Database Server Hosting

Organizing a company's information requires a database hosting service. Categorizing facts, updating information, correcting errors and deduplicating entries are time consuming tasks in and of themselves. But to lose changes or to have another employee write over them is sometimes disheartening and discouraging to a hard working, detail oriented employee. Not to mention commandeering a third party for their database server hosting can assist a company in retrieving the needed data in the form necessary to complete projects in a timely manner. Retrieval may seem to be an easy process, but requires very specific software applications. The facts stored on any given database are so numerous, and an employee's need may be minute enough that they are searching for a needle in a haystack. A service such as this can organize the haystack and code the needles in such a way to assist in their retrieval. Most database server hosting boils down to highly specialized software made up of a set of programs written to organize, code, retrieve and update information. After performing all of these actions, a database server hosting software deduplicates all the simultaneous entries from the various users using the server. Many times an organizational software like this can help users define the parameters of their query. A query is a request for information that matches certain criteria. Without these defined parameters, the users may get information they do not desire or find it impossible to find what they are looking for.

The company using the hosting service must decide how the information is to be organized. The hierarchical organizational model defines bits of information by which is more important and specific and which is least important and broader. Network models classify facts in networks and keep them pretty independent from each other. Organizing information based on how it relates to other information is called the relational style. The forth model is the object model, where the facts are the most separated from each other. A database hosting service stores this large amount of information on a server dedicated only to the function and accuracy of the stored information. In addition, hosting involves the creation and maintenance of the data structures, such as: objects, fields, files and records. Due to the large amount of information and detailed organizational structures, these types of servers work considerably slower than the speed of the main network computers. With such vast amounts of personal information, maintaining security and privacy is of utmost importance. "A prudent man concealeth knowledge: but the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness." (Proverbs 12:23) This is especially true of government or medical systems where privacy is of greatest importance. For this reason, database server hosting involves programming the software to only allow authorized people to view or change the information. This is usually accomplished by using passwords or codes. A password can allow a user to access all or only some of the entries in a given database using his password configuration. For example, accounts payable employees only need to have access to the other workers' payroll information, not their medical records or work history documentation. An integral piece of the puzzle is allowing multiple users to make changes while still guarding the integrity of the records.

A hosting service usually keeps the integrity by implementing a transaction mechanism that does not allow two individuals to change the same record at the same time. In this way, two employees can both be working on the database but not be allowed to change the same person's address record simultaneously. Also written within the software of database server hosting is a deduplicating mechanism, so there is only one specific entry per bundle of information. Most, if not all, of these packages offer this sort of guard against redundancy of material. Having all the redundancy and duplicates removed, the information entered and organized and the facts stored according to the best possible model for the office's needs, the software then constructs a query method and interface system in which to choose desired data. For example, a computer user at a rental agency may want to know how many males under the age of 35 live in rental apartments in Seattle, WA. In this scenario, the query would involve age, rental status, city and state. The interface specifically created for this corporation may display a page of drop down questions in which the user is simply asked to choose male or female, rent or buy, northwest or northeast United States and so on. This form of interface narrows down the options, prevents choosing unimportant data and puts a friendlier face on the database hosting service than pages and pages of tables. It makes retrieval quick and easy. Not to mention, the original data is never touched, so has a lesser chance of being altered. After the retrieval is complete, the user can then print or display the information in various formats supported by the software.

Typically, a database hosting service has more than one processor specifically dedicated to the database and its software. It is backed up and stored in hard form, such as: CDs, DVDs or disk arrays. Storing the data weekly or semiweekly is a protective measure, insuring the viability of the database in the case that the processors should malfunction. These many processors are hooked up to one or many high speed network connections. If there is a particularly large amount of information stored, a database system will also employ a hardware device called an accelerator. An accelerator does exactly what it sounds like it does. It speeds up the connection between the information processor and the network that houses the individual users' computers. So in this way, the company houses, organizes and displays a wealth of information for its clients and employees.

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