SQL Server 2008 R2 November CTP News

Beside that Gemini and Madison got their official product names, PowerPivot and Parallel Data Warehouse, there are also new components in the November CTP of SQL Server 2008 R2: StreamInsight and Master Data Services. You’ll find the Setup-files for those components in the root directory of the DVD/ISO-file.

Master Data Services (MDS)

Master Data Services is comprised of a database, configuration tool, Web application, and Web service that you use to manage your organization's master data and maintain an auditable record of that data as it changes over time. You use models and hierarchies to group and organize data to prepare it for further use in business intelligence and reporting tools, data warehouses, and other operational systems. Master Data Services integrates with source systems and incorporates business rules to become the single source of master data across your organization.

You’ll find dditional information on the architecture and setup of MDS in MSDN: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-gb/library/ee633763(SQL.105).aspx.

Master Data Services are a component of Enterprise and Datacenter Edition.

StreamInsight

Microsoft StreamInsight is a platform that you can use to develop and deploy complex event processing (CEP) applications. Its high-throughput stream processing architecture and the Microsoft .NET Framework-based development platform enable you to quickly implement robust and highly efficient event processing applications. Event stream sources typically include data from manufacturing applications, financial trading applications, Web analytics, and operational analytics. By using StreamInsight, you can develop CEP applications that derive immediate business value from this raw data by reducing the cost of extracting, analyzing, and correlating the data; and by allowing you to monitor, manage, and mine the data for conditions, opportunities, and defects almost instantly.

More technical information on StreamInsight: https://msdn.microsoft.com/de-de/library/ee362541(en-us,SQL.105).aspx

Application- and Multiserver Management (AMM)

Features for Application- and Multiserver Management which were introduced in my blog post for the August CTP are all updated, find more information on https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645579(SQL.105).aspx. The Enterprise Edition will serve as so called Utility Control Point (UCP) and monitor up to 25 instances of SQL Server for resource usage. If you want to monitor more than 25 instances (also Standard editions may be a target) you’ll need the new Premium SKU Datacenter Edition.

The Management Studio for SQL Server 2008 R2 November CTP is fully compatible to SQL Azure, which means that you now are able to manage your SQL Azure databases the same way you do for your local databases.

On https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc645993(SQL.105).aspx you’ll find a feature comparison for each SQL Server Edition. The Enterprise Edition does also have some limitations regarding CPU (8Sockets) and Memory (2TB) with the introduction of the new Datacenter Edition.

Roger Breu | Technology Solution Professional DataPlatform | Microsoft Schweiz GmbH