Together with our partners, SQL Server continues to innovate with high-performing, enterprise-ready solutions that deliver unparalleled price performance. We’re pleased to share the results for the TPC-H (the industry standard for benchmarking data warehouse) performance at 3TB with HPE that currently holds the record as the industry’s fastest 2-socket non-clustered solution, and 10TB with Cisco, as well as the TPC-E (the industry standard for benchmarking online transaction processing) performance at 10TB with Lenovo. Check out the results below.

The table above shows the TPC-H data warehousing results published on SQL Server 2017 with configuration (size). The table below shows the TPC-E OLTP results published on SQL Server 2017 with throughput and price/performance ratio.

These new results for TPC-H at 3TB scale prove the superior combination of SQL Server 2017 Enterprise Edition, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, and HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10. The benchmark showcases the secure, resilient, and versatile 2P/2U HPE ProLiant DL380 Gen10 as an industry-leading server for multi-workload compute, ideal for structured data analysis such as decision support for large databases.

In addition, a new record for the 10TB non-clustered TPC-H benchmark has been accomplished with a winning combination of SQL Server 2017, Red Hat Linux 7.6, and Cisco UCS C480 M5 Server. Cisco’s 4-socket Cascade Lake system surpassed the previous #1 10TB non-clustered result by 11.6 percent in performance along with a cost reduction.

The TPC-E results showcase SQL Server 2017 blazing the trail together with our strategic partner Lenovo. Lenovo’s ThinkSystem SR650 on a 2-socket Cascade Lake system was the fastest 2-socket system when combined with SQL Server 2017 and Windows Server 2016. It surpassed the previous 2-socket Sky Lake publication by 3 percent, and was also the best overall  price performance leader.

Learn more about SQL Server 2017.

All claims in this post were made as of 5/15/2019.

Learn more

• SQL Server 2019 is now in public preview.
• Learn more about big data clusters in the SQL Server 2019 big data clusters white paper and sign up to try out the new features for big data, analytics, and AI in SQL Server 2019 Big Data Clusters by signing up for the SQL Server 2019 Early Adoption Program.

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At Microsoft, we’re dedicated to helping both enterprises and individuals realize their full potential. Our industry position in Operational DBMS is due to the unequaled capabilities of SQL Server.

The release of SQL Server 2017 brings the power of SQL Server to Windows, Linux, and Docker containers for the first time ever. Developers are able to build intelligent applications using preferred languages and environments, while enjoying in-memory performance across workloads, mission-critical high availability, and in-database advanced analytics. You can develop once and deploy anywhere in a consistent experience across your datacenter and public cloud.

SQL Server proves itself, year over year, to be the least vulnerable DBMS in the industry. Built for security from the ground up, SQL Server offers customers a layered protection approach that incorporates encryption, authentication, and monitoring and auditing at the disk, database, and application levels. Innovative security technologies like Always Encrypted, for encryption at rest and in motion, help transform global operations for the better.

Perhaps most noteworthy for organizations living in the real world of cost-benefit analyses, SQL Server 2017 remains one of the most cost-competitive DBMS offerings in the enterprise space. In fact, you can get all the robust business capabilities in SQL Server 2017 built-in to a single product SKU, without expensive add-ons — for one great, low total cost of ownership.

But don’t just take our word for it. We encourage you to take the time to read the full Gartner report.

And then take a moment to see how you can get free licenses when you migrate to SQL Server 2017. We’re confident you’ll find the industry-leading database you know and love — now across operating systems and application platforms, on-premises and in the cloud.

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

This graphic was published by Gartner, Inc. as part of a larger research document and should be evaluated in the context of the entire document. The Gartner complete document is available now. 

The post Three years in a row – Microsoft is a leader in the ODBMS Magic Quadrant appeared first on Microsoft SQL Server Blog.

You are hearing it here first: Microsoft is updating the branding for SQL Services and SQL Data Services. Effective immediately, SQL Services will be called Microsoft SQL Azure, and SQL Data Services will be Microsoft SQL Azure Database.  This name change doesn’t reflect a change in the products themselves; we will still be providing a powerful relational database foundation to the Azure Services Platform.  By standardizing our naming conventions, we’re demonstrating the tight integration between the components of the services platform.  More intuitive names also help to reinforce the relationships between our on-premises and cloud solutions. Ultimately, the goal is to drive simplicity and clarity for customers as they consider on-premises and cloud computing approaches for solving their IT needs.

The post Microsoft SQL Services is now Microsoft SQL Azure appeared first on Microsoft SQL Server Blog.

The official News Release is re-posted here:

REDMOND, Wash. — Aug. 6, 2008 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the release to manufacturing of Microsoft SQL Server 2008, the new version of the company’s acclaimed data management and business intelligence platform. This version of SQL Server provides powerful new capabilities such as support for policy-based management, auditing, large-scale data warehousing, geospatial data, and advanced reporting and analysis services. SQL Server 2008 provides the trusted, productive and intelligent platform necessary for business-critical applications.

