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SQL Server 2012

SQL Server 2012

Apr 26, 2013

News

Release candidate 0 is now available for download (HT: Mark Riffey). 

Also via Mark, here's the whitepaper on the changes in 2012. Features discussed include:

  • Availability Groups provides an integrated set of options including automatic and manual failover of a group of databases, support for up to four secondaries, fast application failover and automatic page repair

  • Failover cluster instances

  • Active secondary instances

  • Multi-subnet failover

  • Reduced patching downtime when run on Windows Server Core which is a low-maintenance bare-bones server install. 

  • High availability for StreamInsight. 

  • Performance improvements, including an in-memory column store, better full text search, up to 15000 partitions.

  • Auditing is improved, authentication has been enhanced with user databases. 

  • Project Crescent "makes self-service reporting a reality by providing a highly interactive, web-based data exploration, visualization, and presentation experience to users of all levels—from business executives to information workers."

  • PowerPivot enhancements

  • Semantic search

  • Managed self-service business intelligence

  • Better SharePoint integration

  • Improved data quality management tools

  • Better integration across on-premise and cloud environments (Azure)

  • SQL Server Express Local Database Runtime (LocalDB) - this appears to be an embeddable SQL server.

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