What is SQL Server?

SQL Server is a relational database management system (RDBMS) from Microsoft that's designed for the enterprise environment. SQL Server runs on T-SQL (Transact -SQL), a set of programming extensions from Sybase and Microsoft that add several features to standard SQL, including transaction control, exception and error handling, row processing, and declared variables.

 

What are the Benefits of SQL Server?

One of the SQL Server benefits is the presence of built-in tools to manage data and database backups.  Imagine if you had a Microsoft Access database and it was deleted.  There is no good way to get your information back.  With SQL Server, you have the ability to schedule regular backups of the database.  These back-ups could be stored in a separate location for disaster recovery.

There are two kinds of backups available in Microsoft SQL Server:

• Full Backup

• Differential Backup

Full Backup

A full backup stores a complete copy of the database on any supported backup media.  You do not have to take the database offline to perform a full backup, however these backups consume a large amount of resources and users may notice that response times are a little slower.  Full backups can be scheduled for off peek times to minimize the impact that performance degradation would have on the end users.

 

Differential Backup

There are situations where you may not want to use as many resources as a full backup requires, but feel that it is important to have a backup at a certain time.  This is when you may consider a differential backup.  This backup uses less resources since it backs up information that has changed or been added since the last full backup.  **It is very important to note that a differential backup alone will not be enough to restore the database, since it only contains data that was modified since the last full backup.

 

What are the versions of SQL Server?

Prior to version 7.0 the code base for MS SQL Server was sold by Sybase SQL Server to Microsoft, and was Microsoft's entry to the enterprise-level database market, competing against Oracle, IBM, and, later, Sybase. Microsoft, Sybase and Ashton-Tateoriginally teamed up to create and market the first version named SQL Server 1.0 for OS/2 (about 1989) which was essentially the same as Sybase SQL Server 3.0 on Unix, VMS, etc. Microsoft SQL Server 4.2 was shipped around 1992 (available bundled with IBM OS/2 version 1.3). Later Microsoft SQL Server 4.21 for Windows NT was released at the same time as Windows NT 3.1. Microsoft SQL Server v6.0 was the first version designed for NT, and did not include any direction from Sybase.

About the time Windows NT was released, Sybase and Microsoft parted ways and each pursued its own design and marketing schemes. Microsoft negotiated exclusive rights to all versions of SQL Server written for Microsoft operating systems. Later, Sybase changed the name of its product to Adaptive Server Enterprise to avoid confusion with Microsoft SQL Server. Until 1994, Microsoft's SQL Server carried three Sybase copyright notices as an indication of its origin.

SQL Server 7.0 and SQL Server 2000 included modifications and extensions to the Sybase code base, adding support for the IA-64 architecture. By SQL Server 2005 the legacy Sybase code had been completely rewritten.

In the ten years since release of Microsoft's previous SQL Server product (SQL Server 2000), advancements have been made in performance, the client IDE tools, and several complementary systems that are packaged with SQL Server 2005. These include: an ETL tool (SQL Server Integration Services or SSIS), a Reporting Server, an OLAP and data mining server (Analysis Services), and several messaging technologies, specifically Service Broker and Notification Services.

 

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