Single management console
Use SQL Server Management Studio to manage all SQL Server instances and services including relational databases, SQL Server Reporting Services, SQL Server Analysis Services, SQL Server Integration Services, and SQL Server 2008 R2 Compact databases.
Streamlined installation
Take advantage of improvements to the service life cycle through the reengineering of the installation, setup, and configuration architecture. Standardize SQL Server 2008 R2 configuration by separating it from the physical installation. Create a library of VHDs that are ready to be deployed when needed by using Sysprep in SQL Server 2008 R2.
Server consolidation
Reduce hardware and licensing costs up to 50 percent through virtualization and consolidation.** Consolidate databases onto fewer physical servers for higher resource optimization and management efficiencies, with up to four virtual machines per license and Hyper-V support. Create a library of VHDs that are ready to be deployed by using Sysprep in SQL Server 2008 R2.
Application and Multi-Server Management
Enroll up to 25 SQL Server instances from across your enterprise so that they can be monitored and managed alongside database applications from a central control point.
Policy-Based Management
Ensure compliance with system configuration policies and simplify administration tasks by using Policy-Based Management. Prevent system changes that violate company policies. Reduce total-cost-of-ownership by simplifying administration tasks.
Compression
Reduce storage up to 90 percent with enhanced database compression.* Provide performance improvements for large I/O-bound workloads, such as data warehousing. Reduce data storage requirements and time spent performing backups by using Backup Compression. Support data compression across global applications with support for UCS-2 Unicode compression.
Managed self-service BI
Support the hosting and management of self-service BI applications with SharePoint Server technology by using the PowerPivot Management Dashboard.
Resource Governor
Provide a consistent and predictable response to end users according to their role. Define resource limits and priorities for concurrent workloads.
Performance data collection
Streamline tuning and troubleshooting with a centralized data repository for storing performance data by using Performance Data Collection and new tools for reporting and monitoring.
Predictable query performance
Promote stable query plans across hardware server replacements, server upgrades, and production deployments.
Table index and partitioning
Make large tables and indexes more manageable and scalable by spreading units across more than one file group in a database.
Parallel index operations
Enable higher performance with query plans built for index operations that create or rebuild an index, or drop a clustered index, and support parallel, multithreaded operations on computers with multiple microprocessors.
Hot-add memory and CPU support
Supplement memory and CPU resources to scale up servers without stopping database services.
Enhanced database mirroring
Promote the availability of mission-critical workloads with enhanced support for synchronous and asynchronous database mirroring with automatic page repair and improved performance.
Failover clustering
Support up to 16-node failover clusters. Take advantage of failover capabilities in the event of a CPU, memory, or other nonstorage hardware failure by sharing disk access between nodes and restarting SQL Server 2008 R2 on a working node.
Automatic recovery of data pages
Recover from common types of data page errors by calling a fresh copy of the suspect page from the mirroring partner.
Log shipping
Provide database-level redundancy with two or more instances of SQL Server by automatically backing up, copying, and restoring transaction logs on standby servers.
Log stream compression
Deliver optimal performance and minimize network bandwidth by compressing the outgoing log stream between the mirroring participants.
SQL Server Integration Services
Scale more effectively and manage the largest enterprise-scale workloads. Take advantage of increased lookup performance to support the largest tables. Analyze source data to improve the quality of data going into a data warehouse by using the Data Profiling Tool.
Master data management
Maintain a single version of the truth with a master data hub that can be accessed by systems across the enterprise.
Partitioned-table parallelism
Manage large, growing tables more effectively by transparently breaking them into manageable blocks of data.
Star join query optimizations
Take advantage of improved query performance for common data warehouse scenarios. Reduce query response time by recognizing data warehouse join patterns.
Grouping Sets
Define multiple groupings in the same query by using Grouping Sets. Make aggregation querying and reporting easier and faster.
Change data capture
Capture changes and place them in change tables by using change data capture. Maintain cross-table consistency across schema changes. Efficiently integrate the latest information into the data warehouse.
Built-in reporting
Set up SQL Server 2008 R2 report servers by using tools that ensure control over data access. Take advantage of new visualizations, such as sparklines and data bars, to communicate data more effectively. Integrate with Bing Maps for Enterprise to deliver geospatial reports. Improve reporting productivity by enabling users to share and reuse report components with the Report Part Gallery.
Self-service analysis
Enable people to perform interactive modeling and analysis of massive amounts of data by streamlining the integration of data from multiple sources, all within a familiar tool, Microsoft Excel 2010. Share reports quickly and seamlessly by publishing directly to a SharePoint Server gallery or by embedding reports directly into SharePoint Server Web Parts.
Share and collaborate
Enable people to share the reports and PowerPivot workbooks they create and to collaborate across the organization by integrating with SharePoint Server.
Analysis scale and performance
Drive broader analysis with enhanced analytical capabilities and with more complex computations and aggregations. Use the new cube design tools to help users streamline development of the analysis infrastructure, enabling them to build solutions for optimized performance.
Block computations
Enable users to increase the depth of their hierarchies and the complexity of their computations.
Write-back
Remove the need to query ROLAP (relational OLAP) partitions by using MOLAP (multidimensional OLAP)–enabled write-back capabilities in Analysis Services. Provide users with enhanced write-back scenarios from within analytical applications, without sacrificing traditional OLAP performance.
Complex event processing with StreamInsight
Use standard StreamInsight support to build complex event-processing applications that can handle high-volume data streams with low latency.
Transact-SQL data model
Perform multiple operations efficiently with the new MERGE command. Benefit from full compatibility with Windows Server collation support.
New table-valued parameters
Pass large amounts of data efficiently to and from functions and procedures by using new table-valued parameters.
LINQ
Let developers issue queries against data with a managed programming language such as C# or VB.NET. Enable seamless, strongly typed, set-oriented queries written in Microsoft .NET languages to run against Microsoft ADO.NET and the ADO.NET Entity Data Service Mapping provider. Use the new LINQ to SQL component that enables developers to use LINQ directly on tables and columns in SQL Server.
Create spatial data types
Build spatial capabilities into applications, with built-in support for spatial data. Program against spatial data by using the built-in spatial library. Implement "round earth" or "flat earth" solutions with the GEOGRAPHY and GEOMETRY data types.
Date and time
Take advantage of DATE, TIME, DATETIMEOFFSET, and DATETIME2 data types. Be precise or wide-ranging with time values, with separate date and time types.
HIERARCHY ID
Enable database applications to model tree structures efficiently. Store values that represent nodes in a hierarchy tree. Create and operate on hierarchy nodes by using a flexible programming model.
FILESTREAM data
Store binary data while preserving the data as an integral part of the database and maintaining full transactional consistency. Back up FILESTREAM data with automatic support for backup operations.
Access remote blob storage
Store large binary data files outside the database on more cost-effective storage without compromising performance—perfect for large SharePoint Server deployments.
Take advantage of integrated, full-text search
Perform high-speed text searches on large text columns. Manage fewer files by taking advantage of integrated, full-text search indexes.
Sparse columns
Set to any data type to prevent NULL data from consuming physical space in the database. Manage large sets of NULL data in a database more efficiently.
Large user-defined types
Take advantage of higher limits for user-defined types.
