Keep your system up to date with the most recent cumulative update package for SQL Server 2008 RTM. This package contains all of the SQL Server 2008 hotfixes that have been released since the initial release of SQL Server 2008 RTM. Understanding Incremental...(read more).. more »

Keep your system up to date with the most recent cumulative update package for SQL Server 2008 SP1. This package contains all of the SQL Server 2008 hotfixes that have been released since the initial release of SQL Server 2008 SP1. Understanding Incremental...(read more).. more »

In the past you may have provided valuable feedback through , blogs, conferences, and perhaps even discussed your ideas directly with members of the SQL Server Reporting Services product team. We appreciate all your suggestions, feedback and input we have received! If you want to have an even bigger impact on shaping the future of SQL Server .. more »

on some operators . They are internal parameters used by query memory grant to save overall memory usage, and “fraction” means how much this operator is allowed to use from “total additional memory” (please see previous post for definition on additional memory). This is done by observing input (building hash table) to output (probing) phase tran.. more »

We have created a new website to allow you to submit and vote on ideas for new sync features as they relate to sync.  You can find the site here: We would love to hear about the things that you would like to see us focus on in the Sync Framework group and although this is primarily meant for features relating to SQL Azure and Windows Azure, please a.. more »

In this blog, we will provide additional details on a well-hidden feature in SQL Server 2008 – partition-level locking. But before we illustrate the feature, here’s a bit of background about lock escalation and lock granularities. SQL Server has a lock manager that tracks which database objects are locked. Typically, a query will take locks at the .. more »

The algorithm used to implement Unicode compression (SCSU) is described in the following spec: German can be written using only Basic Latin and the Latin-1 supplement, so all characters above 0x0080 use the default position of dynamically positioned window 0. Unicode code points (9 code points): 00D6 006C 0020 0066 006C 0069 0065 00DF 0074 NOTE: In .. more »

Author: Kun ChengReviewers: Peter Carlin, Mike Ruthruff, Thomas Kejser, Nicholas Dritsas XML data type is usually used to store semi-structured data with great flexibility and query capabilities. It’s a good choice for developing platform agnostic applications to separate storage of complex data from processing at application layer, which un.. more »

Attending MIX10? Use MIX10 Session Planner (Beta) ( ) to browse sessions, workshops, and speakers, and organize your personal schedule for the conference. MIX10 Session Planner (Beta) uses Microsoft Silverlight together with Microsoft Sync Framework to help you get the most out of MIX10. Conference data is cached on your computer, enabling you to .. more »

   If anyone is planning to attend to the RSA Conference 2010 in San Francisco, please stop by and visit us at the Microsoft SQL Server booth and to the theater sessions we have prepared for the event: Title Schedule Speaker SQL Server 2008 Security Features March 2nd, 11:40-12:00 Il-Sung Lee Module Signing in SQL Server March 3rd, 12.. more »

  We wanted to post and let everyone know that the Microsoft SQL Server Base and Infrastructure (SBIA) team is hiring for various test positions.  This includes the Security team (or Core Security Infrastructure team) and several other teams who are working hard to deliver the next set of features to the SQL Server Engine.  Below is a pointer to the.. more »

Dino Esposito has written a nice article in the March 2010 MSDN magazine on how to use the OData Ajax library.  You can check it out here.   -Mike Flasko Data Services, Lead Program Manager.. more »

You can get 6.3 through the MSDN, MVLS, the fulfillment desk 1-800-248-0655, or via an evaluation copy at the public http://download.microsoft.com site.  6.2 hot fixes are no longer available since the product version is no longer supported.  You must upgrade to 6.3 to receive support and updates.   -Joey    .. more »

Aside from PCI, I probably hear more about HIPAA compliance (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) from our customers than other regulations.  Although there is no formal certification around HIPAA at this point, health care providers still have a legal requirement to comply with the regulation.  If you fall in this bucket, you mi.. more »

If you want to get started right away using tools like SSMS against SQL Azure, you are in luck. It turns out that the SQL Server 2008 R2 November CTP release includes SSMS Express package for 32 and 64 bit systems. Check out the Tools Only section on...(read more).. more »

A few weeks back, we announced our Data Services update to .NET 3.5 SP1. That release introduced many new features. We are now releasing the Silverlight counterpart, ADO.NET Data Services for Silverlight 3 Update CTP3. This CTP updates our Silverlight client assembly to make use of the new features. This release is just a CTP because we .. more »

Ward Beattie, one of our developers, has published a nice that allows you to get sysadmin privilege to your local SQL Server Express instance. Obviously, you need to have administrative rights on your machine or access to an account that does. The script can be very useful in the following situation: When Visual Studio 2010 RC is installed by one .. more »

This article describes how query memory grant works in Microsoft SQL Server. It applies to both SQL2005 and SQL2008. Written by Jay Choe, Microsoft SQL Server Engine. Query memory grant (a.k.a. query work buffer) is a part of server memory used to store temporary row data while sorting and joining rows. It is called "grant" because the server .. more »

Keep your system up to date with the most recent cumulative update package for SQL Server 2005 SP3. This package contains all of the SQL Server 2005 hotfixes that have been released since the initial release of SQL Server 2005 SP3. CU#8 KB Article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/978915/en-us...(read more).. more »

If you want to try out Data Services with the SharePoint 2010 Beta today you have to use CTP2 of Data Services v1.5, because unfortunately the Data Service RTM version, aka the Data Services Update for .NET 3.5 SP1 is incompatible with the SharePoint 2010 Beta. This is a point in time issue – when SharePoint RTMs it will work seamlessly with the Da.. more »