Today, Microsoft made available the  SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 1 via free download to current SQL Server 2008 customers. Microsoft recommends that customers currently running SQL Server 2008 should download SP1 via the SQL Server 2008 Web site to take advantage of these improvements.

With SQL Server SP1, Microsoft has made investments to ease deployment and help make the management of service packs more efficient. SP1 is primarily a roll-up of previous cumulative updates and there are no new features, however key improvements include increased supportability and stability as well as Slipstream, Service Pack Uninstall and Report Builder 2.0 click-once deployment.

o   Slipstream allows administrators to install SQL Server 2008 and Service Pack 1 in a single instance. This decreases the total time for an installation, including a fewer number of reboots thereby increasing productivity and deployment availability.

o    Service Pack Uninstall allows administrators to uninstall the service pack separately from the database release.  This feature also improves DBA productivity, reduces the cost of deployment and improves overall supportability

o   Report Builder 2.0 Click Once improves the existing SQL Server end-user report authoring application by easing deployment to business users

With over 3 million downloads of SQL Server 2008 since the RTM in August, our customers continue to view SQL Server 2008 as a smart IT investment.

To download the SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 1, please click here.

For more information on SQL Server 2008, please click  here.