SQL Server 2005
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The history of Microsoft SQL Server begins with the first
Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system developed by Microsoft. As a database server, it is a software product with the primary function of storing and retrieving data as requested by other software applications—which ma ...
database product – SQL Server v1.0, a 16-bit
relational database A relational database is a (most commonly digital) database based on the relational model of data, as proposed by E. F. Codd in 1970. A system used to maintain relational databases is a relational database management system (RDBMS). Many relatio ...
for the
OS/2 OS/2 (Operating System/2) is a series of computer operating systems, initially created by Microsoft and IBM under the leadership of IBM software designer Ed Iacobucci. As a result of a feud between the two companies over how to position OS/2 ...
operating system, released in 1989.


Versions


Detailed history


Genesis

On June 12, 1988, Microsoft joined Ashton-Tate was fighting for their desktop product dBASE while
Sybase Sybase, Inc. was an enterprise software and services company. The company produced software to manage and analyze information in relational databases, with facilities located in California and Massachusetts. Sybase was acquired by SAP in 2010; ...
created a variant of
Sybase SQL Server SAP ASE (Adaptive Server Enterprise), originally known as Sybase SQL Server, and also commonly known as Sybase DB or Sybase ASE, is a relational model database server developed by Sybase Corporation, which later became part of SAP AG. ASE was ...
for IBM
OS/2 OS/2 (Operating System/2) is a series of computer operating systems, initially created by Microsoft and IBM under the leadership of IBM software designer Ed Iacobucci. As a result of a feud between the two companies over how to position OS/2 ...
(then developed jointly with Microsoft), which was released the following year. This was the first version of Microsoft SQL Server, and served as Microsoft's entry to the enterprise-level database market, competing against
Oracle An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...
, IBM, Informix, Ingres and later, Sybase. SQL Server 4.2 was shipped in 1992, bundled with OS/2 version 1.3, followed by version 4.21 for
Windows NT Windows NT is a proprietary graphical operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems sc ...
, released alongside Windows NT 3.1. SQL Server 6.0 was the first version designed for NT, and did not include any direction from Sybase. About the time
Windows NT Windows NT is a proprietary graphical operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems sc ...
was released in July 1993, Sybase and Microsoft parted ways and each pursued its own design and marketing schemes. Microsoft negotiated exclusive rights to all versions of SQL Server written for Microsoft operating systems. (In 1996 Sybase changed the name of its product to Adaptive Server Enterprise to avoid confusion with Microsoft SQL Server.) Until 1994, Microsoft's SQL Server carried three Sybase copyright notices as an indication of its origin.


SQL Server 7.0

SQL Server 7.0 was a major rewrite (C++) of the older Sybase engine, which was coded in C. Data pages were enlarged from 2k bytes to 8k bytes. Extents thereby grew from 16k bytes to 64k bytes. User Mode Scheduling (UMS) was introduced to handle SQL Server threads better than Windows preemptive multi-threading, also adding support for fibers (lightweight threads, introduced in NT 4.0, which are used to avoid context switching). SQL Server 7.0 also introduced a multi-dimensional database product called SQL OLAP Services (which became Analysis Services in SQL Server 2000). SQL Server 7.0 would be the last version to run on the DEC Alpha platform. Although there were pre-release versions of SQL 2000 (as well as Windows 2000) compiled for Alpha, these were canceled and were never commercially released. Mainstream Support Ended on December 31, 2005, as Extended Support Ended on January 11, 2011.


