Re: SQL Server 2008 Overview
Virtualization and Server Consolidation
One of the fastest growing technologies in the IT sector is Server Virtualization, sometimes referred to as Hardware Virtualization. Server virtualization transforms hardware into software and enables multiple operating systems to run on a single physical machine as virtual machines (VMs). With server virtualization, you can consolidate workloads of underutilized server machines onto a smaller number of machines and increase the utilization of your resources. Using a virtualization strategy you can use fewer physical machines which can help reduce costs and provide a flexible infrastructure with enterprise-class manageability and performance.
Online Transaction Processing (OLTP)
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 is a comprehensive data platform that provides the scalability, availability, security, and manageability that you need for mission-critical OLTP applications.
Top New Features
- Implement peer-to-peer replication quickly with the new visual designer, and add nodes without stopping system activity
- Audit all actions across the enterprise and consolidate audit reporting
- Help protect sensitive data with automatic, transparent data encryption
- Use Performance Studio to troubleshoot, tune, and monitor SQL Server 2008 instances across the enterprise
- Take control of workload resource use with Resource Governor
- Store all kinds of business data with native support for relational data, XML, file streams, and spatial data
- Reduce storage requirements and improve performance with data compression, backup compression, sparse columns, and filtered index and backup compression
- Optimize database mirroring performance and eliminate downtime with automatic recovery of suspect pages
Application Development
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 is at the heart of a comprehensive data platform that enables you to access and manipulate business-critical data from a variety of diverse devices, platforms, and data services across the enterprise.
Top New Features
- Map data structures to business entities by using the new ADO.NET Entity Framework.
- Use consistent syntax to query diverse data through .NET Language Integrated Query (LINQ) extensions to Microsoft Visual C# and Microsoft Visual Basic.NET
- Create occasionally connected solutions using SQL Server 2008 Compact Edition and Microsoft Synchronization Services
- Consolidate data storage through the SQL Server 2008 support for relational, XML, Filestream, and geo-location-based data
Re: SQL Server 2008 Overview
Integrate and manage all data
Use the enterprise-scale data warehouse platform of SQL Server 2008 to efficiently implement and manage unified storage for all of your business data.
Boost data warehouse performance
- Integrate large volumes of data into your data warehouse faster by using SQL Server 2008 Integration Services, and consolidate real-time data by capturing data changes
- Increase the manageability and performance of large tables with partitioning, which enables you to manage growing volumes of data and users of your SQL Server 2008 data warehouse more efficiently
Consolidate all data for optimized reporting and analysis
Work with all of your data and interact the way you want through support for both relational and non-relational data, including new data types such as FILESTREAM & Spatial
Incorporate data from multiple sources directly into a single report
Use the data source view to integrate data from across the enterprise and create a Unified Dimension Model that consolidates data from heterogeneous, enterprise-wide data stores, such as SQL Server, Oracle, DB2, SAP and Teradata, to create a holistic view of your business, helping end users gain enterprise-wide insight
Consolidate all data for optimized reporting and analysis
- Work with all of your data and interact the way you want through support for both relational and non-relational data, including new data types such as FILESTREAM & Spatial
- Incorporate data from multiple sources directly into a single report
- Use the data source view to integrate data from across the enterprise and create a Unified Dimension Model that consolidates data from heterogeneous, enterprise-wide data stores, such as SQL Server, Oracle, DB2, SAP and Teradata, to create a holistic view of your business, helping end users gain enterprise-wide insight
Re: SQL Server 2008 Overview
Flexibility
Choose the data services consolidation solution that is best for your business
Consolidate servers with multiple databases and instances
- Use SQL Server 2008 to host multiple databases in a single server instance to centralize data storage and management
- Run multiple instances of SQL Server 2008 on a single server to enable the isolation of database applications while reducing hardware costs, energy use, licensing costs, and administrative overhead
Consolidate data services through virtualization
- Run multiple SQL Server 2008 instances on the same physical computer using Microsoft Windows Server 2008 with the Hyper-V role, with one or more instances of SQL Server 2008 services in each virtual machine.
- Take advantage of SQL Server 2008 Enterprise licensing. With EE license for processors run an unlimited number of virtual database servers.
- With SQL Server 2008 EE license mobility; reassign existing SQL Server 2008 licenses across servers in a server farm.
Transfer and migrate databases and data easily
- Choose the right data transfer approach to consolidate data from a wide range of technologies in SQL Server 2008, including:
- Backup and restore
- Attach and detach
- SQL Server Integration Services
- Upgrade existing SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005 databases directly to SQL Server 2008