Separating a Database from a DBMS
As with most things in life, the terminology used casually around databases is often inaccurate with highly technical and specific terms being used to primarily refer to something different than what the term is meant to describe. But by digging into what a database truly is and how they almost universally work, and by building up correct semantics around the topic, we are going to build a nearly intrinsic understanding of database needs from a system administration perspective. This is often true, simply finding an accurate way to describe a thing allows us to understand it. Databases are not magic, but too often are treated as such.
The Database
We have to begin by asking what a database is. A database is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as a structured set of data held in a computer, especially one that is accessible in various ways. Well that does not tell us very much. But, in a way, it kind of does. Databases cannot be unstructured; this...