWNLOAD it as it is no longer included as part of the product installer.

This typically refers to a copy of P6 where the database and client application are running on the same machine - often a laptop. Prior to the acquisition of Primavera Inc. by Oracle, this was a standard option in the installer which performed a hands-off installation of a database server (originally Borland Interbase, then SQL Server Express) on to the machine in question as part of the process. With the release of P6 v7 the database was changed to Oracle XE and then at P6 R8.0 the standalone option was withdrawn. It now exists again - from P6 R8.1 PPM onwards, you are able to select a standalone installation that uses Oracle 10g XE as the back end.

The advantage of this type of installation is that you do not have to have previously installed a database on the machine, as one is provided free of charge. There are restrictions associated with Oracle XE though - it is limited to 4GB of data, will only use up to 1GB of any available memory, and will only execute on 1 CPU core. If any of these are likely to cause problems you should use a full copy of Oracle or SQL Server to store your data. Note that that P6 R8.x will not work with SQL Server Express unless you are upgrading an existing standalone system based on an earlier version of P6.

As of P6 R8.4 the situation has changed again since the product now ships with SQLite - an embedded relational database - providing the storage for standalone systems. The pros of this are that installation is much simpler, and you can once again have multiple P6 databases accessible in a standalone configuration. The cons are that a number of the add on tools - such as Claim Digger - no longer work, although Oracle have said that it is their intention to reinstate this functionality in later releases. Note that you can still choose to deploy Oracle XE as a back end to work around these issues, although you will have to manually download it as it is no longer included as part of the product installer.