Intro
SQL Server 2000 is Microsoft's top-of-the-line database and analysis tool, designed for rapid delivery of scalable e-commerce, line-of-business and data warehousing solutions.
SQL Server 2000, officially released Sept. 26th, 2000, is one of numerous Microsoft Server efforts that have reached new levels of maturity this year. It, like several other MS titles with "2000" monikers, is finally reaching a performance level that places it near, or at at the front of its field, depending on whose numbers you look at. Predictably, Microsoft unabashedly maintained that SQL Server 2000 was "the world's fastest database," bar none. However, the software giant ran afoul of the Transaction Processing Council earlier this year, after quoting benchmark results that were found noncompliant by the TPC group that originally proclaimed SQL Server number one. That record, eWEEK Labs stated in early July, rightfully belongs to IBM's DB2 database server.
Before this embarrassing turn of events, Microsoft boasted the results of tests of the industry standard TPC DB benchmark. In the tests, a Compaq 12-way array of high-end PCs running Windows 2000 and SQL Server 2000 recent bested the top Unix-based system by a significant margin: 227,079 to 135,815. The beaten competitor was an IBM RISC-based RS 6000 running the acclaimed Oracle DB. In fact, the Oracle system came in third: the number two system in the test was a Compaq 8-way system also running SQL Server 2000. Microsoft, meanwhile, on July 27th, released published revised test results that it says not only address the TPC’s earlier concern but also exceed the earlier Microsoft-Compaq performance record and provide the industry’s best price/performance on clustered hardware.
Microsoft can claim other boasting rights, too. It says that SQL Server 2000-based solutions are "approximately one-fifth the cost of leading Unix-based solutions" (e.g., Oracle) and are in use in 13 of the top 20 enterprises today.
Microsoft now says the SQL Server 2000 code has been modified to include the feature that saw it disqualified from the original tests, and it was in the final release of the product when it "went gold" in the first week of August.
Web Enabled
SQL Server 2000, maintains Microsoft, is fully Web enabled and provides "end-to-end" support for XML. It allows URL access to databases, or to individual records within databases. It provides Windows 2000 Active Directory integration and, via a SQL Server for Windows CE edition, supports mobile and wireless devices.
Many of the improvements are under the hood, designed to improve performance. Notably, the server now provides so-called workload partitioning. This allows system administrators to split customers lists among multiple servers, greatly contributing to the server's ability to "scale out" to meet growing workloads. Another key feature designed to enhance reliability is an integrated failover function that will allow any of up to four nodes to handle the load in the case of a failure of one or more nodes. This virtually assures the database will be there when data is requested.
English Query
This new Project Wizard creates most entities and relationships for the developer automatically. Drag an entity onto the "canvas" and relationships are created automatically. Afterwards, the developer can run a "Model/Project" function (or simply press F5) and ask questions that can help refine the relationships -- to add, for example a term or relationship that the Project Wizard was not able to determine by itself. This Wizard does a pretty good job, however, as the tool uses the Microsoft Office Thesaurus to determine what various words mean. The new version is a dramatic step forward in ease and speed of development.
Other notable improvements:
Another intriguing feature is the ability for the developer to use the tool to build a web page containing the query engine automatically. With English Query, he or she can even expose the graphical Question Builder model to users. With this, end-users can see which queries they can ask by simply dragging one or more text blocks that represent the topics they want to know more about. The graphical engine displays relationships like a flow chart, and automatically phrases all the questions they may ask as hypertext links on the screen. that interest them.
It's a huge step forward in finally delivering a version of SQL Server that mere mortals can use. For more info on English Query and some examples of its power, visit www.microsoft.com/sql/eq
Pricing
Microsoft on June 16th, announced new "per processor" pricing for SQL Server 2000 and other server components in the company's DNA architecture. SQL Server 2000 will be priced at $US 4,999 for SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition and at $US 19,999 per processor for SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition.
Because of the broad SQL Server installed base, the company says SQL Server 2000 will also continue to offer Server Licenses and per-seat client access licenses (CALs) to customers using SQL Server in non-Web-based scenarios. In a per-seat environment, any user connected to SQL Server requires a CAL. A SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition Server License and five CALs will be priced at $US1,489. A SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition Server License and 25 CALs will be priced at $US 11,099.
Also Notable
A version of SQL Server 2000 optimized for small business users is due for release at the end of the year, in Microsoft's Small Business Server 2000, which will also include Windows 2000 and Exchange 2000, along with easy-to-manage setup wizards and an implementation of Microsoft's Internet Security and Acceleration Server, a $US1,499 (per processor) product formerly known as Proxy Server.
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