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SQL Server
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| Having data stored and managed in a central location offers several advantages:
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| · | Each data item is stored in a central location where all users can work with it.
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| Separate copies of the item are not stored on each client, which eliminates problems with users having to ensure they are all working with the same information.
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| · | Business and security rules can be defined one time on the server and enforced equally among all users.
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| · | A relational database server optimizes network traffic by returning only the data an application needs. For example, if an application working with a file server needs to display a list of the names of salesmen in Oregon, it must retrieve the entire employee file. If the application is working with a relational database server, it sends this command:
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| SELECT first_name, last_name
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| FROM employees
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| WHERE emp_title = 'Sales Representative'
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| AND emp_state = 'OR'
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| The relational database only sends back the names of the salesmen in Oregon, not all of the information about all employees.
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| · | Hardware costs can be minimized.
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| Because the data is not stored on each client, clients do not have to dedicate disk space to storing data. The clients also do not need the processing capacity to manage data locally, and the server does not need to dedicate processing power to displaying data.
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| The server can be configured to optimize the disk I/O capacities needed to retrieve data, and clients can be configured to optimize the formatting and display of data retrieved from the server.
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| The server can be stored in a relatively secure location and equipped with devices such as an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) more economically than fully protecting each client.
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| · | Maintenance tasks such as backing up and restoring data are simplified because they can focus on the central server.
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