SQL Server 2008 : The SQL Server landscape (part 1)

9/27/2011 5:03:33 PM

1. SQL Server 2008: evolution or revolution?

When Microsoft released SQL Server 2005, the general consensus was that SQL Server had finally arrived as an enterprise class database management system. With a host of new features, including Common Language Runtime (CLR) integration, dynamic management views/functions, and online index rebuilds, it was correctly considered a revolutionary release of the product, coming some 12 years after the first Microsoft release of SQL Server, as shown in figure 1.

Figure 1. From there to here: a brief history of SQL Server from 1993 to today

While SQL Server 2008 improves many of the features first introduced in 2005, it too has an impressive collection of new features. From a DBA perspective, the standout new features include the following:

Policy-based management—Arguably the most significant new SQL Server 2008 feature for the DBA, policy-based management dramatically simplifies the process of managing a large number of SQL Server instances through the ability to define and apply configuration policies.
Resource Governor—While SQL Server 2005 included coarse-grained control of server resource usage via instance memory caps, CPU affinity, and Query Governor Cost Limit, SQL Server 2008 permits the definition of resource pools into which incoming connections are classified via group membership.
Data Collector, the new Data Collector feature enables the collection of performance and management-related information such as performance monitor counters, dynamic management view data, and query statistics. In addition to the automated collection, upload, and archival of such information, numerous reports are provided to enable the analysis of the collected data over time, making it a powerful and low-maintenance tool for baseline analysis and various other tasks.
Backup and data compression—In SQL Server 2005 and earlier, third-party utilities were used to compress backups. SQL Server 2008 includes not only backup compression, but also the ability to compress data within the database, enabling significant disk space and cost savings, and in some cases, a significant performance boost.
Transparent Data Encryption—SQL Server 2005 included the ability to encrypt individual columns within a table, but no way of encrypting the entire database and associated backup files. As such, anyone with access to the physical data files or backup files could potentially take the database offsite and have full access.

In addition to these major new features are a whole range of others, including T-SQL enhancements, fine-grained auditing, support for geospatial data, NTFS-based FileStream binary large objects (BLOBs), and IntelliSense support. I believe that the release of SQL Server 2008 is as significant as the release of 2005.

A number of the new features introduced in SQL Server 2008 are only available in the Enterprise edition of the product.

2. Editions and features

Like earlier versions, the major editions of SQL Server are Enterprise and Standard, with a number of other specialized editions. Let's briefly walk through the editions, noting the significant features and limitations of each.

2.1. Enterprise

The edition of choice for mission-critical database systems, the Enterprise edition offers all the SQL Server features, including a number of features not available in any other edition, such as data and backup compression, Resource Governor, database snapshots, Transparent Data Encryption, and online indexing. Table 1 summarizes the scalability and high availability features available in each edition of SQL Server.

Table 1. Scalability and high availability features in SQL Server editions
	Enterprise	Standard	Web	Workgroup	Express
Capacity and platform support
Max RAM	OS Max^[]	OS Max	OS Max	OS Max^[]	1GB
Max CPU^[]	OS Max	4	4	2	1
X32 support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
X64 support	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Itanium support	Yes	No	No	No	No
Partitioning	Yes	No	No	No	No
Data compression	Yes	No	No	No	No
Resource Governor	Yes	No	No	No	No
Max instances	50	16	16	16	16
Log shipping	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
DB mirroring	All^[]	Safety^[]	Witness^[]	Witness	Witness
—Auto Page Recovery	Yes	No	No	No	No
Clustering	Yes	2 nodes	No	No	No
Dynamic AWE	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
DB snapshots	Yes	No	No	No	No
Online indexing	Yes	No	No	No	No
Online restore	Yes	No	No	No	No
Mirrored backups	Yes	No	No	No	No
Hot Add RAM/CPU	Yes	No	No	No	No
Backup compression	Yes	No	No	No	No
^[]
^[]
^[]
^[]
^[]
^[]

^[] OS Max indicates that SQL Server will support the maximum memory supported by the operating system.

^[] The 64-bit version of the Workgroup edition is limited to 4GB.

^[] SQL Server uses socket licensing; for example, a quad-core CPU is considered a single CPU.

^[] Enterprise edition supports both High Safety and High Performance modes.

^[] High Performance mode isn't supported in Standard edition.

^[] "Witness" indicates this is the only role allowed with these editions.

2.2. Standard

Despite lacking some of the high-end features found in the Enterprise edition, the Standard edition of SQL Server includes support for clustering, AWE memory, 16 instances, and four CPUs, making it a powerful base from which to host high-performance database applications. Table 2 summarizes the security and manageability features available in each edition of SQL Server.

Table 2. Security and manageability features in SQL Server editions
	Enterprise	Standard	Web	Workgroup	Express
Security and auditing features
C2 Trace	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Auditing	Fine-grained	Basic	Basic	Basic	Basic
Change Data Capture	Yes	No	No	No	No
Transparent Data Encryption	Yes	No	No	No	No
Extensible key management	Yes	No	No	No	No
Manageability features
Dedicated admin connection	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Trace flag^[]
Policy-based management	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
—Supplied best practices	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
—Multiserver management	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Data Collector	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
—Supplied reports	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Plan guides/freezing	Yes	Yes	No	No	No
Distributed partitioned views	Yes	No	No	No	No
Parallel index operations	Yes	No	No	No	No
Auto-indexed view matching	Yes	No	No	No	No
Parallel backup checksum	Yes	No	No	No	No
Database Mail	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
^[]

^[] Trace flag 7806 is required for this feature in the Express version.

2.3. Workgroup

Including the core SQL Server features, the Workgroup edition of SQL Server is ideal for small and medium-sized branch/departmental applications, and can be upgraded to the Standard and Enterprise edition at any time. Table 3 summarizes the management tools available in each of the SQL Server editions.

Table 3. Management tools available in each edition of SQL Server
	Enterprise	Standard	Web	Workgroup	Express
SMO	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Configuration Manager	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
SQL CMD	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Management Studio	Yes	Yes	Basic^[]	Yes	Basic^[]
SQL Profiler	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
SQL Server Agent	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Database Engine Tuning Advisor	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
MOM Pack	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
^[]

^[] Express Tools and Express Advanced only. Basic Express has no Management Studio tool.

2.4. Other editions of SQL Server

In addition to Enterprise, Standard, and Workgroup, a number of specialized SQL Server editions are available:

Web edition—Designed primarily for hosting environments, the Web edition of SQL Server 2008 supports up to four CPUs, 16 instances, and unlimited RAM.
Express edition—There are three editions of Express—Express with Advanced Services, Express with Tools, and Express—each available as a separate downloadable package. Express includes the core database engine only; the Advanced Services and Tools versions include a basic version of Management Studio. The Advanced Services version also includes support for full-text search and Reporting Services.
Compact edition—As the name suggests, the Compact edition of SQL Server is designed for compact devices such as smart phones and pocket PCs, but can also be installed on desktops. It's primarily used for occasionally connected applications and, like Express, is free.
Developer edition—The Developer edition of SQL Server contains the same features as the Enterprise edition, but it's available for development purposes only—that is, not for production use.

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