Managing the Content and Configuration of Databases in Windows SharePoint Services

There are two types of databases involved in the operations of Windows SharePoint Services:

1. One database for storing data of one or multiple websites (content) using Windows SharePoint Services.
2. Other database that holds the configuration information.

The configuration db is instrumental in configuration and helps the administration of all the websites that use WSS on a server. Whereas, the content databases hold the data of one or more WSS websites. It depends on the volume and the size of WSS websites supporting the server for WSS.

If you install WSS in your system, you’d have many content databases and just one database that holds the configuration. But if you consequently install SharePoint Portal Server, it wouldn’t use any of those databases but 3 other ie. Portalname_prof,Portalname_serv and Portalname_site, are created with the installation of SharePoint Portal Server which inturn updatethe configuration database that was created previously with the installation of WSS.