Microsoft SQL Server 2012

Microsoft SQLServer belongs to relational database management systems where information is organized in the form of a two-dimensional tabular array, and each cell corresponds to one unit of storage. As a structured query language one of the procedural SQL (Transact-SQL) expansions developed by Microsoft and Sybase according to the ANSI/ISO standards is used.

Microsoft Rus LLC, Federal State Unitary Enterprise Enterprise for Deliveries of Products of the Presidential Property Management Department of the Russian Federation and Sertifitsirovannye informatsionnye sistemy LLC announced in January, 2014 certification by the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control (FSTEC of Russia) of SQL Server DBMS 2012 and software package for infrastructure management of System Center 2012.

As it is specified in certificates of conformity of FSTEC of Russia, System Center 2012 (in editions Standard and Datacenter about Service Pack 1, certificate No. 2966), and SQL Servers of 2012 (in editions Standard, Enterprise, Business Intelligence, Web about Service Pack 1, certificate No. 2967) productions of Microsoft company are software tools of general purpose with the built-in means of protecting from unauthorized access to information which is not containing the data which are the state secret implementing functions of access control, identification and authentication, registration of the events of security and meeting requirements of the corresponding Specifications, on condition of installation of all of the relevant obligatory certified security updates and accomplishment of the operating instructions provided in the corresponding forms.

Prereliz of Microsoft SQL Server 2014

The preliminary release of SQL Server of 2014 was issued, according to the announcement of Microsoft company at the annual TechEd Europe conference, on June 26, 2013

This technology development, as well as others, concerning a kernel of Microsoft Cloud OS - the next version of the Microsoft platform for data management and applications, is created in a full compliance with strategy "A cloud in the center of attention". It offers essentially new opportunities for information processing, use in cloud and hybrid information environments and also data analysis.

One of key innovations of SQL Server of 2014 - the new built-in functionality of Hekaton.

The Hekaton technology makes transaction processing in RAM and offers qualitatively other performance level, availability and controllability of crucial applications. It increases the processing speed of transactions in 50 and more times and increases efficiency of use of service lives. Together with progressive improvements in area of a business intelligence of SQL 2014 opens new opportunities for management of crucial business applications and deeper information analysis and data, including Big Data.

SQL Server of 2014 also gives new opportunities of disaster recovery and backup in a public cloud of Windows Azure.

Microsoft SQL Server Denali

In June, 2011 Microsoft announced development and an output to the market of the new version of SQL Server, known "Denali" code-named, and announced a release of its third CTP version (community technology preview).

SQL Server of "Denali" is a key component of the Microsoft platform for management, access and providing information completely ready for use in a cloud. She helps IT to respond almost instantly to constantly changing requests of business and to use all advantages of both a private, and public cloud.

SQL Server of "Denali" offers new opportunities and functions:

• SQL Server AlwaysOn – at the expense of integrated solution of support of the high level of data availability and disaster recovery, SQL Server AlwaysOn allows to reduce significantly the downtime (as planned and extraordinary). Thanks to this system the maximum availability of applications and data protection with a possibility of setup of several additional servers and also fast working off of failure and application recovery is provided.
• xVelocity is the built-in technology which allows to increase many times performance of data warehouses and applications of a business intelligence. So, due to use of the ColumnStore index the speed of accomplishment of requests to data warehouses increases in xVelocity by 10-100 times for "star" connections. Besides, xVelocity has a considerable impact on a business intelligence thanks to the analytics mechanism in memory which appeared in services Analysis Services that gives to users the chance with little effort to interact with billions of lines of data. At last, radical upgrade of full-text search allows to improve performance and scalability and also to enter other improvements.
• New opportunities of visualization – thanks to PowerPivot and PowerView technologies users of any level will be able to work with data of different types and practically from any source. Now, using already familiar means in Microsoft Excel 2010 and Microsoft SharePoint 2010, there was an opportunity to create reports and analytical applications and also without effort to organize joint work, sharing the ideas with other users.
• Performance improvement: the pokolonochny index (Project "Apollo") in hundreds of times accelerates processing of identical or connected requests.
• Business intelligence: the new solution of "Crescent" increases efficiency of work with data and tools for their visualization and allows end users to work with data very quickly.
• Necessary information in due time: uniform for all business analytical applications, starting with reports and the analysis and finishing with a dashboard and the system of indicators, semantic model BI (BI Semantic Model, BISM) provides high quality, including diverse data which can be stored in the most different systems. A superstructure of Master Data Services for Excel and the new services Data Quality Services created on the basis of technology of Zoomix company and provided by third-party application developers via Windows Azure Marketplace also improve quality of data.
• New opportunities of development. IT specialists and developers who work with databases can optimize the work, both in local, and in cloud infrastructure using the Data-tier Application Component (DAC) component and building tools of server, business and analytical and cloud applicaions for SQL Azure and SQL Server code-named of "Juneau".
• Complex updating and instruments of migration. The Upgrade Advisor and Distributed Replay tools allow to carry out the detailed analysis and applications testing of SQL Server to their updating. * Thanks to it IT specialists will always know how updating can influence operation of application. The SQL Server Migration Assistant (SSMA) tool will allow to automate migration of databases of other producers on the Denali SQL Server platform.

