The architecture of Microsoft MSSQL Server is mainly divided into three components:

1. SQLOS: which implements the basic services required by MS SQL Server, including thread scheduling, I/O stat management and memory management.

2. Relational Engine: which implements the relational database components including support for databases, tables, queries and stored procedures as well as implementing the type system.

3. Protocol Layer: which exposes the MS SQL Server functionality.

SQLOS

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Group Policy is a core part of Microsoft’s IntelliMirror technology.You can use Group Policy to manage all aspects of the Server environment for Windows Server, including Registry settings, software installation, scripts, security settings, and so on.The possibilities of what can be done with Group Policy are almost limitless.With VBScript or Jscript, you can write entire applications to execute via Group Policy.You can install software automatically across the network and apply patches to applications. When deciding on the Group Policies you plan to enforce on your network, you should keep in mind that the more policies applied, the more network traffic, and hence the longer it could take for users to log onto the network. Group policies are stored in Active Directory as Group Policy Objects (GPO).These objects are the instructions for the management task to perform. Group Policy is implemented in four ways:

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EFS Encryption

EFS can be used to encrypt SQL Server 2005 data files and folders. EFS is supported on Windows 2000 and later operating systems with New Technology File Systems (NTFS) formatted drives. EFS uses a combination of symmetric and asymmetric methods to provide transparent SQL Server 2005 data encryption. On Windows 2003 Server and newer operating systems, EFS by default creates a random File Encryption Key, which is a 256-bit AES key to perform data encryption.The File Encryption Key is then itself encrypted with the user’s public key and stored within the encrypted file or folder.

To encrypt SQL Server 2005 data files and folders using EFS, follow these steps:

1. Stop the SQL Server service.
2. Log out and log in using the SQL Server service account credentials.
3. Right-click on the file or folder to be encrypted and select Properties | General Tab | Advanced.

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Using Pass Phrases to Encrypt Data

A password that allows for spaces can be referred to as a pass phrase. The benefit of pass phrases is that you can make them meaningful and easy to remember. Instead of creating and managing encryption keys or certificates in your database server, you can encrypt data using only a pass phrase.The ENCRYPTBYPASSPHRASE statement uses the supplied pass phrase to generate a symmetric key, which is used to perform the actual data encryption. No key management is required, as the key will be recreated each time the same pass phrase is supplied.The common syntax of the ENCRYPTBYPASSPHRASE statement is as follows:

ENCRYPTBYPASSPHRASE ('PASSPHRASE', 'PLAINTEXT')

In this statement, PASSPHRASE specifies the data string to be used to derive an encryption key. PLAINTEXT specifies the data to be encrypted. No permissions are required to run the ENCRYPTBYPASSPHRASE statement.

The following syntax encrypts the string using the supplied pass phrase:

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