SQL Server 2005 SP 2
Microsoft Released SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 two days back on Feb 19th.
Key focus of this service pack is compatability and enhancements in and around the following technologies.
- Vista Compatability
- Office 2007 compatability
- Virtualization
This is a fully compatible with Windows Vista and also has enhancements that make the SQL Server 2005-Office 2007 marriage more interesting. Apart from this, a virtualization user can now run unlimited virtual instances on servers with the licences SQL Server 2005 Enterprise edition.
Key new features can be seen around Business Intelligence and some in Database Administration and Interoperability
Business Intelligence
• Data Mining Add-ins for the 2007 Microsoft Office system enable data mining functionality from SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) to be used directly within Excel® 2007 and Visio® 2007.
• SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) compatibility with Microsoft Office SharePoint® Server 2007 provides integration with the Report Center in SharePoint, enabling the seamless consumption and management of SSRS reports within SharePoint.
• SQL Server Analysis Services improvements for Excel 2007 and Excel Services relate to performance and functionality.
• Data compression (varDecimal) is an important feature for data warehousing scenarios, requiring less disk storage of decimal data and increasing overall performance.
Administration & Manageability
• Manageability enhancements, based on customer feedback, provide management capabilities for database administrators such as improvements in database maintenance plans, enhanced management reports and a new copy database wizard.
• Management reports added to SQL Server Express Edition enable customers to get insights into the performance of their Express Edition and SQL Server Compact Edition databases.
Interoperability
• Interoperability improvements including Oracle support in the Report Builder feature enable customers to use its functionality on top of Oracle data sources. Customers also have access to SQL Server Reporting Services to build reports on top of Hyperion’s Essbase cubes.
SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2 can be downloaded by customers here http://www.microsoft.com/sql/sp2.mspx