SQL Server database storage engine (1)

Overview

Clever planning is the basis for implementing the relational database management system (RDBMS. It is the only way to meet the requirements for more storage capacity and faster information retrieval. To get the most out of Microsoft SQL Server 7.0, ask the organization to understand its key component-storage engine-both internal and external.

Introduction

A decade ago, it was not uncommon for database applications to be developed for months or years. At that time, when a database was created, everything was done in advance: the database size, plan, and number of users. Now, we can develop database applications in just a few weeks or months, and with the continuous evolution of usage, and before understanding all the problems, the applications have been put into production.

The rapid application of such mission-critical applications imposes severe requirements on the storage engine, requiring the storage engine to be highly reliable and a fast recovery system and automated management tool. Microsoft®SQL Server™7.0 is a scalable, reliable, and easy-to-use product that will provide a solid foundation for the design of applications in the next century.

Target

SQL Server 7.0 Data Engine has several important goals. A clear policy is to further improve ease of use, so that database technology applications can be widely used. Ideally, for end users, the database becomes completely transparent, and it is almost transparent to database managers.

Ease of use

Customers are looking for solutions to business problems. Most database solutions involve multiple costs and complexity issues. SQL Server versions 6.0 and 6.5 define the ease of use as a relational database management system (RDBMS) feature. SQL Server 7.0 brings this concept to the next level, firmly building the product into one of the database with minimal complexity, whether in terms of creation, management, or reference of commercial applications.

For the SQL Server 7.0 storage engine, ease of use includes many innovative features, including:

◆ No Database Administrator is required for standard operations. This makes the branch office automation, desktop and mobile database applications possible.
◆ Transparent server configuration, Database Consistency Checker (DBCC), index statistics, and database backup.
◆ The latest and simplified configuration options automatically adapt to the special requirements of the environment.

Scalability

Customers must protect their investments in commercial applications, and as organizations grow, databases must also grow to process more data, transactions, and users. SQL Server 7.0 published an independent database engine, which ranges from running Microsoft Windows®95 or Windows 98 OS laptop to run Microsoft Windows NT®Server, a high-byte symmetric multi-processor (SMP) Cluster of the enterprise operating system. All of these systems must maintain the security and reliability required by commercial systems with critical tasks.

The following storage engine features are the basis for Scalability:

◆ The new disk format and storage subsystem provide storage for small to large databases.
◆ Redesigned utility to effectively support TB-scale databases.
◆ High memory support reduces the need for frequent disk access.
◆ Dynamic row-level locking allows increasing concurrency, especially for online transaction processing (OLTP) applications.
◆ Supports unified coding standards and allows the use of applications in multiple countries.

Reliability

By replacing complex data structures and algorithms with a simple structure, SQL Server 7.0 eliminates many concurrency, scalability, and reliability issues. The new structure features better scalability, no concurrency issues, and lower complexity, so it is more reliable.

SQL Server 7.0 eliminates the need to run the DBCC check before each backup. The runtime check of key data structures makes the database more robust. SQL Server 7.0 does not recommend that you run DBCC before each backup so that DBCC is significantly faster.

Features

The following table summarizes the features of the storage engine of SQL Server 7.0.

Figure 1