New features of SQL Server SP1

SQL Server Service Pack 1 provides database administrators with database mirroring, support for SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence, support for full text and extra functionality, and eases the pain of taking advantage of a new database management system. We recently interviewed Microsoft products and projects and asked them about new features and related issues that arose during the Community Technology preview process. Here are the questions and answers we interviewed from Microsoft's Michael Raheem, Tim Tow, Herain Oberoi, and Grant Culbertson four product and project managers.

Are there any prerequisites that must be met before you deploy the new database mirroring feature?

Senior Product Manager The prerequisite for database mirroring in Michael Raheem:sp1 has not changed; the same as the RTM version of SQL Server that is recorded in the SQL Server online book.

What do you do to make database mirroring a product that can be sold?

Raheem: In SP1, database mirroring has been tested more extensively to ensure that it delivers the high quality and availability required for mission-critical applications.

What is SQL Server Management Studio Express?

Product manager Tim Tow: Customers tell us that they want to have the same user experience on all versions with higher productivity and predictability. We responded with SQL Server Management Studio Express (SSMSE), an enterprise management tool that was cropped for the SQL Server version of the Express Edition.

SSMSE adds more management dialog boxes for databases, tables, views, and queries, graphical design tools, and graphical query execution plans. In addition, SSMSE is based on the Visual Studio shell and uses the Visual Studio text-editing tool, which is available in Express Manager and provides a much richer editing environment for T-SQL.

What versions of SQL Server can SSMSE be applied to?

Tow:ssmse will focus on the express version of the product's management tools and special features, however, it can also be used in other SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2000 version.

How does this update meet the needs of the customer?

TOW:SSMSE provides customers with free tools that are included in SQL Express and can be used on SQL Express, while the new Full-text query and Reporting Services feature also enables customers to develop richer data-driven applications.

In addition, our partners need a free, Easy-to-use download that includes tools and features that can be used free of charge in applications they provide for their customers.

What is the change in support for SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence (BI) in SP1?

Product Manager Herain Oberoi: New support for SAP NetWeaver Business intelligence is particularly relevant to SQL Server Reporting Services. Previous SQL Server exists as the underlying database on the machine running SAP. Now, in addition to providing a data storage platform for SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence, SQL Server provides reporting Services to directly query SAP's SAP BW cubes in a meaningful way, making it possible to create reports.

Remember, SQL Server does not need to be the underlying database platform to generate reports on SAP BW data. You can run SAP on a different database and use the SQL Server Reporting service to query and report on the data.

How do. NET Provider and MDX Query designer work with SAP NetWeaver Business intelligence?

Oberoi: There is a white paper that explains in detail how it works: Using SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services in SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence

What was the problem with the CTP phase and was it resolved before SP1 was released?

The project manager Grant CULBERTSON:CTP model allows us to collect relevant feedback from our customers to test our products. Although there are no significant recurring problems, feedback is still improving the two very important elements included in the final SP1 release. One is the failure of the service pack installation in strong password domain settings, and the other is related to incorrect token substitution in the SQL Agent work step. Both of these issues were corrected in the RTW version of SQL Server SP1. In future, we will continue to express our customers ' needs through the CTP model.