Question

How to select top 2 , bottom 2 and 6 random (not in Top 2 and Bottom 2) records of the table using one SQL select query?

Answer 1

In MS SQL 2005/2008:

with cte
as
(
    select 
        row_number() over (order by name) RowNumber, 
        row_number() over (order by newid()) RandomOrder,
        count(*) over() Total,
        *
    from sys.tables
)
select *
from cte
where RowNumber <= 2 or Total - RowNumber + 1 <= 2
union all
select *
from
(
    select top 6 *
    from cte 
    where RowNumber > 2 and Total - RowNumber > 2
    order by RandomOrder
) tt

Replace sys.tables with your table name and alter order by name to specify order condition for top 2 and bottom 2.