Microsoft SQL Server 2000

Ever since the Sybase version of SQL (Standard Query Language implements a standardized way to ask questions of databases) Server was licensed to Microsoft in the mid-1990s, Microsoft has been working on a dream database and SQL Server 2000 is a result of a decade-plus effort in this evolution. An element of Microsoft's .NET strategy, it leverages SQL Server 7 and creates a complete database and analysis package. With a maximum database size of roughly 1,000,000 terabytes, and up to 16 simultaneous instances of the Server that can be run on a single computer, SQL Server 2000 is ready to sweep the depths of enterprise-level database management.SQL Server 2000 expands all its features on to the web. Remote users who are not connected to the Intranet can access data through HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol). OLAP cubes can be defined and stored on other analysis servers, even outside firewalls, and then linked with their source cubes.Apart from online retailers and web publishers, most businesses today have become web-centric and have set foot in to the domain of e-commerce quite willingly. SQL Server 2000 provides all the tools needed to create powerful e-commerce applications.

XML or extensible Markup Language, the language of e-commerce affords the generation and exchange of data between non-compatible technologies. The built-in XML support in SQL Server 2000 simplifies the integration of back-end systems and enables a seamless transfer of data even across firewalls. Easy to use and flexible XML support useful in validating purchase orders, entering information in to a database and exchanging it within heterogeneous systems ensures interconnectivity, interoperability and round-the-clock availability of data.Biz Talk Server and Microsoft Commerce Server 2000 part of Microsoft's .Net Enterprise Servers, when leveraged with SQL Server 2000 provide the all the infrastructure necessary for any e-business community.

Data mining helps users analyze data in voluminous relational databases and multidimensional OLAP cubes to uncover hidden patterns that can be used to predict future trends. SQL Server 2000 allows the use of clustered algorithms that help record data that exhibit similar and predictable characteristics into clusters. For example, you could record the behavior of a potential buyer and base your marketing campaign on these results. By using the OLAP's Action Wizard feature of Analysis Services, developers can use sophisticated rendering tools to integrate feedback loops and analyze the patterns based on specific factors.

Views can be indexed in SQL Server 2000(Views are another means of seeing data in a table). If you create an index on a view, SQL Server will not need to materialize it each time a viewer queries it, because the result is stored in a database. You can create a unique clustered index on a view and store it in the database. The Query Processor automatically recognizes and leverages these indexed views. Distributed partitioned views make tables on multiple servers look like one table. When tables in your database are extremely large, you can partition them by splitting them up and assigning them to multiple servers. The base tables can be updated directly through these views. This facilitates data location independence and makes data distribution and planning a lot easier.