Microsoft Offers SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2

contents

software

Microsoft has released Microsoft SQL Server 2005 SP2, an update to its data management and analysis platform. Customers can now take advantage of enhancements in the Windows Vista operating system and 2007 Microsoft Office system to easily connect and integrate with the power, security and reliability of SQL Server 2005. In addition, Microsoft announces that it is expanding virtualization use rights to allow unlimited virtual instances on servers that are fully licensed for SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition.

Key enhancements to SQL Server SP2:
- Data Mining Add-ins for the 2007 Microsoft Office system enable data mining functionality from SQL Server Analysis Services to be used directly within Excel 2007 and Visio 2007.
- SQL Server Reporting Services 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.
- 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 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.

Additionally, Microsoft announces that the Common Criteria evaluation of SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 1 has been submitted to the German Federal Office for Information Security for certification and that SP2 is undergoing EAL4+ evaluation. The Common Criteria evaluations of SP1 and SP2 will be formally recognized by the governments of 24 countries that signed the Common Criteria Recognition Agreement, including Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, and informally recognized by as many as 30 additional countries. Applying for Common Criteria certification - a procurement requirement of many governments and a preference for several industries and customers - demonstrates Microsoft's commitment to building security technology into SQL Server 2005.

write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Computing News :: home page