Service Pack 2 for SQL Server brings Vista compatibility

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 20 February 2007 06:23

Business IT - Technology

Microsoft has released the second service pack for SQL Server, delivering enhancements in several key areas of the widely used database. Full compatibility with Windows Vista is an important change, and the company is also pushing the improvements to business intelligence features.

Given the importance of SQL Server, it is surprising that a Vista compatibility update wasn't provided when the new operating system began shipping to corporate customers late last year.

The update gives Excel 2007 and Visio 2007 access to SQL Server Analysis Services, allowing easier data mining, while compression of decimal data reduces disk storage requirements and improves overall performance (said to be important for data warehousing).

Reporting changes include integration with SharePoint Server 2007, SQL Server Analysis Services improvements including access to Hyperion Essbase cubes, and the ability to access Oracle data sources from Report Builder.
 
Other SP2 features include improved manageability, for example via the new copy database wizard.

SQL Server Enterprise Edition licensees are now entitled to run unlimited virtualised instances on servers that are fully licensed for this product.

Users of the SQL Server 2005 Feature Pack will need the new version updated for SP2.

Microsoft has announced that SQL Server 2005 SP2 is being evaluated under Common Criteria Assurance Level 4+. This is the highest level under Common Criteria, a set of security standards formally or informally recognised by dozens of governments. While Common Criteria does not specify particular security features, it does provide a framework for independent testing of the security claims made by vendors.