Content type: Updates

Published 
6 min read

Azure SQL Database: Service Tiers & Performance Q&A 

A few days ago, I published a post with some anticipated questions & answers to provide details on the new service tiers for Microsoft Azure SQL Database, announced on April 24. In this follow-up post, I want to provide more information about how SQL Database performance is factored into the service tiers.
Published 
9 min read

Azure SQL Database: New Service Tiers Q&A 

Earlier this month, we celebrated the launch of Microsoft SQL Server 2014, announced that the Analytics Platform System is generally available, and shared a preview of the Intelligent Systems Service. Quentin Clark summarized his keynote speech at the Accelerate Your Insights event in a blog post entitled, “The data platform for a new era.
Published 
2 min read

ICYMI: Data platform momentum 

The last couple months have seen the addition of several new products that extend Microsoft’s data platform offerings. At the end of January, Quentin Clark outlined his vision for the complete data platform, exploring the various inputs that are driving new application patterns, new considerations for handling data of all shapes and sizes, and ultimately changing the way we can reveal business insights from data.
Published 
2 min read

SQL Server 2014 Launch – A Community Affair 

Guest blog post by: PASS President Thomas LaRock – a SQL Server MVP, MCM, and Head Geek at Solarwinds – is a seasoned IT professional with over a decade of technical and management experience. Author of DBA Survivor: Become a Rock Star DBA, he holds an MS degree in Mathematics from Washington State University and is a Microsoft Certified Trainer and a VMware vExpert.
Published 
1 min read

SQL Server 2014 now Generally Available 

Microsoft today released Microsoft SQL Server 2014, the foundation of our cloud-first data platform. SQL Server 2014 delivers breakthrough performance with new and enhanced in-memory technologies to help customers accelerate their business and enable new, transformational scenarios.
Published 
5 min read

SQL Server 2014 releases April 1 

SQL Server 2014, Microsoft’s cloud first data platform, released to manufacturing today Today, Quentin Clark, corporate vice president of the Data Platform Group, announced that SQL Server 2014, the foundation of Microsoft’s cloud-first data platform, is released to manufacturing and will be generally available on April 1.
Published 
16 min read

The New and Improved Cardinality Estimator in SQL Server 2014 

One area where a lot of development work went into SQL Server 2014 is the area of query optimization where a crucial component got re-written in order to improve query access and predictability. To get a better idea about the significance of the change and the way how one should deal with it, let’s first check what the component of cardinality estimation is responsible for.
Published 
2 min read

Microsoft Brings Innovations From SQL Server To Hadoop With Stinger 

Over the last two years, Microsoft has been sharing our progress in Big Data by working to bring Hadoop to the masses through the simplicity and manageability of Windows and Azure. In 2012, Microsoft communicated our expanded partnership with Hortonworks by making Hortonworks Data Platform the core of our Hadoop solution on-premise and in the cloud.
Published 
6 min read

Using Natively Compiled Stored Procedures in SQL Server 2014 

The new In-Memory OLTP feature in SQL Server 2014 greatly optimizes the performance of certain OLTP applications. By using the new memory-optimized tables you can speed up data access, in particular in concurrency situations, due to the lock- and latch-free architecture of the In-Memory OLTP Engine.