SQL Server 2000

SQL Server 2000 included more modifications and extensions to the Sybase code base, adding support for the
IA-64 IA-64 (Intel Itanium architecture) is the instruction set architecture (ISA) of the Itanium family of 64-bit Intel microprocessors. The basic ISA specification originated at Hewlett-Packard (HP), and was subsequently implemented by Intel in coll ...
architecture (now out of "mainstream" support). By SQL Server 2005 the legacy Sybase code had been completely rewritten. Since the release of SQL Server 2000, advances have been made in performance, the client IDE tools, and several complementary systems that are packaged with SQL Server 2005. These include: *an extract-transform-load (ETL) tool (initially called Data Transformation Services -DTS-, and subsequently SQL Server Integration Services or SSIS) *
SQL Server Reporting Services SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is a server-based report generating software system from Microsoft. It is part of a suite of Microsoft SQL Server services, including SSAS ( SQL Server Analysis Services) and SSIS ( SQL Server Integration Servic ...
(SSRS), or "Reporting Server" *an
OLAP Online analytical processing, or OLAP (), is an approach to answer multi-dimensional analytical (MDA) queries swiftly in computing. OLAP is part of the broader category of business intelligence, which also encompasses relational databases, repor ...
and data mining server (
Analysis Services Analysis ( : analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (38 ...
) *several messaging technologies, specifically Service Broker and Notification Services SQL Server 2000 also introduced many T-SQL language enhancements, such as table variables, user-defined functions, indexed views, INSTEAD OF triggers, cascading referential constraints and some basic XML support. With the release of Service Pack 3, Microsoft also released the first 64-bit version of the SQL Server for the
Itanium Itanium ( ) is a discontinued family of 64-bit Intel microprocessors that implement the Intel Itanium architecture (formerly called IA-64). Launched in June 2001, Intel marketed the processors for enterprise servers and high-performance computin ...
IA-64 platform. (not to be confused with the
x86-64 x86-64 (also known as x64, x86_64, AMD64, and Intel 64) is a 64-bit version of the x86 instruction set, first released in 1999. It introduced two new modes of operation, 64-bit mode and compatibility mode, along with a new 4-level paging mod ...
platform) Only the SQL Server relational engine and SQL Agent were ported to Itanium at this time. Client tools, such as Enterprise Manager, would still need to be run from 32-bit x86 clients. The first release of SQL IA-64 was version 8.00.760, with a build date of February 6, 2003. Mainstream Support Ended on April 8, 2008 and Extended Support Ended April 9, 2013.


