How to service data for multiple customers

Hello All,

I do not know if this is the proper group to ask my question. Please do
direct me to the proper place.

I have a database server and would like to store data for multiple
groups of customers. The data is not shared amongst the groups but are
shared only amongst individuals composing a group.

One solution would be to lump all data from all groups into a single
instance of the database server accompanied with a tag that would
identify to which group each piece of information belongs.

Is there a better method to achieve what I want to do. Would my
solution present any difficulties in the future in terms of performance,
maintenance, scalability.

Are there other solutions that may be available to address my needs.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

ThanksCREATE TABLE CustomerGrps
(grp_nbr INTEGER NOT NULL, -- a code for the CHAID analysis??
customer_id ...,
..
PRIMARY KEY (grp_nbr, customer_id),
...)'|||Thanks for the input. I was looking towards a solution more from a DBA's
perspective rather than a programmer's perspective.

For example. In order to service multiple groups of customers. Would it be
better to have one sqlserver instance to service the need of all groups of
customers or would it be more advantageous to install multiple instances of
sqlserver, one instance for each group of customers.

thanks

"--CELKO--" <jcelko212@.earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:1121912144.832540.98870@.g49g2000cwa.googlegro ups.com...
> CREATE TABLE CustomerGrps
> (grp_nbr INTEGER NOT NULL, -- a code for the CHAID analysis??
> customer_id ...,
> ..
> PRIMARY KEY (grp_nbr, customer_id),
> ..)'|||If all the customers will have similar admin/support demands and expect
the same service levels then fewer servers/instances will likely mean
less work from a DBA perspective. In that case, the main considerations
will probably be around performance/scalability and any security
concerns the customer has about sharing the server with others.
Multiple instances on the same server don't offer anything much on the
scalability front but design the application such that it can support
multiple servers in case you need that capability in the future.

--
David Portas
SQL Server MVP
--