SQL Server 2008, Microsoft’s data platform of the future,
includes a host of new features that IT professionals need
to know about. Some of SQL Server 2008’s new features
enhance its scalability, security, and productivity. Other
features are designed to improve database administration
and provide better data accessibility for end users.
Let’s explore ten of my favorite SQL Server 2008 features.
10. New data types—The DATE and TIME data types are two of
the most overdue new features in SQL Server 2008. You can
use the DATE and TIME data types to split your date and time
information into separate and distinct columns in your database.
SQL Server 2008 also includes a new FILESTREAM data type for
large object data, as well as new GEOGRAPHY and GEOMETRY
spatial data types for mapping applications.
9. T-SQL IntelliSense and debugging—Two features that were
originally supposed to be in SQL Server 2005 but didn’t make
it into that release are support for T-SQL IntelliSense and
debugging from within Query Editor. SQL Server 2008’s IntelliSense
provides T-SQL syntax checking and database object prompting.
The integrated debugging feature lets you set breakpoints; single
step through T-SQL code; and view the Locals, Call Stack, and Quick
Watch windows.
8. Microsoft Office 2007 integration—SQL Server 2008’s
enhanced integration with Office 2007 lets users create database-
enabled reports directly from Microsoft Word 2007 or
Excel 2007. These reports can then be published and shared with
other users via Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) 2007 or
Windows SharePoint Services.
7. Revamped SQL Server Reporting Services—SQL Server 2008
Reporting Services (SSRS) provides significantly improved
report rendering performance. In addition, SSRS’s Report
Designer has been enhanced and Microsoft has provided improved
charting components.
6. Filtered indexes—SQL Server 2008’s filtered index support lets
you more efficiently index columns containing sparse data.
The filtered indexes functionality lets SQL Server 2008 indexes
ignore rows with no data and include only those rows in which there
are valid data values, which can improve access time for sparsely
populated indexes by an order of magnitude.
5. Transparent data encryption—Although previous versions of
SQL Server have offered cell-level encryption, using it required
special application coding. SQL Server 2008’s transparent data
encryption (TDE) lets you encrypt one or more databases without
having to make changes to the application code.
4. Database and backup compression—SQL Server 2008 supports
two levels of lossless data compression: table-level
and database-level. Although there’s some additional CPU
overhead when you use compression, the reduced I/O can speed
up queries and reduce backup times.
3. Change data capture—This feature can quickly show a measurable
ROI for your SQL Server 2008 migrations. Many data
warehousing and distributed data scenarios require custom
coding to capture daily changes and send those changes to one or
more target systems. Change data capture (CDC) can automatically
capture all database changes, letting you keep your distributed systems
up-to-date without having to perform custom coding.
2. Policy-Based Management—Policy-Based Management lets
DBAs create server and database policies that facilitate the
central management of multiple remote SQL Server systems
and enforce the use of corporate standards. For example, DBAs
could create policies that enforce the use of standard database object
naming conventions across your organization.
1. Resource Governor—Arguably the most important new feature
in SQL Server from an enterprise standpoint, SQL Server
2008’s Resource Governor lets DBAs control server resource
utilization for different types of workloads. For example, the Resource
Governor can prevent poorly constructed user-created queries from
adversely affecting the overall performance of the server by limiting
the CPU and memory resources allocated to those queries.
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