SQL Server 2005

SQL Server 2005 (formerly codenamed "Yukon") released in November 2005. It included native support for managing
XML Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a markup language and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing arbitrary data. It defines a set of rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-readable. T ...
data, in addition to
relational data Relational may refer to: Business * Relational capital, the value inherent in a company's relationships with its customers, vendors, and other important constituencies * Relational contract, a contract whose effect is based upon a relationship o ...
. For this purpose, it defined an xml
data type In computer science and computer programming, a data type (or simply type) is a set of possible values and a set of allowed operations on it. A data type tells the compiler or interpreter how the programmer intends to use the data. Most progra ...
that could be used either as a data type in database columns or as literals in queries. XML columns can be associated with
XSD XSD (XML Schema Definition), a recommendation of the World Wide Web Consortium ( W3C), specifies how to formally describe the elements in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) document. It can be used by programmers to verify each piece of item con ...
schemas; XML data being stored is verified against the schema. XML is converted to an internal binary data type before being stored in the database. Specialized indexing methods were made available for XML data. XML data is queried using
XQuery XQuery (XML Query) is a query and functional programming language that queries and transforms collections of structured and unstructured data, usually in the form of XML, text and with vendor-specific extensions for other data formats (JSON, bin ...
; SQL Server 2005 added some extensions to the
T-SQL Transact-SQL (T-SQL) is Microsoft's and Sybase's proprietary extension to the SQL (Structured Query Language) used to interact with relational databases. T-SQL expands on the SQL standard to include procedural programming, local variables, vario ...
language to allow embedding XQuery queries in T-SQL. It also defines a new extension to XQuery, called XML DML, that allows query-based modifications to XML data. SQL Server 2005 also allows a database server to be exposed over web services using
Tabular Data Stream Tabular Data Stream (TDS) is an application layer Protocol (computing), protocol used to transfer data between a database server and a client. It was initially designed and developed by Sybase Inc. for their Sybase SQL Server relational database eng ...
(TDS) packets encapsulated within
SOAP (protocol) Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are used as ...
requests. When the data is accessed over web services, results are returned as XML.
Common Language Runtime The Common Language Runtime (CLR), the virtual machine component of Microsoft .NET Framework, manages the execution of .NET programs. Just-in-time compilation converts the managed code (compiled intermediate language code) into machine instructio ...
(CLR) integration was introduced with this version, enabling one to write SQL code as Managed Code by the CLR. For relational data,
T-SQL Transact-SQL (T-SQL) is Microsoft's and Sybase's proprietary extension to the SQL (Structured Query Language) used to interact with relational databases. T-SQL expands on the SQL standard to include procedural programming, local variables, vario ...
has been augmented with error handling features (try/catch) and support for recursive queries with CTEs (Common Table Expressions). SQL Server 2005 has also been enhanced with new indexing algorithms, syntax and better error recovery systems. Data pages are
checksum A checksum is a small-sized block of data derived from another block of digital data for the purpose of detecting errors that may have been introduced during its transmission or storage. By themselves, checksums are often used to verify data ...
med for better error resiliency, and optimistic concurrency support has been added for better performance. Permissions and access control have been made more granular and the query processor handles concurrent execution of queries in a more efficient way. Partitions on tables and indexes are supported natively, so scaling out a database onto a
cluster may refer to: Science and technology Astronomy * Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft * Asteroid cluster, a small asteroid family * Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study t ...
is easier. SQL CLR was introduced with SQL Server 2005 to let it integrate with the .NET Framework. SQL Server 2005 introduced
Multi-Version Concurrency Control Multiversion concurrency control (MCC or MVCC), is a concurrency control method commonly used by database management systems to provide concurrent access to the database and in programming languages to implement transactional memory. Description W ...
(MVCC). User facing features include new transaction isolation level called SNAPSHOT and a variation of the READ COMMITTED isolation level based on statement-level data snapshots. SQL Server 2005 introduced "MARS" (Multiple Active Results Sets), a method of allowing usage of
database connection A database connection is a facility in computer science that allows client software to talk to database server software, whether on the same machine or not. A connection is required to send commands and receive answers, usually in the form of a r ...
s for multiple purposes.Multiple Active Result Sets (MARS) in SQL Server 2005. retrieved June 20, 2009
/ref> SQL Server 2005 introduced DMVs (Dynamic Management Views), which are specialized views and functions that return server state information that can be used to monitor the health of a server instance, diagnose problems, and tune performance.Dynamic Management Views and Functions. retrieved June 6, 2010
/ref> SQL Server 2005 was the first version with native support for the
x64 x86-64 (also known as x64, x86_64, AMD64, and Intel 64) is a 64-bit version of the x86 instruction set, first released in 1999. It introduced two new modes of operation, 64-bit mode and compatibility mode, along with a new 4-level paging mo ...
platform. Service Pack 1 (SP1) of SQL Server 2005 introduced Database Mirroring, a high availability option that provides redundancy and failover capabilities at the database level. Failover can be performed manually or can be configured for automatic failover. Automatic failover requires a witness partner and an operating mode of synchronous (also known as high-safety or full safety). Database Mirroring was included in the first release of SQL Server 2005 for evaluation purposes only. Prior to SP1, it was not enabled by default, and was not supported by Microsoft. Service Pack 1 was released on April 18, 2006, Service Pack 2 released on February 19, 2007, Service Pack 3 was released on December 15, 2008, and SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 4 released on December 13, 2010. Mainstream support for SQL Server 2005 ended on April 12, 2011, and Extended support for SQL Server 2005 ended on April 12, 2016.


