News

Microsoft Updates SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 1

CTP4 includes improved AlwaysOn Availability Group migration and better query capabilities over XML data.

• By David Ramel
• 09/20/2012

Microsoft today released a new Community Technology Preview for SQL Server 2012, Service Pack 1. The CTP4 includes improved AlwaysOn Availability Group migration, better query capabilities over XML data and a better SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) for Express users.

The AlwaysOn Availability Group cross-cluster migration lets users move to a higher-level version of Windows Server cluster, which keeps intact service-level agreements when upgrading to the higher-level version, such as Windows Server 2012 cluster.

The new Selective XML index can boost query performance over XML data, resulting in faster indexing of big XML data workloads, along with improving scalability by lowering storage costs of an index, the company said.

Finally, users of Express editions now get a full-featured edition of SSMS, matching the functionalities in the SSMS included with full editions of SQL Server. The Express editions include SQL Server Management Studio Express, SQL Server Express With Tools, SQL Server With Advanced Services and SQL Server Express COMP.

The last update, CTP3 was released in July, including support for self-service business intelligence functionality in Office and SharePoint 2013 Preview.