“Microsoft developed this release of SQL Server with the customer in mind,” said Ted Kummert, corporate vice president of the Data and Storage Platform Division at Microsoft. “SQL Server 2008 is the only major database that includes comprehensive, tightly integrated functionality for data management as well as advanced business intelligence out of the box. By offering a complete solution, we save customers time and money and allow them to focus on deriving the most value from their data assets.”

With more than 450,000 customer and partner downloads of SQL Server 2008’s Community Technology Previews (CTPs), more than 75 large-scale applications already in production and more than 1,350 applications being developed by nearly 1,000 independent software vendors (ISVs) on SQL Server 2008, it’s clear that customers and partners are excited about the capabilities now available in SQL Server 2008.

Tim Whitehorn, founder and chief executive officer of event management software provider ServiceU Corp., said, “We selected SQL Server 2008 because we can entrust it with our critical business applications. SQL Server 2008 is highly secure and reliable, and offers the best value on the market today. In addition, it accelerates the time frame for deploying new features and enhancements, and that to us makes SQL Server a winner.”

A number of enterprise customers from various industries are testing SQL Server 2008 including Clear Channel Communications Inc., Hilton Hotels Corp., Simon & Schuster Inc., Siemens AG and Xerox Corp., among many others.

SQL Server is an industry leader in both scalability and performance. It is the first and only database management system to be proven capable of delivering scalable results on TPC-E, the Transaction Processing Performance Council’s (TPC) newest and most challenging online transaction processing (OLTP) benchmark, with 13 published benchmarks to date.¹ Also demonstrating the performance of SQL Server 2008, Unisys Corp. and Microsoft set a new extract, transform and load (ETL) performance record by loading 1 terabyte of data in less than 30 minutes using SQL Server 2008 Integration Services. In addition, SQL Server 2008 has proven its scalability in large-scale data warehousing, as demonstrated by its recent 10-terabyte TPC-H benchmark.²

“We saw a 35 percent improvement in throughput on the system that we upgraded to SQL Server 2008, with no code changes on our end,” said Gary Oberg, vice president of IT and development at Applied Discovery (a member of the LexisNexis group). “This translates straight to the bottom line for us, as the more documents we can upload, the more we can process.”

Microsoft is setting additional benchmark records with ISV solutions, including a world record on four-socket industry-standard blade servers in a three-tier SAP Sales and Distribution (SD) Standard Application Benchmark, and demonstrated the largest benchmark ever on the Siemens Teamcenter digital product life-cycle management solution, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Microsoft Dynamics AX and the Camstar Manufacturing Execution System solution.

SQL Server is a key component of the Microsoft Application Platform, a suite of products and technologies designed to help customers build, run and manage dynamic business applications. SQL Server 2008 is available in the following editions:

SQL Server 2008 Enterprise. SQL Server 2008 Enterprise is a comprehensive data management and business intelligence platform that provides enterprise-class scalability, data warehousing, security, advanced analytics and reporting support for running business-critical applications. With this edition, it is possible to consolidate servers and perform large-scale online transactional processing.

SQL Server 2008 Standard. SQL Server 2008 Standard is a complete data management and business intelligence platform that provides best-in-class ease of use and manageability for running departmental applications.

SQL Server 2008 Workgroup. SQL Server 2008 Workgroup is a reliable data management and reporting platform that delivers secure, remote synchronization and management capabilities for running branch applications. This edition includes core database features and is easy to upgrade to the Standard or Enterprise edition.

SQL Server 2008 Web. SQL Server 2008 Web is designed for highly available, Internet-facing Web-serving environments running on Windows Server. SQL Server 2008 Web provides the tools necessary to support low-cost, large-scale, highly available Web applications or hosting solutions for customers.

SQL Server 2008 Developer. SQL Server 2008 Developer allows developers to build and test any type of application with SQL Server. This edition features all of the functionality of SQL Server Enterprise but is licensed only for development, test and demo use. Applications and databases developed on this edition can easily be upgraded to SQL Server 2008 Enterprise.

SQL Server 2008 Express. SQL Server 2008 Express is a free edition of SQL Server that features core database functionality including all of the new SQL Server 2008 data types, in a small footprint. This edition is ideal for learning and building desktop and small server applications, and for redistribution by ISVs.

SQL Server Compact 3.5. SQL Server Compact is a free embedded database designed for developers and is ideal for building stand-alone and occasionally connected applications for mobile devices, desktops and Web clients. SQL Server Compact runs on all Microsoft Windows platforms, including the Windows XP and Windows Vista operating systems, and on Pocket PC and smartphone devices.

Pricing and Availability
SQL Server 2008 is now available to MSDN and TechNet subscribers and will be available for evaluation download on Aug. 7, 2008. SQL Server 2008 Express and SQL Server Compact editions are available for free download today at http://approjects.co.za/?big=sqlserver.

As previously announced, pricing for SQL Server will not increase with SQL Server 2008. More information is available at http://approjects.co.za/?big=presspass/presskits/sqlserver.

