Microsoft® SQL Server® 2012 Bible

15

CHAPTER

2

Data Architecture

IN THIS CHAPTER

Understanding Pragmatic Data Architecture

Evaluating Six Objectives of Information Architecture

Designing a Performance Framework

Using Advanced Scalability Options

Y

ou can tell by looking at a building whether there’s elegance to the architecture, but

architecture is more than just good looks. Architecture brings together materials, founda-

tions, and standards. In the same way, data architecture is the study to defi ne what a good

database is and how you can build a good database. That’s why data architecture is more than

just data modeling, more than just server confi guration, and more than just a collection of tips

and tricks.

Data architecture is the overarching design of the database, how the database should be devel-

oped and implemented, and how it interacts with other software. In this sense, data architec-

ture can be related to the architecture of a home, a factory, or a skyscraper. Data architecture is

defi ned by the Information Architecture Principle and the six attributes by which every database

can be measured.

Enterprise data architecture extends the basic ideas of designing a single database to include

designing which types of databases serve which needs within the organization; how those

databases share resources; and how they communicate with one another and other software. In

this sense, enterprise data architecture is community planning or zoning, and is concerned with

applying the best database meta-patterns (for example, relational OTLP database, object-oriented

database, and multidimensional) to an organization’s various needs.

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