This chapter introduces you to the breadth of Microsoft SQL Server 2000 and sets the framework for understanding the environments in which the SQL Server 2000 installation you are administering might be running. The details of administering SQL Server 2000 and its databases are covered in the remaining chapters of this book. This chapter discusses the various components of SQL Server 2000 and the relationships between them. It discusses the editions in which SQL Server 2000 is available. It also introduces the various ways in which SQL Server 2000 is used, as well as how SQL Server 2000 integrates with the Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0 operating systems. Finally, it provides an overview of the relational database and security architecture of SQL Server 2000.