Here a Server, There a Server, Everywhere a Server, What�s a Database Server?

By Dr. Database

First, database servers store data. Second, they handle databases that are large. . (If you are interested only in word processing, games, multi-media or even spreadsheets, you don�t have to read further.)

These days, organizations do with desktop systems what they once did with mainframes. Datasets can easily be hundreds of thousands of records in files of tens of megabytes or more.

This reliance on desktop systems raises several concerns that formerly didn�t matter. (1) Can so much data fit through the data pipe fast enough? (What data pipe? Why does it have to?) (2) The applications on the desktop are critical to organization function. How can one ensure they keep working without going down?

Size does matter, at least when extracting data from a database. Extraction happens when you run a report, process a payroll, or do an invoice run, etc. Traditionally the data in the database, all of it, was carried from the file server where it resides to a desktop machine in which it was processed. It went through a network cable (a �data pipe�) and electronics, each of which is a bottleneck that limits performance.

The modern way is all that goes downstream to the desktop is the processing results, for formatting for display or printing. The processing is done in the machine called the database server.

The data reside as before in a central machine, but now are managed by a powerful piece of software called database server software. That software executes all the queries that select data, delete it, make global modifications (e.g., "all prices up 3%") or add records to it. Sensibly, the machine running the database server software is the database server.

Microsoft, Oracle, Informix, Sybase and others have refined database server software for more than a decade. The software can handle up to terabytes (millions of megabytes) of data for from two to thousands of users. These vendors and many others make software that can use database server "back ends" and provide the "front end." The front end is software to interact with the user by way of data entry screens, menu controls, and report formatting, etc., and can run on a desktop or remotely through a Web browser.

Database servers are helpful to improve performance, by sending only results "across the wire." Still, they also increase system reliability by helping to preserve data. They record, separate from the database itself, a detailed log of each change in the data, whether by a user or automatic processing by the database server itself. This enables cleaning up errors caused by power fluctuations, hard drive errors, etc. This logging is automatic; without someone having to remember to do a backup, and is not subject to failure of backup hardware.

If your organization has a large database used for mission-critical functions, you should consider investing in a database server. In many cases, you can obtain substantial benefits simply by transferring ("migrating") your existing data to a database server and continuing to use your current "front end."

"Dr. Database" is the penname of Phil Marcus.   Article copyright � 2000 Philip L. Marcus. All rights reserved.

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