Let us continue our question of the day series with day twenty-six.

What are roles in SQL Server?

A role is essentially a group of users similar to active directory groups used by SQL Server for security purposes.  In other words, you can grant permissions to the role and place users in the roles and they will inherit the permission for as long as they are placed inside of the role.  There are also fixed roles that have pre-defined permissions established.

Enjoy!