MicroStrategy 7 Administrator Guide

2
Database Connectivity
CHAPTER 2
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Database connectivity topics include:
• Basic database structure
• Communicating with databases
• Centralized database access control
• Databases and MicroStrategy Intelligence Server
• Databases connection caching
Basic database structure
Different databases may use different terminology to describe their particular
architecture and organization, but for the most part, the basic terms and concepts
remain the same for all database servers. For more specific information on a
particular database, refer to the documentation provided by your database vendor.
The following terms and concepts are common to most databases:
• Database server: In general, database server software running on a particular
machine is referred to as a “database server.” Though it is technically possible
to have more than one database server running on a single machine, there is
usually only one per machine.
• Database: A database server can have one or more databases. This is the level
at which you usually interact with a database server.
• Table: A database typically contains one or more tables, although you can have
an empty database. Tables are where data is stored.
• System catalog: Every database server has the concept of a system catalog.
The catalog is a special set of tables, called system tables that contain detailed
information about the database server and the objects that it contains.
Information stored in a catalog includes:
◊ a list of all tables in the database server
◊ the number of rows and columns that each table contains
◊ whether or not a table has an index associated with it
◊ security access rules
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