In Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, search is implemented by using a Windows SharePoint Services search engine. That means Windows SharePoint Services are no longer dependent on SQL Server full text search. With Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 you can use Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (MSDE) to deploy SharePoint for testing and/or proof of concept projects and still enjoy robust and improved search functionality of SharePoint.
In this release of SharePoint, the search engine is the same for both Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 and Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007. This provides a consistent experience for administrators and users across both platforms.
So now that we’ve got all these nice features available in Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 search, do we really need Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 search? The answer depends on the business needs. The content included in a Windows SharePoint Services search is limited to Windows SharePoint Services content. Office SharePoint Server significantly enhances the search functionality available in Windows SharePoint Services to include additional content sources, searching for content and people, and searching based on keywords and best bets.
