PostgreSQL (pronounced "postgres") is an enterprise-level, high-performance, relational database. Relational means you can have tables that contain records that are related to records in other tables. Enterprise-level means that multiple users can access the same data from different locations, even around the world. High-performance means that it is very fast, even for very large data sets. It is also free and easy to use! Making it one of the truly remarkable OpenSource projects. It also runs on MS-Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Note: Spatial data sets, particularly point data, can become very large very quickly. Very large meaning hundreds of millions of records. Even PostgreSQL will slow down on this large a data set.
Warning: While spatial databases allow you to add rasters into the database I do not recommend it. Even if it works, the database size will quickly become unmanageable and you will not be able to back it up or move it to another server. Instead, store the rasters in a folder and put paths to the rasters in the database. You can also add a polygon of the bounds of the raster to the database if needed.
All enterprise-level databases come with two pieces of software: server and client. The server software installs on a computer (typically a server hidden in a controlled environment somewhere) and runs as a background process. On MS-Windows machines, you can see the processes by opening the Task Manager (right click on the system toolbar) and select the "Services" tab.
The client software for PostgreSQL is called the "pgAdmin" and has an elephant icon. The client software allows you to interact with the database either through a GUI or a command line interface and lets you create, edit, and delete, databases, tables, records, and other database elements.
Note: PostgreSQL was around for a long time before it was given a GUI interface so if you search on the Web, you'll typically find command-line examples for how to do things.
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