Article Index
SQL Tutorial
Microsoft SQL Server
Stored In The Master Database?
Installing A Production Data Server
SQL Server B (Middle Of The Road)
SQL Commands
SQL BETWEEN
SQL Aggregate Functions
SQL ALIAS
SQL Subquery
SQL INTERSECT
Table Manipulation
SQL CREATE INDEX Statement
SQL PRIMARY KEY
SQL UPDATE Statement
Advanced SQL
SQL Running Totals

SQL Server A (The Base Level)

This server is a good candidate for a small-enterprise production server or a development server for a small to medium MIS department. Frequently such departments have grown into a need for client-server databases. This type of machine would also handle replication distribution tasks very well for a medium-sized enterprise.

One other point to consider for this type of server is using it in conjunctio with the Distributed Transaction Coordinator (DTC). With Microsoft's increasing focus on the distributed server environment, you should consider smaller servers in your plans. These servers can become valuable in supporting your needs. Also, by separating processes across multiple servers, you can include some legacy systems and save money.

With a little planning, even these smaller servers can be very useful in a production environment. From an audit trail or tracking standpoint to a centralized error-handling and task management scenario, these servers are becoming a part of many enterprises. Learning how to integrate them into your plans will make you look very good in the eyes of any management group trying to resolve growth issues at lower costs.

Note:
You may want to look for a network task server application to help manage your network resources and extend the life of your legacy hardware. Base-level server configurations would typically involve an i486-based server, possibly with 48 to 96MB of RAM. Even a smaller amount of RAM should not pose a real problem for most basic environments.

As long as the target system meets the minimum RAM requirements for Microsoft SQL Server, you will be fine. Keep in mind, however, that adding RAM to one of these servers can have a great impact on performance and should be one of the first things you consider. Also included in this group are slower Pentium machines. These lower-speed Pentium servers will surely become commonplace in smaller enterprises.

When specifying a server for your needs, always consider the environment and the clients your machine will be servicing. Most desktops and workstations being purchased today are Pentium 100MHz machines with 32MB RAM. If you have a dozen of these Pentium workstations picking on a poor little 486/66MHz server, your SQL server might not be able to keep up with the requests for data during peak periods.

When choosing a smaller server, you should keep the amount of available RAM in the server as high as possible. Keep the additional tasks of file, print, and gateway services off these types of servers. You may notice a slower connection time with these lighter-weight servers. However, once you have connected to one of these servers, you should get acceptable query response times under a light load. This is usually exactly the machine a small office or satellite location needs from a data server.

Example Configuration For Server A

Our example server in this class will be an Intel-based 486/100MHz processor with 48MB RAM. Since this is an entry-level server, we will use a single hard drive with 740MB of free space left after installing Windows NT. This server will run Windows NT Server 4.0 (version 3.51 would do fine as well). The file system for this server will be NTFS and not FAT for file-level security reasons. This server will be running on a TCP/IP network with a PCI network interface card and will run as a standalone server in a Microsoft Windows NT domain. Take special care during installation of the operating system to make the correct installation choices for the network. Accidentally installing NT servers as domain controllers is easy to do and should be avoided.

Note:
Avoid putting any additional overhead on this type of server. Starting an application or service can place a burden on the functionality of the operating system or Microsoft SQL Server and bring your data services to a crawl.