A SQL (Structured Query Language) server is a complete system designed for the purpose of database management, development and administration. With the help of the SQL server software, users are able to create and handle large relational or structural databases and develop applications that increase the effectiveness of their business.

Microsoft SQL Server has always been the best database platform. It provides secure storage and when it comes to working with large databases no other product can be compared with SQL server. It is also very closely related to Visual Studio and The office suite, so it's perfect for both database administrators and people who work with smaller and simpler databases

SQL servers have a large number of powerful tools that facilitate database maintenance, and administration. Among the most important ones are the Enterprise Manager, the Service Manager and the Query analyzer.

The Enterprise Manager allows its user to manage all the SQL server installations on a network and control all the databases from it. The Service Manager is responsible for controlling the processes and services of an SQL server Finally, the Query analyzer processes all the queries against any of the SQL databases.

The first version of Microsoft SQL server was released in 1993, the same time Windows NT 3.1 came out on the market, and after a few years, Microsoft SQL server 2000 was released. Compared to its previous versions, SQL server 2000 brings a lot of improvements and interesting new features, like XML support, functions that can be defined by the users themselves, indexed views and new data types. Also, some of the features that existed in the previous versions were enhanced in Microsoft SQL server 2000. Among the features that were enhanced you can find the full text search feature, the DBCC and. the backup and restore processes.

The last version of Microsoft SQL server was released in 2005 and it was, of course, called Microsoft SQL server 2005. This version is quite faster than SQL server 2000 and in the five years that passed since the first one was released a lot of new improvements and enhancements have been done. SQL server 2005 is not only a database administration tool, it also contains Messaging technologies, OLAP and Server integration services. It has a large variety of management tools integrated also and its security and database encryption systems have been seriously improved.

T-Sql has been implemented in order to handle errors better and the XML integration has gone deeper, now allowing XML to be stored in databases.

The new features of SQL 2005 are too many to enumerate, so we'll just take a look at a few of the most important ones:

Database mirroring - if a database fails, the application connects to another database from a secondary server, and transfer isn't interrupted Snapshots - if loss of data occurs or someone just made a mistake and modified some important data everything can be recovered because SQL server periodically takes 'snapshots' of the database and uses them to restore the data Support for 64 bit processors Business Intelligence features built into SQL Server Analysis Services and Reporting Services Significant security upgrades Enhanced encryption capabilities .NET CLR, and Visual Studio integration

..and many more other useful features

SQL server 2000 and SQL server 2005 are the best and the most complex database management tools on the market, and they can do much more than just managing and administrating databases, so they are the best choice if your company needs database administration and maintenance.

A good source for more information on how to install, customize, and make the most use of a SQL Server implementation, visit the Microsoft practice section of www.unitekconsulting.com.