SQL Server 2008

SQL Server 2008 (formerly codenamed "Katmai") was released on August 6, 2008, announced to the SQL Server Special Interest Group at the ESRI 2008 User's Conference on August 6, 2008 by Ed Katibah (Spatial Program Manager at Microsoft), and aims to make data management
self-tuning In control theory a self-tuning system is capable of optimizing its own internal running parameters in order to maximize or minimize the fulfilment of an objective function; typically the maximization of efficiency or error minimization. Self-tu ...
, self organizing, and self maintaining with the development of ''SQL Server Always On'' technologies, to provide near-zero downtime. SQL Server 2008 also includes support for
structured Structuring, also known as smurfing in banking jargon, is the practice of executing financial transactions such as making bank deposits in a specific pattern, calculated to avoid triggering financial institutions to file reports required by law ...
and semi-structured data, including digital media formats for pictures, audio, video and other multimedia data. In current versions, such multimedia data can be stored as BLOBs (binary large objects), but they are generic bitstreams. Intrinsic awareness of multimedia data will allow specialized functions to be performed on them. According to
Paul Flessner Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...
, senior Vice President of Server Applications at Microsoft, SQL Server 2008 can be a data storage backend for ''different varieties of data: XML, email, time/calendar, file, document, spatial, etc.'' as well as perform ''search, query, analysis, sharing, and synchronization'' across all data types. Other new data types include specialized date and time types and a ''Spatial'' data type for location-dependent data. Better support for unstructured and semi-structured data is provided using the new ''FILESTREAM'' data type, which can be used to reference any file stored on the file system. Structured data and metadata about the file is stored in SQL Server database, whereas the unstructured component is stored in the file system. Such files can be accessed both via
Win32 The Windows API, informally WinAPI, is Microsoft's core set of application programming interfaces (APIs) available in the Microsoft Windows operating systems. The name Windows API collectively refers to several different platform implementations th ...
file handling
API An application programming interface (API) is a way for two or more computer programs to communicate with each other. It is a type of software Interface (computing), interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standa ...
s as well as via SQL Server using
T-SQL Transact-SQL (T-SQL) is Microsoft's and Sybase's proprietary extension to the SQL (Structured Query Language) used to interact with relational databases. T-SQL expands on the SQL standard to include procedural programming, local variables, vario ...
; doing the latter accesses the file data as a BLOB. Backing up and restoring the database backs up or restores the referenced files as well. SQL Server 2008 also natively supports hierarchical data, and includes
T-SQL Transact-SQL (T-SQL) is Microsoft's and Sybase's proprietary extension to the SQL (Structured Query Language) used to interact with relational databases. T-SQL expands on the SQL standard to include procedural programming, local variables, vario ...
constructs to directly deal with them, without using recursive queries. The
full-text search In text retrieval, full-text search refers to techniques for searching a single computer-stored document or a collection in a full-text database. Full-text search is distinguished from searches based on metadata or on parts of the original texts ...
functionality has been integrated with the database engine. According to a Microsoft technical article, this simplifies management and improves performance. Spatial data will be stored in two types. A "Flat Earth" (GEOMETRY or planar) data type represents geospatial data which has been projected from its native, spherical, coordinate system into a plane. A "Round Earth" data type (GEOGRAPHY) uses an ellipsoidal model in which the Earth is defined as a single continuous entity which does not suffer from the singularities such as the international dateline, poles, or map projection zone "edges". Approximately 70 methods are available to represent spatial operations for the Open Geospatial Consortium
Simple Features for SQL Simple Features (officially Simple Feature Access) is a set of standards that specify a common storage and access model of geographic feature made of mostly two-dimensional geometries (point, line, polygon, multi-point, multi-line, etc.) used by g ...
, Version 1.1. SQL Server includes better compression features, which also helps in improving scalability. It enhanced the indexing algorithms and introduced the notion of filtered indexes. It also includes ''Resource Governor'' that allows reserving resources for certain users or workflows. It also includes capabilities for transparent encryption of data (TDE) as well as compression of backups. SQL Server 2008 supports the
