SQL Server 2005 is capable of managing vast amounts of data and processing it at lightning speeds.  The key to success, however, is in knowing how to architect, configure, design and develop a system that fulfils its potential.  Heather Denny found out how in this interview with Keith Smart, Intrinsica’s Project Director.

Keith:         

We had already created a system that managed relatively small amounts of data but feared that it might become a victim of its own success as the anticipated number of users would increase from 50 to 3000 within 3 years.

Heather:    

So the need was to provide a database that held and processed much more data?

Keith:        

Yes, scaling the application and architecture to meet such demands was a challenge.  We needed to improve and enhance it to support the vast increase in users and at the same time maintain reliability, integrity, security, resilience and performance.  You see, with each new user you increase the demands on the system, we were looking at increasing the number of transactions per second from approximately 300 to in excess of 20,000.  Essentially it came down to system throughput - therein lay the challenge.