Update: Azure Backup support for SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 end of support is now generally available. With SQL Server 2008 and 2008 R2 approaching end of support, many customers are moving to Azure. They see this milestone as an opportunity to reimagine and transform their infrastructure with the power of cloud computing. Azure’s Read more
Microsoft is pleased to announce the release of SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 3 and SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 4 . The Service Packs are available for download on the Microsoft Download Center. As part of our continued commitment to software excellence for our customers, this upgrade is available to all customers with existing Read more
With the growth of the consumer goods industry, sales and marketing campaigns have created large and complex databases that are hard to sift through without the right tools. As retailers approach the busy holiday shopping season, they need to have insights into the effectiveness of their campaigns. Retailers need to know what market trends are Read more
In the 10th episode of the Behind the Scenes series, it’s time to talk about reducing complexity and accelerating time to solution with turn-key appliances and cloud offerings. In the episode below, Britt Johnston (@BrittJohnston), Principal Group Manager shares what he has heard from customers recently when talking about the HP Enterprise Database Consolidation Appliance Read more
We’ve reached the ninth episode of the Behind the Scenes series and in this episode Cihan Biyikoglu (@cihangirb), Senior Program Manager, Windows Azure SQL Database Team, pulls back the curtains on how small engineering teams take an idea and develop it into a feature concept, along with the process and challenges of building consensus around Read more
As part of our commitment to delivering and supporting high-quality software to our customers, Microsoft is pleased to announce SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2 CTP. Customers with existing investments on SQL Server 2008 R2 are encouraged to explore Service Pack 2 CTP. Service Pack 2 for SQL Server 2008 R2 includes product improvements based on Read more
SQL Server Parallel Data Warehouse (PDW) is a highly scalable appliance for enterprise data warehousing that enables massive scalability, predictable performance, and complete BI solution at low cost. PDW ships with a web based management console for monitoring the health of PDW appliance and resolving issues. The appliance model and this web based tool simplify Read more
By Virtual Winfrastructure Earlier in February, EMC announced a new server Flash caching solution called VFCache, a hardware and software solution that leverages PCIe Flash technology to extend performance based caching from the storage array to the server. VFCache (codenamed “Project Lightning”) increases throughput and reduces latency with a focus towards read intensive workloads including Read more
The history of SQL Server dates back to 1989 when the product came about as a result of a partnership between Microsoft, Sybase, and Ashton-Tate. SQL Server has evolved tremendously over the years and now Microsoft is getting ready to bring SQL Server 2012 to market, beginning with the SQL Server 2012 Virtual Launch Event Read more
I am Ravi Ramachandran from the SQL Server Appliance Engineering team and would like to show how to measure the IO capabilities of the HP Enterprise Database Consolidation Appliance which is optimized for SQL Server. The Engineering teams from HP and Microsoft collaborated closely for many years to design the DBC Appliance from the ground-up. Read more
We talk a lot about the features and technical “how to” behind SQL Server, but our favorite topic is showing real-world examples of how it helps our customers achieve their goals and save millions of dollars. One great example of this is The Co-operative Group and their switch from Oracle to SQL Server. The Co-operative Read more
Hi, I am Steve Wort from the SQL Server Appliance Engineering team. I wanted to give you a quick tour of the HP Enterprise Database Consolidation Appliance Optimized for SQL Server. This Appliance is a the ideal solution for consolidating your SQL Server workload. The Appliance is available in Half Rack, Full Rack, and Multi Read more
