[RESOLVED] How to put SQL database on a server and how to access it?

[jmcilhinney]

Thanks all. Do I need to have SSMS if I have SQL Server Express? (As opposed to not having anything.)

You need SSMS if you want a GUI to manage your database(s). For instance, if you want to restore a database backup or execute SQL scripts to create your initial database then doing so in SSMS is an easy way to do that. If you don't want your users to have to do that as part of your deployment though, you can use SQLCMD instead, which is the SQL Server commandline utility. You can then prepare a batch file to setup the database and just have the user run that or even have it run automatically by your installer.