More than a DBMS

If you look up SQL Server in Wikipedia you will see that it is defined as a Relational Database Management System (RDBMS). In fact that definition is not quite correct any more - like it's main competitors SQL Server has evolved into, in Microsoft's words, "an integrated, data management and analysis software that enables organizations to reliably manage mission-critical information..."

What comprises SQL Server 2005

SQL Server 2005 includes the following tools and services:

• Relational Database Engine: the SQL Server 2005 Database Engine is the core service that handles storing, processing and securing the data - it provides controlled access and transaction processing. The SQL Server database engine is touted as a secure, reliable and scalable database engine with support for structured and unstructured XML data.
• SQL Server Replication Services: provide data replication for distributed or mobile data processing applications. Using replication data can be distributed to different locations over local and wide area networks, internet etc.
• SQL Server Notification Services: provide for delivering personalized, timely information updates to a variety of connected devices.
• SQL Server Integration Services: SSIS is a platform for building data integration solutions including ETL (data extraction, transformation, and loading) packages for data warehousing. The SSIS represents a huge improvement compared to the SQL Server 2000 data transformation services (DTS).
• SQL Server Analysis Services: online analytical processing (OLAP) and data mining functionality for BI applications.
• SQL Server Reporting Services: SSRS allows for creating reports that pull data from a variety of data sources and for publishing such reports in various formats while centrally managing security and subscriptions.
• SQL Server Management Tools: SQL Server 2005 comes with a whole set of tools and command prompt utilities that allow programmers and database administrators to administer and configure SQL Server, design and test queries, provide diagnostic information etc.
• SQL Server Development Tools: the integration of SQL Server 2005 with Visual Studio provides for a highly productive and collaborative development environment.

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