SQL Server 2000 introduces a new OPENROWSET function you can use to specify ad-hoc connection information in a distributed query. SQL Server 2000 also specifies methods that OLE DB providers can use to report the level of SQL syntax supported by the provider and statistics on the distribution of key values in the data source. The distributed query optimizer can then use this information to reduce the amount of data that has to be sent from the OLE DB data source. SQL Server 2000 delegates more SQL operations to OLE DB data sources than previous versions of SQL Server. Distributed queries also support the other functions introduced in SQL Server 2000, such as multiple instances, mixing columns with different collations in result sets, and the new bigint and sql_variant data types. For more information, see Distributed Query Architecture.

Kerberos and Security Delegation

SQL Server 2000 uses Kerberos to support mutual authentication between the client and the server, as well as the ability to pass a client’s security credentials between computers so that work on a remote server can proceed using the credentials of the impersonated client. With Windows 2000, SQL Server 2000 uses Kerberos and delegation to support both integrated authentication as well as SQL Server logins. For more information, see Information to come later.

Backup and Restore Enhancements

SQL Server 2000 introduces a new, more easily understood model for specifying backup and restore options. The new model makes it more clear that you are balancing increased or decreased exposure to loosing work against the performance and log space requirements of different plans. SQL Server 2000 introduces support for recovery to specific points of work using named log marks in the transaction log, and the ability to do partial database restores. For more information, see Backup/Restore Architecture.

Scalability Enhancements for Utility Operations

SQL Server 2000 enhancements for utility operations include faster differential backups, parallel database consistency checking (DBCC), and parallel scanning. Differential backups can now be completed in a time that is proportional to the amount of data changed since the last full backup. DBCC can be run without taking shared table locks while scanning tables, thereby enabling them to be run concurrently with update activity on tables. Additionally, DBCC now takes advantage of multiple processors, thus enabling near-linear gain in performance in relation to the number of CPUs (provided that I/O is not a bottleneck). For more information, see Information to come later.

Graphical Administration Enhancements

Microsoft SQL Server 2000 introduces these graphical administration improvements and new features:

Log Shipping

Log shipping allows the transaction logs from a source database to be constantly backed up and loaded into a target database on another server. This is useful for maintaining a warm standby server, or for offloading query processing from the source server to a read-only destination server. For more information, see Log Shipping.

New Performance Analyzer Tool

Performance Analyzer is a new SQL Server Enterprise Manager component that can be used to analyze and tune server performance. A cube is built from the trace data from a server, and any application that can read an OLAP cube can be used to view and analyze the performance data. For more information, see Monitoring with Performance Analyzer.

SQL Server Profiler Enhancements

SQL Server Profiler now supports size-based and time-based traces, and includes new events for Data File Auto Grow, Data File Auto Shrink, Log File Auto Grow, Log File Auto Shrink, Show Plan All, Show Plan Statistics, and Show Plan Text. For more information, see Monitoring with SQL Server Profiler.

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