Microsoft SQL Server 2012

In March, 2012 Microsoft submitted the newest version of the relational database, SQL Server of 2012. Clients will be able to purchase it since April 1, 2012. With a release of this version of Microsoft changes positioning of a product: now, according to corporation, this solution is intended for the analysis of large volumes of unstructured data (big data).

SQL Server of 2012 "is modern date the platform which introduces structured data to the world of data unstructured", - Doug Leland, the general manager of division of Microsoft which is responsible for development of this platform said.

It is the first serious update of a system from the moment of an exit of SQL Server 2008 R2 in 2010. As for improvements, the vendor places emphasis on three moments: higher readiness for critical missions, the improved possibilities of BI and bigger compliance of the cloud computing model.

Microsoft states that SQL Server of 2012 is the effective tool for analytics of large volumes of data. SQL Server can work as a sheaf between platforms of unstructured data, such as Hadoop, and more traditional data warehouses which are offered by Microsoft. Using SQL Server in a combination I Hadoop, "users will be able to reach deeper understanding of data", using such tools as Excel PowerPivot and entering SQL Server of 2012 Power View, Leland noted.

SQL Server of 2012 is modified for deployments of Hadoop on Microsoft Azure. In October, 2011 there was a preliminary version of Hadoop service on Azure cloud. With an exit of SQL Server of 2012 the Hadoop Azure service will become available to 2 thousand to users (earlier – only 400). The final, commercial release of service is planned for the end of June, 2012.

The corporation is also going to release the connector which will allow SQL Server to interact with Hadoop by means of Windows Server 8. Also work on the Hadoop server for Windows Server is conducted that will allow clients to use it in own DPCs.

In DBMS BISM (Business Intelligence Semantic Model) – a new semantic campaign to information processing appeared. At the expense of simpler, actually tabular model of data view it allows to create analytical selections much quicker, than when using UDM (Unified Dimensional Model). As a result not only analysts, but also business users had an opportunity to independently build multiple-factor requests and reporting without the need for studying of mechanisms of formation of multidimensional data models at the deep level.

In Microsoft DBMS PowerView is used (before Project Crescent) there is a subsystem of visualization of the reporting with the increased interactivity and different graphic effects simplifying perception of large volume of information. Besides, there was a possibility of complete modification of the reporting, including via the web interface.

The new feature set is implemented on the basis of the technologies which are responsible for enterprise data management of EIM (Enterprise Information Management). The most significant changes are implemented in new service DQS (Data Quality Services) which is responsible for correct introduction of nomenclature data, support of their compliance to the accepted formats. In it such mechanisms as Fuzzy Logic, to Data Cleansing and volume similar are integrated. Uniform regulation of quality of data in the company is as a result provided that gives the chance to process information it is transparent and is consistent. In particular, thanks to availability of the knowledge base of quality of data of DQKB (Data Quality Knowledge Base) at information input such point as the city of Samara will correspond to the same entity in the internal reference book of localities regardless of entry form (Samara, " Samara", Kuibyshev, "Samara"). Liquidation of stylistic errors when in the Full Name data entry fields are mixed a surname and a name can be one more example.

Besides, work of two other EIM components - MDS (Master Data Services) which is responsible for creation of master data, for example NSI, and SSIS (SQL Server Integration Services) responsible for processes of ETL is optimized.

The parameters responsible for providing otkazo-and disaster tolerance are also improved. In particular, the new SQL Server AlwaysOn block which integrates within one module 2008 R2 functions which are already implemented in SQL Server on ensuring fault tolerance is implemented. From the implemented innovations it should be noted presence of groups of availability (Availability Groups) which provide an opportunity to configure several databases as a unit and to create an active secondary node (Active secondary) which unloads a primary server for ensuring such "background" processes as creation of backup copies, reports and so on. Such approach not only increases system performance, but also minimizes hardware costs.

