SQL SERVER 2012 available now

The new vesion of SQL Server 2012 is released today.
http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/default.aspx

You can download evaluation copy from
http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/get-sql-server/try-it.aspx

Contained Databases feature in SQL Server 2012

A common DBA task is to migrate a database to a different instance – to a newer, more powerful server; to a different phase in the application lifecycle (dev -> test -> QA -> staging -> production); or as part of various failover conditions. A problem that has plagued us for a long time in this process is that a database is never really all that independent – there is a lot of scaffolding that has to come along for the ride to ensure that the database continues to function as a dependable component in the application. This scaffolding includes logins, SQL Server Agent jobs, linked servers, custom messages stored in sys.messages, and even differences between server and database collations (which in turn can cause problems when working with temporary objects).

In SQL Server 2012, we have a new feature called Contained Databases, which intends to reduce or eliminate the dependencies that a database has on the SQL Server instance, making it easier to migrate a database to a new instance with less of the work involved in reproducing and validating these dependencies.

One of the issues solved in this release involves the ability to define a user with a password at the database level (a “contained database user”). By authenticating at the database level, you can move the database to a new server, and applications can change their connection string without having to create new SQL Server logins – a common problem we see today is orphaned users and/or mismatched security identifiers (SIDs).

This release also solves an issue involving databases with a different collation than the server’s – today, if you use any objects in tempdb, you may find that collation conflicts are a significant part of your troubleshooting efforts, especially if you move your database between instances. In SQL Server 2012, tempdb will automatically create objects using the collation of the Contained Database, rather than the server default, making it easier to rely on your code regardless of the server collation (of course this still does not resolve issues where you try to join #temp tables generated from multiple databases with different collations).

You could even say that the new THROW()Transact-SQL command can help make these transitions easier, as we will be able to raise custom errors without needing to define these messages first in sys.messages. But, to be clear, this is not an explicit feature of Contained Databases.

There are DMVs and events that will help identify queries and objects that are not “contained” and that will present a potential risk should the database be moved to a new instance. The only containment option in SQL Server 2012, however, is PARTIAL – because containment is only observed, not enforced.  In future releases, we will see this model extended to help deal with SQL Server Agent jobs and linked servers, as well as actual enforcement.

While it’s not complete just yet, Contained Databases give us a fantastic first step towards database autonomy. In my previous job as a production DBA and architect, this functionality could have saved me dozens and dozens of hours in deployment preparation and subsequent troubleshooting.

Article Ref: Aaron Bertrand

SQL Server 2012 RCO

SQL Server 2012 RCO is avaiable for download.

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/future-editions.aspx

sys.dm_server_services

sys.dm_server_services DMV Returns information about the SQL Server and SQL Server Agent services in the current instance of SQL Server. Use this dynamic management view in SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1 and later versions(Denali aka SQL Server 2012) to report status information about these services.

SQL Server Code Name Denali CTP3

SQL Server Code Name "Denali" CTP3 is available to download from Microsoft web site

https://www.microsoft.com/betaexperience/pd/SQLDCTP3CTA/enus/

SQL Server Code name DENALI CTP3

The future version SQL Server Denali is available here to download

http://www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/en/us/default.aspx

Microsoft SQL Server code-named “Denali” – the next version of SQL Server

This is an exciting time for the SQL Server Team. After Ted Kummert announced the next release of SQL Server, Microsoft SQL Server code-named “Denali”, yesterday at the opening keynote of PASS Summit 2010, today Quentin Clark, General Manager of the Database Systems Group, gave PASS attendees a closer look into some of the exciting new features of code-named “Denali”.


SQL Server code-named “Denali” will help empower organizations to be more agile in today’s competitive market. Customers will be able to efficiently deliver mission-critical solutions through a highly scalable and available platform. Industry-leading tools will help developers quickly build innovative applications while data integration and management tools help deliver credible data reliably to the right users and new user experiences expand the reach of BI to enable meaningful insights.

Today, we showcased the following areas of code-named “Denali” including new capabilities that will be delivered to customers:

Enhanced mission-critical platform: An enhanced highly available and scalable platform through the new SQL Server AlwaysOn for greater flexibility in achieving increased availability and data protection and new Column-Based Query Accelerator for huge performance gains in data warehousing.

Developer and IT Productivity: A new unified development experience for data developers called SQL Server Developer Tools code-named “Juneau”, new beyond relational enhancements including FileTable for file storage within the SQL Server database, easier of use delivered via SQL Server AlwaysOn, data integration tools and features such as security & supportability.

· Pervasive Insight: Expand the reach of BI to business users via Project code-name “Crescent”, a highly interactive, web-based data exploration and visualization tool built on the breakthrough analytical performance of the VertiPaq technology. Meanwhile, holistic data integration and management tools through enhanced Master Data Services and new Data Quality Services will help ensure organizations can deliver the right data to the right users at the right time.

We are also making available the first Community Technology Preview (CTP) for SQL Server code-named “Denali”. You can download SQL Server code-named “Denali” CTP today!

The first public CTP provides an opportunity for early adopters to submit feedback on an initial set of capabilities including:

· Select capabilities of the new integrated high availability solution, SQL Server code-named “Denali” AlwaysOn, including availability groups, single active secondary for offloading read-only workloads and multi-site clustering

· Flexible server roles to allow administrators to create custom roles for ease separation of duties
· Simplified development and standardized deployment, configuration and management for SQL Server Integration Services

Here are a few things you can do to get to know SQL Server code-named “Denali” a little better:
1. Visit the code-named “Denali” web page
2. Download the first CTP
3. Reference Books Online

Download the CTP, play with it, and let us know what you think. We’re excited about SQL Server code-named “Denali” and we hope you are too!

http://blogs.technet.com/b/dataplatforminsider/rss.aspx