A computer or special hardware that stores and retrieves data from a database. It is specially designed for database access and is coupled to the main (front-end) computer(s) by a high-speed channel. This contrasts with a database server, which is a computer in a {local area network} that holds a database. The database machine is tightly coupled to the main CPU, whereas the database server is loosely coupled via the network. [Example?] (2004-03-11)
