Vault install, basic 2015 on two computers.
Accepted solution
To be perfectly honest it's a terrible idea, don't do it. I appreciate the dilemma you have, but I highly recommend just not doing that.
I've never personally attempted to do what you're trying to achieve, but I'm fairly confident you can't install SQL Express on a desktop but have the instance directory including all the database files on a totally different machine. Even if it was possible to do that, it's still a bad idea. If the network was to drop, which they do regularly, you could end up in a big mess with that kind of setup. Also, Vault server transactions via the ADMS would be redirected over the network to a remote database and filestore, which again I'm sure you can't do with Vault Basic, but even so that would be terribly slow and unreliable.
Not a helpful answer. So if I was in your shoes, my first goal would be to do everything in my power to get a new server signed off. You don't need to have a high end server for Vault Basic in an environment which is relatively minimal load. A very basic rack or tower server would be fine, Dell do them for around the same or less than the price of a CAD workstation. Most engineering companies' management understand the importance of their design data, so dismissing the best and safest options of hosting & backing up that data is a dangerous game to play, complacent, and asking for a disaster. Having a dedicated Vault server should be right up their with the biggest and highest of priorities in an engineering business.
If that's still not going to happen, your only real option is to install the full Vault Basic solution on the desktop PC. Just be aware that if you ever upgraded to Vault to a 'paid for' version, they're not supported on desktops as of 2015. Make sure you wipe the desktop PC and install a clean operating system on it, try to avoid running another programs on that PC, and make sure there's no troublesome firewall or anti-virus programs on it which would cause chaos.
It's really not that unsafe to do this as long as you actively manage and monitor the PC. Use a script to perform Vault Console backups every night, that will backup the full Vault to a folder... then either manually copy or script copy the backup folder to the domain controller after the backup finishes ensuring the folder gets copied to a location which is backed up to tape.
If this is all sounding way out of your comfort zone, I highly recommend contacting a local Vault Specialised Autodesk reseller and ask for their help. I've done countless jobs of this nature, it should take less than half a day to install Vault Basic and set up a backup routine, providing you don't require any data loading into the new Vault. Then you have peace of mind and a solid reliable company for ongoing support.
Hope that helps.
22k as is $22k or £22k?! In either currency that's overkill for the job it needs to do. Plus I guess they'll be adding labour on top for install and setup, but to put it into perspective:
http://www.dell.com/uk/business/p/poweredge-tower-server-deals
£1289 exc.VAT for a PowerEdge tower server with 2TB and 16GB RAM, including the server operating system. That's absolutely 100% fine for Vault Basic. How they got to 22k...
All isn't lost though. If you feel that Vault Workgroups is something you want to pursue, you can buy a license of Windows Server and install that onto a desktop PC. It isn't the hardware that Autodesk are picky about, it's the operating system mainly, I've got two desktop PCs on my desk both with Windows 2008 Server installed and Vault Professional 2015 Server on them... working away just nicely.
Is that something you could consider?
Are you kidding me, a quote of 2 weeks / 10 working days just purely for a Vault Basic server install?? They must be bundling in training days on top of that, or consultancy work, or data upload. Any tech consultant who understands Vault can have it installed and working in less than half a day, and would typically book in 1 day for redundancy... in case of problematic issues which need attention. As you've probably saw already, the installer itself if it goes smooth can take less than 15 minutes. I'm shocked and would love to know the details of that quote!
I don't want to throw serious accusations around, as we don't really know the full story and what the quote contains exactly. But personally I've done hundreds of Vault Basic installs for hundreds of companies and I can count on one hand how many times it took longer than 1 day to get the entire job finished. And that was very early on when nobody really knew how problematic Windows Small Business Server was, that was a bad day.
I'd love to know if the company providing the quote are an official Autodesk Reseller as well. If this is what it is on face value, it would need to be escalated/reported. But again, there could be a perfectly good explanation 
Vault installs can be pretty tricky depending on the environment, personally I wouldn't ever type out Vault install instructions as there are too many variables and points at which things could go wrong. However if you're just using Vault Basic with SQL Express, a next > next > next type of install might do for you. If you don't feel comfortable doing it though, get help from your reseller.
Once you do get it installed, you're going to have a hard time connecting into over the internet unless you can set up a VPN into the company network. If you already have a VPN, connect that up over the internet and the off-site workers shoud be able to log into it.
Mi m8,
Ryans post above was directed at the original author of this post, so the talk of domain controllers and local SQL accounts wasn't for your situation.
I think from what you've described, you're still in a position whereby you guys will only be able to use Vault via a VPN. If you can get Vault Basic installed onto a PC/Server inside your academic institute, the only reliable way to connect to that PC/Server is if you had a VPN line into the network. Think of Vault in the same way as you would access your institutes intranet site, if you fire up your laptop in an internet cafe for example, you won't be able to access the intranet site as the server providing the site pages is on a totally separated and isolated network. Vault is kinda the same. Your laptop needs to be able to 'see' the server and have the ability to establish a connection to it, the only way to do this is if you have a VPN. But as mentioned above, depending on the size of your models you may experience poor performance only working with Vault over a VPN.
I assume you got your licenses through the free educational program so you may not have had any dealings with an official Autodesk reseller? Honestly, if you can get the funds signed off by your institute it may be worth getting a professional in to do it. Providing there's no complicating factors i.e. data upload, a Vault Basic install shouldn't take any more than 1 day, it's a simple job for an experienced Vault techie. In the long run that'll be massively beneficial, you'll know it's been set up properly and you shouldn't have any issues caused from mistakes whilst trying to do it yourselves.
Is that a possibility or totally out of the question?
p.s. the Autodesk reseller may not be able to create a VPN for you, as mentioned above that's a job for internal I.T staff.