The diagram above gives you an overview of what the SQL Server architecture looks like.

There are 3 important items here: 1. Database Engine: Performs the storage and query processing tasks 2. SQL Operating System: Works on I/O and other higher level management tasks 3. Interfaces: The External Protocols and SQL Operating System API connect the dots The Database engine is the heart of Microsoft SQL Server. Think of it as the engine of a motorcycle, it is the part where the real stuff happens. It contains 2 major components:

Query processor: Parses, optimizes and executes the query

Storage engine: Manages buffer and access methods Going with the motorcycle analogy, the SQL Operating System API and External Protocols are the wires and dials. They connect the speedometer to the front wheel,

show you the speed. This speed can then be reduced or increased using the accelerator. They simply provide ways to connect internal and external components together and manipulate the operations. The SQL Operating System is everything else, it is the frame, the seat, the tires. It is the structure that gets everything else going. You can have an engine and some wires, but unless you have the frame they will never mate together. Each one of these items will get a separate post of their own, some of them are too vast to cover in one article and will stretch significantly! I hope my analogies, if somewhat weird, help you understand the concept easily. See you next time when we dive deep inside the Database Engine!