Fundamentals of SQL Server 2000 Architecture

Microsoft® SQL Server™ 2000 is a family of products that meet the data storage requirements of the largest data processing systems and commercial Web sites, yet at the same time can provide easy-to-use data storage services to an individual or small business.

The data storage needs of a modern corporation or government organization are very complex. Some examples are:

• Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) systems must be capable of handling thousands of orders placed at the same time.
  
  
• Increasing numbers of corporations are implementing large Web sites as a mechanism for their customers to enter orders, contact the service department, get information about products, and for many other tasks that previously required contact with employees. These sites require data storage that is secure, yet tightly integrated with the Web.
  
  
• Organizations are implementing off-the-shelf software packages for critical services such as human resources planning, manufacturing resources planning, and inventory control. These systems require databases capable of storing large amounts of data and supporting large numbers of users.
  
  
• Organizations have many users who must continue working when they do not have access to the network. Examples are mobile disconnected users, such as traveling sales representatives or regional inspectors. These users must synchronize the data on a notebook or laptop with the current data in the corporate system, disconnect from the network, record the results of their work while in the field, and then finally reconnect with the corporate network and merge the results of their fieldwork into the corporate data store.
  
  
• Managers and marketing personnel need increasingly sophisticated analysis of trends recorded in corporate data. They need robust Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) systems easily built from OLTP data and support sophisticated data analysis.
  
  
• Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) must be able to distribute data storage capabilities with applications targeted at individuals or small workgroups. This means the data storage mechanism must be transparent to the users who purchase the application. This requires a data storage system that can be configured by the application, and then tune itself automatically so that the users do not need to dedicate database administrators to constantly monitor and tune the application.