Most of this chapter has focused on developing a physical database plan and creating a new database in SQL Server using the tools that are available. No discussion of creating a database is complete without reviewing the next step in the process: creating a database entity-relationship model. Recall that earlier in this chapter, we defined a logical database model that outlined the data entities (or objects) that will exist in our database. We used this model to determine how to best create our physical database to maximize read/write performance and fault tolerance. In reality, two groups of individuals would be involved in the initial design process: database administrators and database designers. Although it is common for both of these roles to fall on one group or even one individual, the knowledge and activities of each can be distinctly different, and each group requires some level of experience in the other role:

• Database administrators work with designers to develop a physical database design and implementation plan as well as continued monitoring and maintenance activities.
• Database designers are responsible for defining application requirements that include outlining the database entities, defining relationships between those entities, and modeling the actual database tables, views, and other objects.

Although the concepts and processes involved in entity-relationship diagramming or database modeling are the subject of many books unto themselves, here we briefly review the process and the database designer tool available in SQL Server so that you can begin to explore database...