Hosting Server SQL

SQL Server is a database server from Microsoft.  In 2005, Microsoft released a an updated version of its server hosting program that was superior to SQL Server 2000.  The new version could manage XML data and other relational data.  Database columns or literals could also be used in queries.  Database connections could also be used for several purposes with a method known as multiple active results sets. 

SQL Server 2008 is the most current version of SQL Server.  The new version makes data management almost fully self sufficient which results in having almost no downtime.  2008 supports structured and semi-structured data like photos, videos and audio.  Data that is dependent on location now have date and time types.  In addition to that, any file on the system can be referenced using a File Stream program.  Searching for text is now available and helps manage files and makes performance a lot faster.  New compression features make scaling a lot easier.  Data can be transparently encrypted and backup data can be compressed. 

SQL Server 2008 has a number of features and improvements that make it better than any previous version available from Microsoft.  For those that want even more, SQL Server 2008 R2 is an add-on that adds additional features like master data management.  It can also support over 64 logical processors, which is a very good thing to have. 

Storing Data

Data is stored in a database.  SQL Server is capable of storing many data types.  These data types include Integer, Float, Char, Decimal, binary and others.  SQL Server lets users define composite types.  Stats can also be viewed in tables and other customized views.  Data is stored on files with certain extensions depending on what kind of file it is. 

Data that is stored in a database is broken up into numbered pages.  Each one of these pages is eight KB.  The pages each store metadata and have a 96-byte header.  Included in this metadata is the page number, the type of page it is, the amount of free space on the page the whatever object owns the page.  The type of page it is refers to the type of data stored in the page.  The space on the pages is managed in relation to an extent.  The extent is made up of eight pages.  An object in a database can span across all eight pages or it can share an extent with seven other objects.  A row of data in a database table has to be limited to one page and cannot span over to a second page.  If the data in a row cannot fit on a single page, it may be moved to another page.  

When data in a table is stored, the rows of the table are partitioned off.  Each row has its own single partition.  Partitions are used to create a cluster of data.  Rows in the partitions are also stored in a particular manner.  A user can determine how the rows of data are stored, including by their index values.  Rows are not sorted by index keys if unless they are in a cluster. 

There are an additional number of services available with Server SQLs.  These services include service brokers, replication services and analysis services.  Users will often have different reasons for using a hosting server SQL.  They will likely know what services they want or what services will most benefit them.  SQL servers are a great way to store and manage data.  With new features being added, there is always something that can be used.  It is only a matter of time before the next version of SQP Server is available.