It should be noted that sale of the new mechanisms providing stability of system operation is implemented in such a way that the flexibility and convenience configuring of the final solution were not cut down.

Among the innovations relating to performance improvement especially It should be noted emergence of such function as SQL Server ColumnStore Index. Thanks to this parameter information from the database can be taken not in the lines, and on columns that increases the speed of execution of the aggregating requests in hundreds, and sometimes and in thousands of times. Key advantage of this innovation is the fact that for its implementation there is no need to carry out modification of structure of the table with data.

Close integration with cloud platforms – first of all, with Windows Azure is in addition implemented. Besides, installation of a system on a cluster, including in the form of a failover server cluster of the WSFC applications (Windows Server Failover Clustering) is supported.

It should be noted that the new version of Microsoft SQL 2012 is designed with such accounting that end users of a system could process with a high speed gigabyte databases even on the normal computer.

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 completely supports the concept of creation of the data warehouse of DWH (Data Warehouse) based on which it is possible to unroll a system where large volumes of data will be stored. At the same time the DWH structure forms taking into account what analytical business processes take primary place in the company – OLAP or OLTP. It is necessary that in case of the sharp growth of loading a system could cope with the duties assigned to it without effort.

Thus, all DBMS components – from the processor and a disk subsystem to the used software – are selected to exclude bottlenecks in performance even taking into account emergence of considerable load of a system.

As a result of joint work with producers of the hardware the Microsoft company provides to DWH users the detailed guides to setup of the server platform from that vendor at which it is purchased. At the same time does not matter, the system hardware at one supplier is purchased or at several – recommendations about setup of each of components will be made.

It should be noted that other DBMS developers provide similar functionality as the separate offer which does not enter payment of delivery of a system on management of databases.

Licensing and prices

SQL Server of 2012 will be released in three editions, including for the first time — in Business Intelligence option at which there will be modern functions of the analysis and data visualization. Besides, edition Enterprise Edition in which in addition to all features of option of BI there will be developed safety features and high readiness and also column data storage is planned.

The prices of licenses SQL Server 2012 in the USA 

How to save with Microsoft SQL Server 2012?

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 is the integrated solution including a set of the modules intended for different user groups – ordinary database operators, business users, top managers, analysts, administrators and many others. At expansion of business in connection with growth of amounts of data with which it is necessary to operate quickly before the management of the companies to the utmost there is a need of purchase of additional solutions and personnel training. However in Microsoft SQL Server 2012 the overwhelming number of add-on modules is already included in basic delivery, and specific requirements can be met by development of add-on modules within already available data processing infrastructure as the new version of SQL Server is closely integrated with Visual Studio development environment 2010 and the .Net platform.

Some experts point that users of SQL-SUBD are not able to use this information system, applying it like the sheet Excel, and at data sampling do not know rules of formation of the simplest requests. As the reason of this phenomenon the fact that a system is the mechanism, extremely difficult for mastering, due to the need of mastering of language of SQL queries and so on is specified. Nevertheless the need for use of DBMS is a prerogative of the developed business.

It is possible to give the history of the international insurance company AFLAC as an example (the state more than 4 thousand people, independent agents – 70 thousand) which used a separate mainframe for storage of 2.5 Tb of data on the issued policies and their owners. However the power of the used DBMS by 2010 ceased to be enough for timely daily accomplishment of cycles of batch processing of data (ETL), monthly generation of 85 thousand reports (including work with confidential data for what it was necessary to use separate IT personnel), and runtime of big reports exceeded minute. As a result of transition to Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Enterprise DBMS information processing accelerated for 95%; cycles of extraction, conversion and data loading to storage were reduced by 3 hours; the used function of data compression allowed to allocate 10 times less space for data.

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 DBMS allows to create a universal information warehouse in which all is already put necessary functionality for the deepest and fast data analysis. An important point is the fact that all expenses on program and hardware infrastructure can be accurately and are in details planned for several years ahead.

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 for Embedded Systems

The Microsoft company announced release of SQL Server of 2012 for Embedded Systems for April, 2012. New SQL Server allows OEM manufacturing to unroll reliable databases for embedded applications. At the same time the application server can interact with powerful business applications to help to achieve the key goals of the client. Embedded is functional the version of SQL Server differs in 2012 nothing from the classical version, the main differences only in a license restriction on application.

