I'm happy to report that Dr. David DeWitt, one of the top minds in the database field, has joined Microsoft as a Technical Fellow. David is tasked with starting up a new advanced development lab in partnership with the University of Wisconsin- Madison...

This Cumulative Update 7 contains hotfixes for SQL Server 2005 issues that have been fixed since the release of Service Pack 2. Learn more: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/949095/en-us SQL Server Release Services blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/sqlreleaseservices...

Over the last year we have successfully established the Incremental Servicing Model (ISM), which has to date delivered 7 cumulative updates (CU) to our customers, in regular 8 week intervals. We’ve heard feedback from customers of the need for a...

One of the most exciting new features in SQL Server 2008 is the ability to store files and BLOBs directly in the file system, while maintaining transactional consistency with a SQL Server 2008 database. SQL Server 2008’s new FILESTREAM attribute for VARBINARY...

Oracle recently released their latest Critical Patch Update which fixes vulnerabilities “in hundreds of Oracle products”. From a database perspective: it fixes 17 database vulnerabilities, two of them that can be exploited remotely without...

I just got back from a 2 week trip to India, taking part in their local launch events. We reached over 1500 people at over 3 launch events,  in Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi. V. Somasegar - the Senior VP from the Visual Studio team was the keynote...

The Microsoft Sync Framework continues to evolve as the latest CTP2 bits were released last week. This latest build reflects the final API changes that will be used for RTM. The team has done an excellent job with respect to the framework's original design...

Exciting news for developers looking to build SQL Server based applications that target mobile devices -- the new Microsoft® Windows Mobile Line of Business Solution Accelerator 2008 has been released and is now available for download from here ! This...

Technologies such as SQL Server are only as successful as the applications that are built upon them.  Microsoft’s Metro Early Adoption Program provides a programmatic, consistent and predictable way for longstanding Microsoft ISV partners to...

It's getting louder If you've been following Microsoft's efforts around data programmability, you'll have inevitably heard a thing or two about "entities". Specifically, the Entity Data Model (EDM) and the ADO.NET Entity Framework (EF). These technologies...

Today Microsoft announced that MIX attendees will preview Microsoft SQL Server Data Services (SSDS), a Web-facing utility-based services designed for businesses and developers that need scalable, highly available, secure and easily programmable on-demand...

The rest of the keynote focused on the 2 remaining pillars of launch - BI & Web. In the BI demo - we focused on the integration of our BI tools with Office. We showed the new Report Designer - with the office interface that allows you to modify reports...

The momentum for SQL Server 2008 continues. Here are some of the latest case studies published: Russia’s Baltika Breweries Links its ERP Databases using SQL Server 2008 Replication Baltika Breweries, the largest producer of beer in Russia, has about...

With the launch of SQL Server 2008 today (remember, RTM is still planned for a few months later in Q3 2008) we have just posted a number of record breaking results across industry (TPC-E, TPC-H) and ISV benchmarks. These are really amazing results and...

Its 8:00am PST 2/26/2008, we are less than 24 hours from the SQL Server 2008 launch. Its going to be the culmination of efforts of several hundred people across Microsoft to make this a reality. Keep in mind that LA is just the kick off of a global series...

I'm pleased to announce that we just released the February CTP of SQL Server 2008. As we've talked about before, this is the feature complete CTP of SQL Server 2008 which includes all of the functionality planned for the release. You can download the...

We are now less than 30 days away from launch and our online activities are now heating up. Portrait Gallery Launched Last week, we launched the HHH Portrait Gallery, a Silverlight 1.0 application which allows everyone and anyone to upload stories about...

Microsoft and Seagate have partnered with Jordan Gorfinkel, former editor of DC comics, to tell the story of our customers and partners, the unsung heroes of the technology world.  We are taking an “outside-in” approach where many of...

As we get closer to launch, I wanted to spend a moment to highlight some recently published case studies for SQL Server 2008. Its great to see the excellent work that our customers and partners are doing on our upcoming release. Healthcare Group Upgrading...

We often get questions about our upcoming Launch event in Los Angeles on Feb. 27 th , and when SQL Server 2008 will actually ship. The two events are loosely connected but they are not the same. The Launch event in Los Angeles is actually a marketing...

SQL Server marketing has gone all out these past 12 months creating rich, in-depth learning materials for SQL Server 2008. Experience this content first hand and get a jump in the marketplace today by viewing 28 webcasts on SQL Server 2008 and data platform...

The past few months have been an amazing time for the SQL Server team as we gear up for the start of the global launch wave on February 27. The response to SQL Server 2008 has been overwhelmingly positive  – in fact, we now have more 100,000...

Well, it's that time of the year when we look back at the past year and compile our top highlights of the year. Everyone loves a good Top 10 list so here's mine (in no particular order):  SQL Server 2008 announcement : We unveiled details on the...

The SQL Server support team just released a set of tools (RML Utilities) to help database administrators manage the performance of Microsoft SQL Server. With the RML Utilities you can answer questions such as the following: · Which application,...

As we get closer to launch - we have started locking down the sessions that we will have at launch. There are going to be 3 technical tracks at launch along with 1 track for IT Manager. For the 3 technical tracks, we will have 1 for Data Platform, 1 for...