Laird Travis, Patton Robert, Ogle Jennifer. Designing SQL Server 2000 Databases for .NET Enterprise Servers

Syngress, 2001. — 608 p. — ISBN-10: 1928994199, ISBN-13: 978-1928994190.
Language: English.Microsoft Structured Query Language (SQL) Server 2000 is the latest generation
of the popular SQL Server product line and the second release since its core
reengineering that produced SQL Server 7.0, released in 1999. This latest release
of SQL Server adds native Extensible Markup Language (XML) support, enhanced
online analytical processing (OLAP), data-mining capabilities, platform support
for Windows 2000, integration with Windows 2000 Active Directory, and
numerous performance, usability, and programming enhancements. SQL Server
2000 is available in six different editions to meet all levels of application develop-
ment and delivery:
SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition,
SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition,
SQL Server 2000 Personal Edition,
SQL Server 2000 Developer Edition,
SQL Server Desktop Engine (MSDE),
SQL Server 2000 for Windows CE Edition.
To meet scalability and availability goals, SQL Server 2000 is the first release
designed and built to take advantage of Windows 2000 with support for up to 32
processors and 64GB of memory running on Windows 2000 Datacenter Server.
Windows 2000 Active Directory integration adds enhanced server and security
management features to SQL Server. The latest version of OLAP support, now
called Analysis Services, provides numerous wizards for ease of use and the
setup of OLAP and new data-mining solutions. One of the more publicized addi-
tions to SQL Server is its native support for XML. SQL Server 2000 offers sup-
port for storing, using, and updating XML documents—an important requirement
because XML becomes the language of choice for many business systems and a
fundamental architecture component of Microsoft .NET.
SQL Server 2000 is the first released member of the .NET Enterprise Server
family and offers numerous advantages to organizations considering migration to
this new platform. Enhancements in reliability, scalability, performance, and
administration, along with strong compatibility with previous versions, make this
release a strong candidate for early adoption into SQL Server 7.0 environments
and an immediate migration from organizations running on SQL Server 6.5.
Native XML support in SQL Server 2000 will help many organizations begin
implementing this technology, which is quickly becoming a standard to both
external and internal systems, including e-commerce, Web application services,
and line-of-business applications.
This chapter discusses the changes in SQL Server 2000 as well as assists
you in understanding the direction of Microsoft Windows Distributed interNet
Applications (DNA) Architecture Model toward .NET and the role of XML. You will
review the available editions of SQL Server 2000 and their features and require-
ments so that you can choose the appropriate edition for your organization. The
second half of this chapter discusses whether you should migrate to SQL Server
2000 as well as lays the groundwork for planning your migration.