Some new features and uniqueness of SQL Server 2008

Some of the new features of SQL Server 2008 and its uniqueness:

Set up and install

Setup and installation of SQL Server 2008 are also improved. Configuration data and engine bits have been separated, so it makes it possible to create a disk image of a basic, non-configured system, making it easier to distribute to multiple servers. The latest updates available for installation can also be found from the Microsoft site. Another feature is the ability to do a single step for installing SQL, SP, and patches. The last feature of the other is the ability to unload the SP.

The key areas

The first thing to note when reviewing Microsoft's documentation for SQL Server 2008 is the characteristics of the terminology classification and the features of the use grouping, or the key areas. There are four key areas: enterprise data platforms, dynamic development, beyond relational databases, and pervasive vision. This article will follow these categories as far as possible to make the Microsoft article involved simplification.

Support for SQL 2000 has been terminated

Mainstream support for SQL 2000 will be terminated. The features and benefits of mainstream support include the submission of requirements for product feature changes, security updates, non-security patches, free support, and paid support. For SQL Server version 64-bit, SQL Server 2000 development, SQL Server 2000 Enterprise, SQL Server 2000 Standard, SQL Server, and SQL Server 2000 Workgroup editions This mainstream support will expire on April 8, 2008. Extended support, including security-related updates and paid support, will last up to 2013 years. A complete description of the support can be found in the Microsoft Help Lifecycle and Microsoft supports Lifecycle Policy FAQ. Many agents will be discontinued in December 2007 SQL 2000. Any version of SQL 2000 is also not supported on Vista, including SQL Version Express.

Enterprise Data Platform

Enterprise data platform classifications typically refer to the important task platform, which contains the core SQL Server engine features, including many benefits of data encryption, resource management, system analysis, and server management features.

Encryption

There are several encryption options. The 1th one is called transparent data encryption. In SQL Server 2008, the entire database can be encrypted by the SQL engine. This method encrypts the data of all databases and the log files of the database. By using this all-encompassing approach, all indexes and tables are encrypted. You do not have to change your application.

A 2nd encryption feature is backup encryption. SQL Server 2008 encrypts backups in such a way that data leaks and tampering can be prevented. In addition, backup recovery can be limited to features of the user.

Finally, there is a new option for external Key management. SQL Server 2008 will support a hardware security module (HSM) If you are dealing with credit cards or if you follow PCI processing. A hardware security module is a third-party hardware solution that is used locally to store the key independently of the data to be protected.

Audit

In addition to the standard audit of login/logout and permission changes, SQL Server 2008 allows monitoring of data changes or access. The audit is configured through the TSQL statement, as in the following example: AUDIT UPDATE (Salary) on the Employee to Myauditfolder WHERE salary>200000.

Data compression

In general, data compression is always associated with saving hard disks, smaller physical files, and fewer backup times. For SQL Server data compression, the main purpose is to reduce the size of the actual table. Some of the benefits of data compression include the following:

Improve query performance by reducing I/O and increasing cache hit ratios

Provides twice to 7 times times the compression ratio for real DW real data

And the other features are orthogonal

Available for both data and indexes

According to Microsoft, the use of compression will slightly increase the use of the CPU, the overall performance of the system due to the reduction of I/O is much improved.

Explorer

The resource Manager in SQL Server 2008 is brand new. Managers are used to restrict the use of high-level resources by users or groups of users. The items that can be monitored include CPU bandwidth, timeout waits, execution time, blocking time, and idle time. If the resource manager threshold is reached, the system can trigger an event or stop the process.

Performance data

The number of performance counters in SQL Server 2008 has expanded compared to the previous version. The IO and memory usage counters are only two of the entries that Performance Monitor can collect. The data collected by the counter is stored in a centralized data warehouse. Microsoft claims that running the default performance set on the monitor consumes less than 5% of CPU and memory resources.

A performance dashboard tool that can read saved performance data is now available. In addition, historical and baseline comparisons can be made and used to create action triggers. For example, if memory usage exceeds a threshold of 5 minutes, a more detailed data collection can be triggered automatically.

In SQL Server 2008, Performance Studio is a new tool. This tool is a collection of performance tools. They can be used together for monitoring, diagnostics, tuning, and reporting. The Data collector build is configurable and inexpensive. It supports several collection methods including TSQL queries, SQL tracing, and performance counters. Data can also be programmed to collect. Once the data has been collected, there is a drill down and a summary of the report details. Microsoft has listed the 6 client features of performance Studio:

SQL Server Dashboard

Performance monitoring

Current and historical data analysis

Potential Performance Tuning Recommendations

Collection-based data collection reports

MDW-based reporting

Hot Plug CPU

In SQL Server 2008, if you have basic hardware support, you can add additional CPUs at run time.