Remote Database Servers
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Remote database servers usually reside on a remote machine. They use Structured Query Language (SQL) to enable clients to access the data. Because of this, they are sometimes called SQL servers. (Another name is Remote Database Management system, or RDBMS.)
Remote database servers are designed for access by several users at the same time. Instead of a file-based locking system such as those employed by local databases, they provide more sophisticated multi-user support, based on transactions.
Remote database servers hold more data than local databases. Sometimes, the data from a remote database server does not even reside on a single machine, but is distributed over several servers.
Applications that use remote database servers are called two-tiered applications or multi-tiered applications because the application and the database operate on independent systems (or tiers).