Microsoft Pushes First Service Pack For SQL Server 2005

Microsoft Wednesday rolled out SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 1, featuring crucial database-mirroring capabilities left out of the initial launch of the database late last year.

Data mirroring in SP1 is aimed at enabling high availability and failover of SQL Server 2005 environments without any adverse impact on a company's primary production environment. Microsoft released the long-awaited SQL Server 2005 in November without this feature, instead opting for more testing and community feedback from partners and customers, says Carol Dullmeyer, product manager for SQL Server.

"We were very open that database mirroring was so important that it needed more customer input," Dullmeyer says. End result? SQL Server SP1, which is available now, includes a previously unplanned monitoring tool that gives users a view into their database-mirroring activities. "This was something customers said that they wanted," she says.

The other notable new technologies in SP1 tighten the bond with SAP-based systems for enterprise reporting. Microsoft .Net Data provider for SAP NetWeaver Business Intelligence and MDX Query Designer extend Microsoft's SQL Server Reporting Services capabilities to allow SAP customers to create and manage reports inside any SAP Business Warehouse environment, Dullmeyer says.

Along with SP1, Microsoft is releasing an updated version of its SQL Server 2005 Express version. Express is the free, small-footprint iteration of the database that has been popular among ISVs because it can be redistributed with their applications.

The new Express version will include SQL Server Reporting Services so that users can write reports against the database. It will also sport full-text search capabilities and a production-ready version of the SQL Server Management Studio Express tool, which fuels database queries and other tasks.

Mark Jewett, product manager for SQL Server, said that 2 million copies of SQL Server 2005 Express have been downloaded since the freebie was launched last year with the goal of both seeding the market and bolstering development of simple database-driven applications.

"Part of the beauty is that we do not require people to register to get [Express], yet it's a way for them to learn to use it, increase skillsets, etc.," Jewett says. "And as ISVs continue to bundle this with their own products, they drive a whole class of users downloading Express to use with the applications they are getting."