¹TPC benchmarks are produced by the Transaction Processing Performance Council (TPC). Full results are available at http://www.tpc.org. Results referenced are current as of July 29, 2008.
²HP Integrity Superdome, 63651 QphH@10TB, 38.54 $/QphH@10TB, available Aug. 30, 2008.

The post Microsoft Releases SQL Server 2008 appeared first on Microsoft SQL Server Blog.

Pitney Bowes has created a collector series of certified United States Postal™ stamps that commemorate the launch of Microsoft’s SQL Server 2008 product integrated with several Pitney Bowes software and mailing solutions. Pitney Bowes is giving away these collectible postage stamps to attendees at TechEd IT Pro on June 10-13. So if you’re at TechEd this week, we invite you to visit the SQL Server booth to get free stamps. Enter MSFT during the prompt to get a 20% discount.

Other Pitney Bowes/Microsoft initiatives and news:

• Pitney Bowes Group 1 Software and Pitney Bowes MapInfo announced support for SQL Server 2008
• Advancing geospatial, psychographic, and location intelligence technologies
• Delivering on the real promise of Software plus Services with
  (Pitney Bowes and Microsoft OfficeLive Small Business)
  https://www.pbmarketingservices.com/microsoftofficelive.asp
  http://smallbusiness.officelive.com/ResourceCenter/specialoffers
• Combining our assets to create a “one-stop” shop for marketing, online, and offline advertisement
• Promoting green-based mailing-efficiency
• Developing leading edge mainframe migration and appliance modernization services and solutions
• Bridging digital and unified communications (voice and presence) with the physical mailstream

The post Pitney Bowes stamps SQL Server 2008 appeared first on Microsoft SQL Server Blog.

The premise for the demo was that Trey Research lets bloggers submit articles and photos to a website that uses SQL Server Data Services (SSDS) to store the content in the cloud. The need to get the website up and running quickly with minimal provisioning, while supporting unpredictable spikes in user load, made SSDS a good solution for storing the content in the cloud.

Attendees saw how analysts at Trey Research used a WPF application to process blogger content locally to create news stories. The WPF application connected to a local SQL Server 2008 database that was being synced in real-time with content stored in SSDS. The app lets Trey Research Analysts use SQL Server’s Spatial support to quickly and interactively find content (articles and photos) by zooming in on an area and finding matching content.

The WPF app used SQL Server’s new FILESTREAM support to store the documents and images efficiently in the file system, while providing full transactional and manageability support with the SQL Server database. FILESTREAM eliminated the need for Trey Research to decide whether to store this unstructured data in the database or link it via path information by providing the best of both worlds.

Dave showed how blogger’s submitted content on the website by using the Trey Research web app to create a new article called “Beyond Heroes” and interactively geo-tagging the article to the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. After submitting his article, Dave used IE to show what this data looked like in SSDS and using LINQ directly from the IE address bar, he queried SSDS to find the story he just submitted.

Dave went on to show that bloggers could also submit photos via a Trey Research sync-enabled mobile application that was developed with the Microsoft Sync Framework. The Trey Research mobile app synchronized photos with SSDS in the cloud, as was demonstrated when Moe Khosravy from the Microsoft Sync Framework team (acting as a blogger with a Trey Research online account) took a photo of Dave Campbell on stage and synched it real-time with SSDS.

Real-time photo of Dave Campbell synced during demo.

Attendees watched as Dave then used the WPF app to find and process his article and the photo taken by Moe, into a new news story for TechEd. The content stored in SSDS was being synchronized with the local SQL Server 2008 database to provide analysts high-speed, rich interaction with the content and enabling them to perform additional analytics on this data.

After creating the story using his article and Moe’s picture, the WPF app displayed a pie chart and graph that showed a break down of Developers, IT Pros and Testers. Dave explained that he was still working on the final piece of his Trey Research app, which used SQL Server Analysis Services and Reporting Services to determine the ideal target audience for the created stories.

Please note, to show clarity the screenshots above, other than photo of Dave Campbell, were taken from our internal demo script.

Other Links:

Read about the Trey Research Demo Architecture by Zach Owens

TechEd 2008: Developer Highlights (Joe Wilcox – Microsoft Watch)

The post ‘Beyond Heroes’ – Behind the scenes with SQL Server 2008 at TechEd 2008 appeared first on Microsoft SQL Server Blog.

o   For example, a high-traffic online retailer could use Velocity to cache their product catalog information. Caching this information would drastically reduce the number of requests for the same data from the database. In this case, not only would Velocity provide better performance and a better user experience, but it would also reduce the load on the database backend.

o   An ideal scenario for using Velocity is to cache application data across the entire web farm. Velocity allows the information cache to be scaled similarly to how website hosting scales across a large server farm or across a cluster of machines. Velocity’s information cache can be scaled as if it were a single unified entity while providing high availability to the cached data.

o   Velocity also eases the development complexities that are often associated with high availability web sites by allowing any serializable CLR object to be cached and by providing access through simple cache APIs. Velocity can be configured to run as a service that can be accessed over the network or it can be run embedded within the application.

The post Microsoft Project Codename “Velocity” and Sync Framework News appeared first on Microsoft SQL Server Blog.