14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is getting closer to releasing the second major upgrade for SQL Server 2008, the company having promised to launch Service Pack 2 in the third quarter of 2010. But the company is not quite there yet, and the service pack is still in development at this point in time. However, the software giant is sharing SQL Server 2008 SP2 bits with early adopters in order to allow testing to be performed ahead of RTM, but also to harvest feedback on the upgrade. A Community Technology Preview (CTP) of SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (SP2) is now available through the Download Center, giving testers a taste of what the future holds for the predecessor of SQL Server 2008 R2.
Customers running the Enterprise, Standard, Evaluation, Developer, and Workgroup SKUs of SQL Server 2008 can go ahead and deploy the CTP release of SP2 and try out the upgrade. Of course, as the CTP label implies, the software is designed for testing purposes, and not for deployment into production environments.
According to the Redmond-based company SQL Server 2008 SP2 CTP brings to the table the cumulative updates up to SQL Server 2008 SP1 cumulative update package 8. In addition, Microsoft has also integrated a range of fixes to problems brought to the software giant’s attention via either customer feedback or Windows Error Reporting. Last but not least, SP2 expands the supportability SQL Server 2008 SP2.
It is important to note that concomitantly with the release of SQL Server 2008 SP2, Microsoft also made available for download the CTP of SQL Server 2008 Express Edition Service Pack 2. Of course, just as is the case with the SP2 CTP for the rest of the SQL Server 2008 editions, the Express SKU upgrade is available only for testing.
Microsoft enumerated some of the changes introduced in SQL Server 2008 SP2 CTP as well:
“- SQL Server Utility The SQL Server 2008 R2 Utility supports SQL Server 2008 instances that have SP2 installed. The SQL Server Utility models SQL Server-related entities in a unified view. Utility Explorer and SQL Server Utility viewpoints in SQL Server Management Studio provide administrators a holistic view of resource health through an instance of SQL Server that serves as a utility control point (UCP).
- Data-tier Applications SQL Server Management Studio in SQL Server 2008 R2 supports all data-tier application (DAC) operations for SQL Server 2008 instances that have SP2 installed. DAC is an entity that contains all databases and instance objects used by an application. A DAC provides a single unit for authoring, deploying, and managing the data-tier objects instead of having to manage them separately. A DAC allows tighter integration of data-tier development with the development of the associated application code. It also gives administrators an application level view of resource usage in their systems through the utility control point.
- Reporting Services in SharePoint Integrated Mode (Feature Pack) The Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (SP2) Reporting Services Add-in for Microsoft SharePoint Products 2007 allows you to connect to SQL Server 2008 R2 Report Servers. The new features include: - Improved handling of credentials and shared data sources. - Utilization of the existing instances of Report Builder configured on the Report Server. - Support for Report Part Gallery, shared datasets, and shared report items. - Report Builder 3.0 - ATOM feed renderer.”
SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 2 CTP and SQL Server 2008 Express Edition Service Pack 2 – CTP are available for download here.