Common Database Systems(Identify Solutions)

Lesson 3	Common database systems
Objective	Identify common database solutions.

Common Database Systems

One of the many important considerations you will have to make when planning your Web application is deciding which database management system you will use. As with most things, there are different database systems for different uses and with different capabilities.

Things to consider

You will need to consider the following when making your decision:

Number of expected users
Storage capacity
Cost
Efficiency
Will the site support a workgroup or corporate intranet?
Will the site be available to the global Internet?
Will the database system support your needs now and is it scaleable for the future?

Database systems

Listed below are descriptions of several popular database systems:

Database system	Description	Benefits	Limitations
Microsoft Access	Access is Microsoft's desktop database.	Easy to learn Easy to use Inexpensive Helps transition user to Microsoft SQL Server - a more sophisticated database system. Web enabled: offers Web application wizards and HTML converters.	Only suited for small to medium applications. Access doesn't scale as well as Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, and other enterprise database systems.
Microsoft SQL Server	Microsoft SQL Server is intended for the enterprise market.	Easy to set up Easy to use Version 7.0 is easier to administer. Runs on Windows 2000/XP	Performance and scalability haven't been as good as Oracle and other proven enterprise database products. Version 7 addresses theseissues but is still fairly new.
Oracle	Oracle is predominately used on Unix systems, but there is also a version for Windows.	Very powerful and supports large databases	Requires a great deal of expertise to use and manage. Expensive to operate in terms or hardware and support staff.