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Sybase SQL Server 11.0x
Technical Overview

Written by Tanya Knoop and the
Sybase SQL Server Technical Publications Group

About This Document

The goal of this document is to introduce all of SQL Server's most important aspects--from how it's built to how you manage it. This document presents a technical foundation for understanding why Sybase and SQL Server 11 are the industry solution for RDBMS computing needs. The chapters cover the following topics:

Chapter 1, ``Sybase System 11 Strategy,'' is an overview of the Sybase approach to distributed computing solutions and provides the technological context within which SQL Server fits.
Chapter 2, ``SQL Server Architecture,'' describes how SQL Server works from the inside and provides a foundation for understanding subsequent chapters.
Chapter 3, ``A High Performance DBMS Minimizes Contention,'' describes how SQL Server 11 addresses contention in the areas of caching, logging, and locking to achieve scalable high performance.
Chapter 4, ``A Multiprocessing Kernel,'' discusses kernel features including its cost-based optimizer, built-in disk I/O minimization, and network capabilities.
Chapter 5, ``Transact-SQL and Utilities,'' describes the extended SQL toolset that Transact-SQL and Sybase utilities provide for the SQL Server user.
Chapter 6, ``Monitoring Tools and Configuration Utilities,'' discusses how Sybase supports configuration and tuning with its monitoring, configuration, and performance servers and tools. It also lists commands, parameters, and other configuration and tuning utilities.
Chapter 7, ``Database Objects and the Data Dictionary,'' presents SQL Server's data definition. This includes system databases and tables, user databases and database objects, system and user-defined datatypes, and system procedures.
Chapter 8, ``Data Integrity and Consistency,'' describes a variety of Sybase tools and mechanisms that guarantee the integrity, consistency, and recoverability of your data.
Chapter 9, ``Managing Physical Resources,'' explains some of the methods and methodologies for fine tuning a SQL Server system based on the configuration of its physical resources. It also discusses mirroring and partitioning.
Chapter 10, ``Security and Auditing on SQL Server,'' describes the SQL Server security features that protect the system and its data against unauthorized use. It discusses the mechanisms available for identifying authorized users and for tracking the use of system resources.
Chapter 11, ``Backup and Recovery,'' discusses how SQL Server delivers high application availability by providing on-line maintenance, rapid recovery, and software-based fault tolerance, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

About Sybase System 11

Sybase® System 11 builds on years of real-world experience, adding state-of-the-art features to a mature and sophisticated Relational Database Management System (RDBMS) framework. This release stands out in many ways--both for Sybase and for the database industry as a whole. System 11 not only establishes industry-wide breakthroughs for scalable performance, but it also introduces many exciting features that you won't find anywhere else. System 11 is designed to accommodate applications as they evolve. Its workload-adaptable architecture is one of the most configurable offerings on the client-server database market today.

This document gives a comprehensive technical overview of SQL Server and the System 11 features that set it apart. Some of those features are:

Multiple data caches that reduce contention and improve scalability, allowing the system to adjust to changing requirements. (See ``The Data Cache and Named Caches''.)
A user log cache that can virtually eliminate contention on the log semaphore. (See ``Minimizing Log Contention with the User Log Cache''.)
Tunable block I/O and sequential prefetch that let the buffer manager use the right block size for the job, resulting in more efficient use of memory. (See ``Tunable Block I/O''.)
An off-peak data writer that takes advantage of idle cycles, speeding up checkpoints and reducing disk writes during transaction processing. (See ``The Off-peak Disk Writer''.)
Multiple network engines that provide scalability to 10,000 engines. (See ``Multiple Engines Handle Network Connections''.)
Table partitions that allow concurrent inserts and parallel loads, reducing last page contention and improving insert transaction throughput. (See ``Table Partitioning''.)
Lock promotion and read-through locks with isolation level 0 that yield high throughput. (See ``Isolation Level 0''.)
Complex query optimization that minimizes the number of logical I/Os and streamlines update-in-place operations. (See ``Cost-Based Optimizer''.)
Backup features that make it easy to convert your data from System 10 to System 11. (See Chapter 11, "Backup and Recovery".)

System 11 adds dozens of other new features which are discussed throughout this document and described in full in the SQL Server documentation set.

System 11 is High Performance and High Quality

SQL Server 11 performs well when configured as a uniprocessor or multiprocessor system. SQL Server's excellent scalability means that you can add more resources without changing your database software. For example, if you add CPUs to your production system, you can take advantage of that improved processing power and get even better performance simply by adjusting SQL Server configuration parameters.

SQL Server's record-breaking TPC-C benchmark results on industry-leading platforms (including Sun, Hewlett Packard, Digital Equipment Corp., and Compaq) demonstrate superior scalable performance. Numerous customer benchmarks validate these breakthroughs. In addition, Sybase is the first software developer in North America to receive ISO 9001 quality certification, ensuring that quality is built in to every SQL Server component.

What all this adds up to is a system that can give you a substantial competitive advantage. When you operate your business with RDBMS software, you need high performance, high efficiency, and dependability. That's why thousands of businesses choose Sybase SQL Server as the solution for their mission-critical applications.

Standards Compliance

Sybase is committed to providing open systems solutions based on widely accepted industry standards. Sybase leadership on client/server database technology and participation in standards-setting bodies has contributed to the direction that these standards have taken. However, Sybase does not hesitate to provide innovative solutions to solve customer problems where no standards exist.

Sybase System 11 inherits System 10 compliance, which met the ANSI/ISO SQL `89 (FIPS 127-1) National Institute of Standards and Technology compliance requirements and the ANSI/ISO SQL `92 entry level (FIPS 127-2). It can participate in X/OPEN X/A distributed transactions coordinated by a Transaction Processing Monitor (TP Monitor) such as CICS/6000 or Encina.

Secure SQL Server security features are designed to meet the Class C2 requirements for database management systems of the National Computer Security Center (NCSC) Trusted Computer System Evaluation Criteria (TCSEC), known as the "Orange Book." Secure SQL Server is designed to meet the TCSEC Class B1 requirements for database management systems as well as the International Information Technology Security Evaluation Criteria (ITSEC) Class F-B1/E3.

Global Applications

Sybase provides the following features to support international applications:

Alternate character sets, including:

Choice of binary or dictionary sort orders. Dictionary sort order can be case-insensitive; case- and accent-insensitive, or case-insensitive with preference (that is, sorting capital letters before their lowercase equivalents).
Alternate date, money, and number formats.
System error messages, user-defined error messages, and prompts in one of several specifiable languages.
The ability to specify a language other than English as the default language for the server, and to change the default for individual users, or for user's individual sessions.

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