14 DAY TRIAL // The first Service Pack for SQL Server 2008 has been released to web. SQL Server 2008 SP1 went live on April 7, 2009, and is now available for download in the following language versions: Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. Customers running Microsoft's data platform who expected new features will be disappointed by the release, as the Redmond company has focused the service pack exclusively on delivering fixes for various issues impacting the product, but also on boosting support and enhancing stability. But no new features will be introduced to SQL Server 2008 with the addition of SP1.
“The Service pack is (...) primarily a roll-up of Cumulative Updates 1 to 3 and minor fixes made in response to requests reported through the SQL Server community,” revealed Mauricio Monico, program manager, SQL Server Sustained Engineering. As far as service pack refreshes for SQL Server are concerned, Microsoft is implementing a strategy designed to keep the updates contained. While focusing on updates considered essential, SQL Server 2008 SP1 also brings to the table Quick Fix Engineering (QFE) refreshes and improvements to the management and deployment of the service pack.
“Slipstream allows administrators to install SQL Server 2008 and Service Pack 1 in a single instance. This decreases the total time for an installation, including a fewer number of reboots thereby increasing productivity and deployment availability,” Monico added. “Service Pack Uninstall allows administrators to uninstall the service pack separately from the database release. This feature also improves DBA productivity, reduces the cost of deployment and improves overall supportability. Report Builder 2.0 Click Once improves the existing SQL Server end-user report authoring application by easing deployment to business users.”
Monico indicated that there was no reason for customers running pre-SQL Server 2008 releases of the Microsoft data platform to hold off on upgrading to the latest version available. Since SQL Server 2008 was released to manufacturing in August 2008, over 3 million copies of the product have been downloaded.
SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 1 (SP1) is available for download here.