To help you understand the information presented in this manual, we begin by defining some terms you will encounter while installing SQL Server. This is a brief list of definitions and is not intended to serve as a comprehensive SQL Server glossary. Rather, it is provided as a quick reference to help you understand some of the terms that are discussed in this manual. You may find it useful to refer back to this list of definitions as you read through the other chapters of this manual.
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application log
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The Windows NT application log is a special file maintained by Windows NT. It can be viewed only by using the Windows NT Event Viewer. When SQL Server is configured to use the Windows NT application log, each SQL Server session writes new events to that log. Unlike the SQL Server error log, a new application log is not created each time you start SQL Server.
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auto-start options
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By default, the setup program installs SQL Server and SQL Executive to run as manually started Windows NT services. Optionally, each can be configured to run as an automatically started service. For each service, this choice is called the auto-start option.
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backup domain controller
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BDC. In a Windows NT domain, a BDC is a server that receives a copy of the domain's security database from the primary domain controller and shares the user login authentication load.
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Books Online
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An online version of the SQL Server documentation set, SQL Server Books Online is an installation option presented by the setup program. If you choose this option, the SQL Server Books Online icon is added to the Microsoft SQL Server 6.0 program group. By choosing that icon, you can display SQL Server user documentation on your computer screen.
A particular benefit of Books Online is the full text search capability, which allows you to very rapidly search a book or a set of books for all instances of a word or phrase.
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character set
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The selected character set determines the types of characters that SQL Server recognizes in the databases. A character set is a set of 256 letters, numbers, and symbols specific to a country or a language. The printable characters of the first 128 values are the same for all character sets. The last 128 characters, sometimes referred to as extended characters, are different.
During installation it is critical that you select the appropriate character set. If you need to change it later, you will need to rebuild your databases and reload your data.
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client
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A front-end application that uses the services provided by a server. The computer that hosts the application is often referred to as the client computer.
SQL Server client software enables computers to connect to a SQL Server over the network.
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database
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A collection of information, data tables, and other objects that are organized and presented to serve a specific purpose, such as facilitation of searching, sorting, and recombination of data. Databases are stored on devices.
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device
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A file that databases are stored in. One database can be stored on several devices. SQL Server uses two types of devices: database devices, which store databases, and dump devices, which store backups of a database.
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domain
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In Windows NT, a domain is a collection of computers that are grouped for viewing and administrative purposes and that share a common security database. The security database is maintained on the primary domain controller, with copies on backup domain controllers.
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error log
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The SQL Server error log records information from SQL Server. You can view the error log by using SQL Enterprise Manager or any text editor. When SQL Server is configured to use its error log, each SQL Server session creates a new log, and SQL Server retains the last six logs created.
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FAT file system
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A method for managing disk storage. A FAT (file allocation table) file system is used by an operating system (for example, by the MS-DOS® operating system) to keep track of the status of various segments of disk space used for file storage.
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file system
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The portion of an operating system that translates requests for file operations from an application program into low-level, sector-oriented tasks that can be understood by the drivers that control the disk drives.
SQL Server is usually installed on disk drives that are formatted for the NTFS or FAT file systems. It can be installed on a compressed NTFS volume, but at a performance penalty.
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install
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To set up the software to work with the computer.
An installation differs from an upgrade in that an installation provides a fresh version of the software that uses default (or user-set) configuration settings. Pre-existing user databases and data, security information, and configuration settings (if any) are not retained.
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installation path
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For SQL Server, the installation path is the drive and directory into which the SQL Server files will be copied. The default is C:\SQL60, although this can be set by the user who is installing.
After installation, this specific drive and directory are often referred to as the SQL Server root directory.
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master database
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The master database controls the user databases and the operation of SQL Server as a whole. It is automatically installed with SQL Server. It keeps track of such things as user accounts, remote user accounts, remote servers that this server can interact with, ongoing processes, the configurable environment variables, system error messages, the databases on SQL Server, the storage space allocated to each database, the tapes and disks available on the system, and the active locks.
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MASTER device
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The device that is automatically installed with SQL Server and is used to store the master, model, and tempdb system databases and transaction logs, and the pubs sample database and transaction log. The filename of the MASTER device is MASTER.DAT.
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Net-Library
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A library of functions for managing network connections and routing. Each Net-Library allows a computer to use a particular network protocol.