Representation of Power View of services Reporting Services

Turning into reality the concept of drawing up reports in the self-service mode, the Microsoft corporation provides interactive solutions for studying, visualization and data views on the basis of the web interface in the order of users of all levels — from heads of the enterprises to information workers. Now any user can create the report for several seconds, transform a data format one mouse click, add the effective synchronized sequences of animation allowing to reveal quickly trends or anomalies and it is more convincing to reason the offers thanks to expanded instruments of representation of analysis results.

Representation of Power View is the interactive environment of studying and visual representation of data intended for information workers who need to receive dostupk to business data without having at the same time special technical skills of writing of own requests or creation of reports. Based on a semantic model of the business intelligence providing convenient data view, representation of PowerView provides to users effective and simple solution for a creative design of analysis results.

Improvements of the Power Pivot function

Solutions of Microsoft provide qualitatively new opportunities of the analysis, allowing users to receive access to integrate data practically from any source, to create effective reports and analytical applications and also to exchange data of the analysis and to work jointly on them using the usual Microsoft Excel 2010 and Microsoft SharePoint 2010 tools. The IT organizations can manage such solutions, completely controlling their use, increasing efficiency of solutions and stimulating mastering and use of tools of a business intelligence in the organization.

Never being satisfied with what has already been achieved, the Microsoft corporation continues to improve the Power Pivot functions. Clients can process large volumes of data by a usual method with a high speed in the environment of Excel and also use expanded functions of analytics, such as opportunity to create key performance indicators, ranks, perspectives, hierarchies and difficult business logic. The new version of Power Pivot also expands functions of expressions of DAX, providing to end users a possibility of creation of difficult analytical solutions in the environment which functions are similar to the usual Excel tools.

Full-text semantic search on statistical data

Allows T-SQL developers to implement for the organizations of function of deeper analysis of files of the unstructured data stored in databases of SQLServer, way of disclosure of earlier not detected relations between the stored files. Function of semantic search of FTS takes statistically important key phrases and on the basis of these phrases finds analogies in documents, representing them as structured data which become available thanks to the new features of T-SQL working with rowsets. When using together with File Table function of semantic search will transform unstructured documents to elements of a relational database, allowing developers to include them in any transactions of creation of sets along with structured data.

The business intelligence will be organized using reports in the Microsoft Office Word and Excel Open XML formats. BSQL Server 2012 reports of services Reporting Services can be exported to the new document formats of Microsoft Office for the first time presented in the Office 2007 system for Word and Excel now. Reports can be delivered in an interactive mode (the user selects the necessary format) or according to the programmed procedure and also to go directly to users on a subscription. New opportunities of visualization also use advantages of the new document formats, such as expanded number of columns and lines in Excel, along with the smaller sizes of files.

Notification of end users of Reporting Services

Function of the notification of end users increases labor productivity of information workers thanks to existence of reliable warnings of a status of data. This component monitors changes in data in the background and sends warnings to the user. Creation of warnings is activated by the status of data set by the information worker. The user sets conditions according to own requirements that increases efficiency of response to changes in the data important for users. The notification of end users is a new tool in SQLServer 2012 designed to increase labor productivity during the work of information workers with the reports of Reporting Services published in SharePoint.

Improvement of integration of services Reporting Services with SharePoint

Here the improved SharePoint integration framework for services SQLServer 2012 Reporting Services and also such functions of an independent business intelligence as the Crescent project (Power View representation) and "The notification of end users" belongs. Besides, new features allow to reduce total cost of ownership for administrators of SharePoint thanks to inclusion of functions of administration, setup and management of Reporting Services in the portal of the center of administration SharePoint 2010 and scripts of PowerShell. Now IT specialists can turn on functions of drawing up reports for all information employees of the organization, having configured one setting and to manage these functions as any other SharePoint component.

The reliability and coordination of data are guaranteed by application of a semantic model of a business intelligence.

Services SQLServer 2012 AnalysisServices include such new component as a semantic model of a business intelligence. It represents the uniform model for users providing several methods of creation of solutions of a business intelligence. It provides the following advantages:

• continuation of support of effective OLAP technologies which do services SQL Server Analysis Services irreplaceable for business intelligence specialists;
• tool kit for the IT specialists and developers familiar with data processing in lines and columns;
• support of a wide number of the solutions of a business intelligence intended for certain users, the working groups and the whole organizations.

The semantic model of a business intelligence allows the organizations to create the different solutions satisfying needs of both certain users, and the large organizations. The semantic model of a business intelligence is a universal model for creation of the working environment for users including reports, these analysts, the systems of indicators, panels of monitoring and customized applications which provides to developers flexibility of modeling of interfaces, rich feature set for creation of difficult solutions of business logic and scalability for satisfaction of the most various requirements of the organization.

