At the recent Professional Association for SQL Server Summit conference in Seattle, Microsoft made a number of major SQL server announcements, including unveiling a preview version of Denali and officially releasing the SQL Server 2008 R2 Parallel Data Warehouse Edition. In support of these updates, Microsoft also announced a new Critical Advantage Program.
The preview version of Denali, Microsoft's next version of SQL Server, includes a number of new tools, including Juneau, which allows developers to simultaneously work on databases, web applications and business intelligence software. Denali also includes an AlwaysOn function, allowing organizations to deploy multi-site clustering. A third utility, codenamed Crescent, is a tool for data visualization and reporting.
The Parallel Data Warehouse Edition of SQL Server R2 was also released by Microsoft. The new SQL Server platform allows virtual server hosting providers and other data center organizations to pre-tune and pre-configure massively parallel processing units based on customer needs.
The new Microsoft Critical Advantage Program is designed to help hosting vendors improve their reliability and availability, subsequently allowing businesses to move their critical services to virtual server hosting environments. The appliance consists of end-to-end suites of hardware and software designed specifically for compatibility to help make data centers more efficient and reliable.
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