Understanding SQL Server 2005 Features
Understanding SQL Server 2005 Features
For this blog, you must have some experience on Microsoft SQL Server 7.0 or SQL Server 2000 Architecture.
Under the new features of this 2005 Architecture of Microsoft SQL Server are:
1.) Notification Services
2.) Reporting Services
3.) Native HTTP Support
Notification Services: (Which one of the features I like most)
Notification Services provides a framework for developing subscription-based applications through which users are notified about events.
Instances
A Notification Services instance is defined in an XML configuration file and implemented as a Microsoft Windows® service that stores its data in a SQL Server database. The instance stores subscriber data that can be shared across all of its applications, and controls the generation and delivery of notifications. The Windows service for an instance is named NS$instance_name and the database associated with the instance is named instance_nameNSMain
ApplicationsEach instance can control multiple applications. An application is defined in an XML application definition file (ADF) and implemented as a database named instance_nameNSapplication_name. Applications store information about events, subscriptions, and notifications.
The main features of Notification Services in SQL Server 2005 are described in the following table.
|
|
| Feature |
Description |
| Subscription Management Objects |
An API for building subscription management applications through which users can subscribe to events. |
| Event APIs |
Four ways for event sources to enter event information into the system: a managed API, a COM-based API, an XML file–based API, and a stored procedure–based API. |
| Set-based subscription processing |
Set-based operations to relate events to subscriptions and generate notifications. This approach means that your notification application can use the performance and scalability of the SQL Server relational database engine. |
| Notification formatting and delivery |
Extensible Stylesheet Language (XSL) to format notifications for multiple device types, and deliver them using an extensible delivery channel architecture. This allows notifications to be delivered to virtually any kind of device using any protocol. |
Reporting Services:
You can use Reporting Services to create reports from SQL Server data. Reports can be designed using the Visual Studio .NET–based Report Designer and accessed through an IIS Web site.
The main features of Reporting Services
Reporting Authority- You can use the Report Designer in the Business Intelligence Development Studio to create a report. Query builders make it easy to define the data sets on which your reports are based, and you can use the graphical design environment to create many kinds of reports, including tabular, matrix, or free-form reports.
Report Management- Reporting Services includes the Report Manager tool, which you can use to manage report security, schedule report generation and distribution, and manage report history.
Report Execution- Reports are executed in a loosely coupled fashion, taking advantage of parallel query processing for performance. Reports are compiled as .NET assemblies for greater performance.
Report Access- Users can access reports through a dedicated IIS Web site, from which reports can be exported in a number of commonly used formats, such as HTML and PDF. Additionally, reports can be delivered to users via e-mail through a subscription.
Overview of Native HTTP Support:
When running on Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003, SQL Server 2005 can natively respond to HTTP requests without the need for Web server software such as Internet Information Services (IIS). This makes it simpler to implement Web services based on a SQL Server database.
Managing HTTP endpointsTo enable HTTP requests to be handled natively by SQL Server, you must create one or more HTTP endpoints using the CREATE ENDPOINT statement. The CREATE ENDPOINT statement is used to:
Register a URL with http.sys so that requests to that URL are redirected to SQL Server. Specify the TCP ports on which requests will be accepted. Specify an authentication mechanism for the endpoint. You can authenticate clients by using basic, digest, or integrated authentication methods. Set the initial state (stopped or started) of the endpoint. By default, endpoints are created in a stopped state. To start an endpoint after it has been created, you must use the ALTER ENDPOINT statement to set the state to started.Specify client Internet Protocol (IP) address limitations to control access to the endpoint.Create one or more Web methods that users can call through this endpoint. Web methods can be stored procedures or user-defined functions.Specify whether ad hoc query batches can be executed using this endpoint.
After an HTTP endpoint has been created, you can control access to the endpoint by granting, revoking, or denying CONNECT permission to logins.