Services Data Quality Services

New services SQL Server Data Quality Services (DQS) provide possibilities of integrated management of data of the organization. Services DQS make available to clients the tools based on knowledge which can be used for creation and service of the knowledge base of quality of data to improve quality of data and to simplify management of them. In particular clients can raise accuracy of the data, using knowledge of the company for creation of profiles, cleaning and comparison of data.

Services Data Quality Services can be started as autonomous means or to integrate with services SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS). SQL Server users of 2012 will be able to receive dostupk to the Windows Azure Marketplace Data Market website which can be used as a source of third-party data for check and data scrubbing within projects on quality evaluation of data.

Improvements in services Master Data Services

Services Master Data Services (MDS) still provide simple management of basic data of structures (comparison of the objects, reference data and also measurements and hierarchies) used in data integration transactions. The new feature "Intermediate storage on the basis of an entity" allows to load at the same time everything members and values of attributes for an entity. Besides, updates concerned a design of functional areas of the Master Data Manager web application, Observer and Integration management which interface is based on Silverlight now. Now users can quicker add and delete members and also move them to hierarchies. The new superstructure of MDS for Excel simplifies data management, allowing information workers to create the corresponding applications directly in Excel. This superstructure can be used for loading of the filtered data set from the MDS database, work with these data in Excel and the subsequent publication of the made changes in the MDS database. Administrators can also use a superstructure for creation of new entities and attributes.

Improvements in services SQL Server Integration Services

Services SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) allow to start data integration quicker: the organizations of any size can realize the aspiration to optimize data management thanks to the functions increasing efficiency and performance of the corresponding transactions.

Services SQL Server 2012 Integration Services provide complex support for use of functions of data integration as the crucial application, including full-function support for database managers and IT contractors in the field of deployment and administration of problems of extraction, conversion and loading (ETL). SQL Server of 2012 includes a possibility of start of functions of administration (and also other opportunities) in the form of a separate copy of SQL Server that provides several advantages among which there is a possibility of remote start of ETL packets; expanded support of administration, deployment, monitoring, drawing up reports and troubleshooting; usual environment of creation of scripts: the specialists familiar with T-SQL can directly interact with the database and stored procedures or scripts; and, at last, participation of services SSIS in solutions of ensuring high availability.

The Microsoft SQL Server will be able to process entirely databases in RAM

Microsoft develops the mechanism of processing of databases in RAM for SQL Server. In the next version of DBMS will be able already to keep in memory of the server separate tables or even databases entirely. As a result will win all applications whose high-speed performance suffers because of need to address the hard drive, declare in Microsoft. The technology of data processing in memory bears the code name Hekaton.

As counted in Microsoft, this technology, in comparison with disk, will accelerate data processing by 50 times. Hekaton is focused on the systems of online transaction processing — banking applications, ERP, etc. Hekaton can work only on one server, but does not impose restrictions for the capacity of RAM which in it can be set.

Hekaton keeps transaction journals in memory, but periodically resets them on a disk. To find room for more data into memory, a number of algorithms of a compression is applied. The tool simplifying purpose of tables and bases for processing in memory at the same time will be a part of SQL Server it is not required to make changes to the applications using them. Hekaton will also be able to compile stored procedures in the native code.

Microsoft will also soon release Service Pack 1 for SQL Server 2012 which among other will allow to work with data of SQL Server in Excel 2013.

2015: Service Pack 3 для SQL Server 2012

On December 2, 2015 Microsoft announced release of the Service Pack 3 service pack for SQL Server of 2012. Servispak is available to loading on Microsoft Download Center and will be available on MSDN, MAPS/MPN, MBS/Partner Source, and VLSC in the next weeks.

SQL Server of 2012 with service pack 3 (Service Pack 3) provides additional updates which purpose - to improve parameters of loading of performance, scalability and monitoring in the long term.

As a part of the main changes:

• improvement of scalability and performance for a data storage core.
• improvements of consecutive check of performance.
• the hint in a request suggests to provide exact control when using Resource Governor.
• additional opportunities of monitoring through improvements in DMV, expanded events and planned requests.
• the improved performance when opening and readings XEL files using Linq XEvent.
• the improved performance for space requests.

SP3 - cumulative type also comprises all previous accumulative updates and "patches", up to accumulative updating #9.

Links

• The product description on the website of Microsoft
• Learn more: http://www.cnews.ru/reviews/index.shtml?2012/03/23/482727_2 of CNews]