14 DAY TRIAL // Although it released SQL Server 2008 R2 to manufacturing less than a month ago, Microsoft has made available for download the first Cumulative Update Package 1 for the data platform. However, customers looking to embrace Cumulative Update package 1 for SQL Server 2008 R2 RTM should be aware of the fact that the release doesn’t really bring to the table any new hotfixes on top of what was already available. In fact, according to Microsoft, the Cumulative Update package 1 for SQL Server 2008 R2 RTM is designed for customers running SQL Server 2008 SP1 looking to upgrade to the latest version of the data platform and still enjoy some of the additions introduced with cumulative refreshes for the previous iteration of the product.
“Cumulative Update 1 for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 RTM contains only hotfixes that were released in Cumulative Update 5, 6, and 7 for SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 1 (SP1). Cumulative Update 1 for SQL 2008 R2 RTM is only intended as a post-RTM rollup for Cumulative Update 5-7 for the release version of SQL Server 2008 SP1 customers who plan to upgrade to SQL Server 2008 R2 and still keep the hotfixes from Cumulative Update 5-7 for the release version of SQL Server 2008 SP1. No new hotfixes have been included in this cumulative update,” Microsoft explained.
The software giant noted that, following the implementation of the first cumulative update package for SQL Server 2008 R2, customers would push the build number up to 10.50.1702.0. SQL Server 2008 R2 RTM’d on April 21st, 2010, and was made available to business customers worldwide on May 12. As of the start of May, MSDN and TechNet subscribers were allowed access to the RTM bits of SQL Server 2008 R2.
“We recommend that you test hotfixes before you deploy them in a production environment. Because the builds are cumulative, each new fix release contains all the hotfixes and all the security fixes that were included with the previous SQL Server 2008 R2 fix release. We recommend that you consider applying the most recent fix release that contains this hotfix,” the Redmond company added.
Earlier this week, Microsoft also released Cumulative update package 8 for SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 1.
The new SQL Server 2008 R2 RTM downloads& are available here.