Sql server® 2012 t-sql fundamentals

SQL Server Architecture

This section will introduce you to the SQL Server architecture, the flavors of the product, the entities 

involved—SQL Server instances, databases, schemas, and database objects—and the purpose of each 

entity. 

The aBC Flavors of SQL Server

For many years, SQL Server was available only in one flavor—a box, or on-premises, flavor. More re-

cently, Microsoft decided to offer multiple flavors to allow customers to choose the one that best suits 

their needs. At the date of this writing, Microsoft provides three main flavors of SQL Server that are 

internally referred to as the ABC flavors: A for Appliance, B for Box, and C for Cloud.

appliance

The idea behind the appliance flavor is to provide a complete solution including hardware, software, 

and services. The appliance is hosted locally at the customer site. There are several appliances avail-

able today, one of which is Parallel Data Warehouse (PDW). Microsoft partners with hardware vendors 

such as Dell and HP to provide the appliance offering. Experts from Microsoft and the hardware 

vendor handle the performance, security, and availability aspects for the customer. 

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