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In Chapter 2, you saw the benefits that the 64-bit x64 platform provides for the SQL Server relational database engine. As you might expect, the advantages of the x64 architecture don’t stop there. SQL Server 2005 is much more than a relational database engine. Since the release of SQL Server 7 in1998, SQL Server has been an industry leader in the Business Intelligence (BI) market. Microsoft was the first major relational database vendor to include BI capabilities in its products (rather than offering them as additional-cost add-ins). This inclusion helped make BI a widely available and affordable technology.
BI and its related online analytical processing (OLAP) and reporting technologies have moved from being niche technologies found only in the largest of enterprises into the mainstream of corporate computing. One of the driving factors behind the rapid growth of BI is its ability to let organizations derive more meaningful information from the growing stores of data and information that they possess. SQL Server 2005 extends Microsoft’s BI position in the database industry by providing an end-to-end BI stack that consists of Analysis Services, Integration Services, Reporting Services, and Data Mining.
Not long ago, 64-bit systems were a future technology reserved almost exclusively for high-end enterprise implementations. The widespread adoption of the 64-bit capabilities for x86 architecture (referred to as x64) by both computer manufacturers and Microsoft, however, dramatically changed the computing landscape. Now, 64-bit systems are a reality for both high-end enterprise systems and small-to-midsized businesses (SMBs). The 64-bit technology is quickly becoming the standard for mainstream computing. Microsoft foresees significant adoption of 64-bit-capable systems. In his presentation at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference (WinHEC) 2005, Microsoft Chairman and Chief Software Architect Bill Gates predicted that by the end of 2006, the majority of server processors and more than half of the processors sold for client PCs will support 64-bit computing. Gates is on the mark with his predictions about the adoption of 64-bit technology. In fact, it’s difficult to find a mainstream server system that doesn’t provide 64-bit support. The convergence of two separate but parallel computing trends has sparked the rapid move to 64-bit technology: the emergence of the 64-bit x64 technology and the need for a more powerful computing platform that can handle high-powered tasks such as server consolidation, scale-up computing, and virtualization. Relational database management system (RDBMS) servers, such as Microsoft SQL Server, are prime examples of applications that can derive major benefits in moving from 32-bit systems to 64-bit systems. In Moving SQL Server to the x64 Platform, you’ll learn about the new 64-bit x64 technology. Chapter 1 discusses the limitations of current 32-bit systems, then presents the different 64-bit architectures. You’ll get a more detailed looked at the x64 architecture that’s on its way to becoming the standard for the next generation of both server and desktop systems. Subsequent chapters will show how SQL Server and its various subsystems, such as Analysis Services, Integration Services, and Reporting Services, derive specific benefits from running on the 64-bit platform. In addition, you’ll learn about the impact of several closely related technologies (e.g., dual-core processors) and about the implications of different 64-bit systems’ power consumption and other requirements.