Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system (RDBMS) produced by Microsoft. Its primary query language is Transact-SQL, an implementation of the ANSI/ISO standard Structured Query Language (SQL) used by both Microsoft and Sybase. SQL Server is commonly used by businesses for small- to medium-sized databases, but the past five years have seen greater adoption of the product for larger enterprise databases.
| Developer(s) | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 2005
/ November 7, 2005 |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| Type | RDBMS |
| License | Microsoft EULA |
| Website | www.microsoft.com/sql/ |
History
The code base for Microsoft SQL Server (prior to version 7.0) originated in Sybase SQL Server, and was Microsoft's entry to the enterprise-level database market, competing against Oracle, IBM, and, later, Sybase itself. Microsoft, Sybase and Ashton-Tate originally 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 Microsoft 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 of SQL Server that was architected for NT and did not include any direction from Sybase.
About the time Windows NT was released, Sybase and Microsoft parted ways and pursued their 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.
Since parting ways, several revisions have been done independently. SQL Server 7.0 was the first true GUI based database server and was a rewrite away from the legacy Sybase code. A variant of SQL Server 2000 was the first commercial database for the Intel IA64 architecture. During this time there was a rivalry between Microsoft and Oracle for winning over the enterprise market.
The current version, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, was released in November of 2005. The launch took place alongside Visual Studio 2005. The SQL Server 2005 Express Edition is currently available for free download.[1]
In the six 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.
Versions for Microsoft Windows
Releases
- 1993 - SQL Server 4.21 for Windows NT
- 1995 - SQL Server 6.0, codenamed SQL95
- 1996 - SQL Server 6.5, codenamed Hydra
- 1999 - SQL Server 7.0, codenamed Sphinx
- 1999 - SQL Server 7.0 OLAP, codenamed Plato
- 2000 - SQL Server 2000 32-bit, codenamed Shiloh (version 8.0)
- 2003 - SQL Server 2000 64-bit, codenamed Liberty
- 2005 - SQL Server 2005, codenamed Yukon (version 9.0)
- Next release - codenamed Katmai
Versions for SQL Server 2005
Description
MS SQL Server uses a variant of SQL called T-SQL, or Transact-SQL, an implementation of SQL-92 (the ISO standard for SQL, certified in 1992) with some extensions. T-SQL mainly adds additional syntax for use in stored procedures, and affects the syntax of transaction support. (Note that SQL standards require Atomic, Consistent, Isolated, Durable or "ACID" transactions.) MS SQL Server and Sybase/ASE both communicate over networks using an application-level protocol called Tabular Data Stream (TDS). The TDS protocol has also been implemented by the FreeTDS project [2] in order to allow more kinds of client applications to communicate with MS SQL Server and Sybase databases. MS SQL Server also supports Open Database Connectivity (ODBC). The latest release SQL Server 2005 [3] also supports the ability to deliver client connectivity via the Web Services SOAP[4] protocol. This allows non-Windows Clients to communicate cross platform with SQL Server. Microsoft has also released a certified JDBC[5]> driver to let JAVA [6] Applications like BEA[7] and IBM WebSphere[8] communicate with Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and 2005.
SQL Server Express Edition
Formerly known as MSDE, Microsoft SQL Server Express is Microsoft's freely-downloadable and distributable version of its database engine that offers a database solution specifically targeted for embedded and smaller-scale applications. This version of the server contains some technical restrictions that make it unsuited for large-scale or production deployments; however, unlike its predecessor MSDE, there is no concurrent workload governor, which limited "performance if the database engine receives more work than is typical of a small number of users." [9]
Most notable of the restrictions:
- Maximum database size of 4 GB per database (compared to 2 GB in the former MSDE). The 4 GB limit is per database (log files excluded) and can be extended in some scenarios through the use of multiple interconnected databases.
- Hardware utilization limits:
- Single CPU
- 1 GB of RAM.
- Absence of SQL Server Agent Service
Although its predecessor, MSDE, was virtually devoid of basic GUI management tools, the 2005 Express version now includes several GUI tools for database management. Among these tools are:
- SQL Server Configuration Manager
- SQL Server Management Studio Express
- SQL Server Surface Area Configuration tool
- SQL Server Business Intelligence Development Studio.
A relatively late addition to the SQL Server Express product line is a reduced functionality version of SQL Server Reporting Services. Although the addition of Reporting Services significantly expands the "out-of-the-box" functionality of the SQL Server Express product, enterprise features such as Analysis Services, Data Transformation Services, and Notification Services are only available in the "Standard" version and above.
The slammer worm
A computer worm, named the SQL slammer worm, which exploited a previously patched security vulnerability in MS SQL 2000 was discovered in January 2003, and caused a large Internet slowdown on January 24.
Competition
Template:Factual Microsoft's primary competition includes Oracle and IBM DB2. Microsoft is currently ranked third in revenue marketshare among these major database vendors considering all platforms, though it sells more than its competitors considering only the Windows market.[10]
A major competitive differentiator is that SQL Server runs solely on Microsoft Windows-based operating systems. As a result, the relative strength and viability of SQL Server is directly affected by the relative strengths and weaknesses of the Microsoft platform, unlike Oracle and DB2 which both run on numerous platforms, including Windows and Linux. IBM tends to fare decently in the mid-range market and dominates the high-end market, particularly with its z/OS version of the DB2 database, which is preeminent for enterprise OLTP[citation needed]. However, many large organizations run two or even all three of these vendors' products in some combination. Other commercial competitors include Teradata, Sybase, IBM Informix, and Adabas.
Recently, open source cross-platform databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL and Firebird have further increased the competition among database vendors. These databases offer no-cost and low-cost licensing and, for many clients, offer enough functionality for their database needs, often also including commercial offerings directed at business users such as MySQL Enterprise. Microsoft has offered a free version of its database (SQL Server Express Edition in version 2005, MSDE in prior versions). Both Oracle and IBM now also offer free versions of their databases — 10g Express Edition and DB2 Express-C, respectively.
Future development
According to Microsoft[11], future versions of SQL Server aim to make data management self-tuning, self organizing, and self maintaining with the introduction of SQL Server Always On technologies, to provide near-zero downtime. Microsoft also aims to intrinsically support many digital data formats, including pictures, audio, video and other multimedia data. In current versions, such multimedia data can be stored as BLOBs (binary large objects), but they are generic bitstreams. Intrinsic awareness of multimedia data will allow specialized functions to be performed on them. Better support for unstructured and semi-structured data is planned as well.
Companion products
See also
References
Further reading
- Kalen Delaney (2001). "Inside SQL Server 2000". Microsoft Press. ISBN 0-7356-0998-5.
- Scalability Experts (2005) "SQL Server 2005 : Changing the Paradigm". Sams ISBN 0-6723-2778-3
- Thomas Rizzo, Adam Machanic, et al (2005) "Pro SQL Server 2005". Apress ISBN 1-59059-477-0
- Fernando Guerrero, Carlos Eduardo Rojas (2001). "Sql Server Programming By Example", QUE ISBN 0-7897-2449-9
- Tony Bain, et al (2004) "Beginning SQL Server 2000 DBA From Novice to Professional", aPress ISBN 1-59059-293-X