Service Pack 2 makes the grade
Well, they made it. Microsoft promised SQL Server 2008 SP2 in Q3 2010 and it was released on the 29th September 2010. Nothing like a deadline to light a fire under someone. Especially if bonuses are tied to the deadline. Actually, these days, instead of a bonus, we just get to keep our jobs. A sign of the times, I’m afraid. So what’s new with SP2? Well, there are a few new bugs that are fixed. You can rest assured that SP1 plus all the hotfixes up to and including Cumulative Update CU8 have been included plus some more: Here’s the list: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2285068 Also, you can apply SP2 directly to SQL Server 2008 RTM. You do not need to apply SP 1 first. I did apply it to a test SQL Server 2008 SP1 instance and all went well showing SQL 10.0.4000 as the build after install. The new features of SP2 go hand in hand with SQL Server 2008 R2 features allowing a SQL Server 2008 SP2 instance(without R2) to participate in the features provided by a SQL Server 2008 R2 instance. They include the SQL Server Utility (SSU) to define a SQL Server 2008 SP2 instance as a managed-instance. The Data-Tier Application Component (DAC) is also supported in SP2. You will still need to use the R2 tools but you can deploy a DAC to an SP2 instance. Reporting Services 2008 SP2 can now integrate with Sharepoint 2010. Also SQL Server 2008 SP2 supports a new add-in for backward integration between R2 and Sharepoint 2007. Can you say R2D2 Déjà vu? Later Brian
