To make it easier for potential clients to try out our software without having to go to the trouble of installing SQL Server, a test database, setting up an ODBC connection and so on, we want to package the whole thing with VMWare ThinApp.

Ideally, there'd be a single executable and all the user would have to do is run it.

I've been reading up on ThinApp on the VMWare website but am still unsure how to go about doing this.

Is the correct approach to put SQL Server and the application in separate packages, reverting to a clean version of the virtual enviroment prior to each packaging? That seems somewhat problematic because the app needs the DBMS to run, as well as an ODBC connection.

Like I said, we'd prefer to go with a single package (package = executable?), but two executables are also acceptable if an alternative can't be found.

I realize that the same result can probably be achieved by way of a custom SQL Server Express installation but ThinApp looks like a better and more elegant solution.