PDW NEWS: Release of Appliance Update 2 for PDW, a New Dell Appliance, and Plans for a Bridge to Hadoop

by STB Blogger

Today, Microsoft released the second Appliance Update (AU2) of SQL Server 2008 R2 PDW – a complete, high-scale data warehousing solution that IT can use to manage and enable self-service business intelligence across the company with SQL Server.   Unlike Service Packs, an Appliance Update refreshes the full appliance seamlessly with both hardware and software updates.  

Microsoft is also announcing the release of the Dell Parallel Data Warehouse appliance today, offering customers more hardware choice thanks to a strategic alliance between Microsoft and Dell.  Joint customers can now enjoy massive scalability and performance at low cost, while also receiving white glove service through Microsoft’s Critical Advantage Program (MCAP), an enhanced support service for Tier 1 appliances. 

Lastly, to help customers store and analyzing vast amounts of unstructured data, Microsoft will soon release a Community Technology Preview (CTP) of two new Hadoop connectors – one for SQL Server and one for PDW.  The connectors provide interoperability between SQL Server/PDW and Hadoop environments, enabling customers to transfer data between Hadoop and SQL Server/PDW. 

For more information on all of these important SQL Server 2008 R2 PDW announcements, visit SQL Server Team blog.