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network adapter
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An expansion card or other physical device used to connect a computer to a local area network.
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NTFS
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An advanced method for managing disk storage, designed for use specifically with the Windows NT operating system. It supports long file names (but maintains shorter file names for compatibility with computers running operating systems using the FAT file system). It also provides full security for access control, file system recovery, and extremely large storage media. It supports object oriented applications by treating all files as objects with user- and system-defined attributes.
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primary domain controller
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PDC. In a Windows NT domain, a PDC is a server that maintains the domain's security database and authenticates user logons. It also provides a copy of the domain's security database to backup domain controllers (BDCs), which share the user login authentication load.
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pubs database
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A sample database provided with Microsoft SQL Server. The pubs database can be helpful when you are learning to use SQL Server 6.0. All Microsoft SQL Server 6.0 documentation uses the pubs sample database as the basis for examples.
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remote server
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A SQL Server that can be accessed through a user's local server. The setup program can install, upgrade, or configure remote servers.
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script
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A collection of statements used to create database objects. Transact SQL scripts are saved as files, usually ending with the SQL filename extension.
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server
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A computer on a local-area network (LAN) that controls access to resources such as files, printers, and communication devices.
When you use SQL Server, you can use only servers that are designated SQL Server servers (that have the SQL Server server software installed).
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setup
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SETUP.EXE is the program that you run to install, upgrade, or reconfigure SQL Server servers or clients. Different setup programs are supplied for each server hardware platform and¾for Microsoft clients¾each operating system.
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setup initialization file
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A text file, using regular Windows .INI file format, that stores configuration information and allows SQL Server 6.0 to be installed without a user having to be present to respond to prompts for information from the setup program.
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sort order
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A sort order is a set of rules that determines how SQL Server collates and presents data in response to database queries. The sort order determines the order in which data is presented in response to SQL Server statements involving GROUP BY, ORDER BY, and DISTINCT. The sort order also determines how certain queries are resolved, such as queries involving WHERE and DISTINCT.
During installation it is critical that you select the appropriate sort order. If you later need to change it, you will need to rebuild your databases and reload your data.
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SQL Enterprise Manager
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A graphical application that allows for easy enterprise-wide configuration and management of SQL Server and SQL Server objects. SQL Enterprise Manager provides a powerful scheduling engine, administrator alert capability, drag-and-drop control operations across multiple servers, and a built-in replication management interface. You can also use SQL Enterprise Manager to manage logins, permissions, and users; create scripts; manage devices and databases; back up databases and transaction logs; and manage tables, views, stored procedures, triggers, indexes, rules, defaults, and user-defined datatypes.
SQL Enterprise Manager is installed by the setup program as part of the server software on Windows NT-based computers, and as part of the client software on Windows NT- and Microsoft® Windows 95™-based computers. Because SQL Enterprise Manager is a 32-bit application, it cannot be installed on computers running 16-bit operating systems.
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SQL Executive
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A component of SQL Enterprise Manager, SQL Executive provides powerful scheduling capabilities that enable replication and additionally allow you to schedule other SQL Server events, including backups, DBCC operations, and other administrative maintenance tasks. SQL Executive replaces SQL Monitor, which was included in earlier releases of SQL Server.
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SQL Server
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A relational database management system that is capable¾depending on your application and hardware environment¾of supporting hundreds of simultaneous users.
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standalone installation
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An installation of SQL Server on a computer that is not connected to a network.
A standalone installation may be used to install SQL Server on a computer that will soon be but is not yet connected to a network (if for example, it does not yet have a network adapter card installed.) Or a standalone installation might be performed on a computer that is intended as a development system that will have no need for network connections.
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transaction log
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A reserved area of the database in which a log of all changes to the database is recorded. It is stored in the syslogs system table and is used by SQL Server during automatic recovery.
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unattended installation
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Unattended installation allows you to install SQL Server 6.0 without having to respond to prompts for information from the setup program. Instead, you create an initialization file, save the initialization file on a storage device accessible to the computer that will be set up, and start setup using some required options. During setup the configuration parameters are read from the initialization file.
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upgrade
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To change to a newer, usually more powerful and sophisticated version of the software. An upgrade differs from an installation in that an upgrade leaves in place existing user databases and data, security information, and many (but not necessarily all) configuration settings.