ADO.NET Entity Framework Entity Framework (EF) is an open source object–relational mapping (ORM) framework for ADO.NET. It was originally shipped as an integral part of .NET Framework, however starting with Entity Framework version 6.0 it has been delivered separately ...
and the reporting tools, replication, and data definition will be built around the
Entity Data Model Entity Framework (EF) is an open source object–relational mapping (ORM) framework for ADO.NET. It was originally shipped as an integral part of .NET Framework, however starting with Entity Framework version 6.0 it has been delivered separately ...
.
SQL Server Reporting Services SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS) is a server-based report generating software system from Microsoft. It is part of a suite of Microsoft SQL Server services, including SSAS ( SQL Server Analysis Services) and SSIS ( SQL Server Integration Servic ...
will gain charting capabilities from the integration of the data visualization products from Dundas Data Visualization, Inc., which was acquired by Microsoft. On the management side, SQL Server 2008 includes the ''Declarative Management Framework'' which allows configuring policies and constraints, on the entire database or certain tables, declaratively. The version of
SQL Server Management Studio Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) is a software application developed by Microsoft that is used for configuring, managing, and administering all components within Microsoft SQL Server. First launched with Microsoft SQL Server 2005, ...
included with SQL Server 2008 supports
IntelliSense Intelligent code completion is a context-aware code completion feature in some programming environments that speeds up the process of coding applications by reducing typos and other common mistakes. Attempts at this are usually done through auto-c ...
for SQL queries against a SQL Server 2008 Database Engine. SQL Server 2008 also makes the databases available via
Windows PowerShell PowerShell is a task automation and configuration management program from Microsoft, consisting of a command-line shell and the associated scripting language. Initially a Windows component only, known as Windows PowerShell, it was made open-sourc ...
providers and management functionality available as
Cmdlets PowerShell is a task automation and configuration management program from Microsoft, consisting of a command-line shell and the associated scripting language. Initially a Windows component only, known as Windows PowerShell, it was made open-sourc ...
, so that the server and all the running instances can be managed from
Windows PowerShell PowerShell is a task automation and configuration management program from Microsoft, consisting of a command-line shell and the associated scripting language. Initially a Windows component only, known as Windows PowerShell, it was made open-sourc ...
. The final SQL Server 2008 service pack (10.00.6000, Service Pack 4) was released on September 30, 2014. SQL Server 2008 had mainstream support until July 8, 2014 and extended support until July 9, 2019. Volume licensed Standard, Web, Enterprise, Workgroup and Datacenter editions of SQL Server 2008 are eligible for the Extended Security Updates program. The first term of yearly installment ended on 14 July, 2020, the second term ended on July 13, 2021 and the third term ended on July 12, 2022. Those volume licensed editions rehosted on Azure will receive the fourth and free term of ESUs until 11 July, 2023.


SQL Server 2008 R2

SQL Server 2008 R2 (10.50.1600.1, formerly codenamed "Kilimanjaro") was announced at TechEd 2009, and was
released to manufacturing A software release life cycle is the sum of the stages of development and maturity for a piece of computer software ranging from its initial development to its eventual release, and including updated versions of the released version to help impro ...
on April 21, 2010. SQL Server 2008 R2 adds certain features to SQL Server 2008 including a
master data management Master data management (MDM) is a technology-enabled discipline in which business and information technology work together to ensure the uniformity, accuracy, stewardship, semantic consistency and accountability of the enterprise's official shared ...
system branded as
Master Data Services Microsoft SQL Server Master Data Services (MDS) is a Master Data Management (MDM) product from Microsoft that ships as a part of the Microsoft SQL Server relational database management system. Master data management (MDM) allows an organization to ...
, a central management of master data entities and hierarchies. Also Multi Server Management, a centralized console to manage multiple SQL Server 2008 instances and services including relational databases, Reporting Services, Analysis Services & Integration Services. SQL Server 2008 R2 includes a number of new services, including
PowerPivot Power Pivot, formerly known as PowerPivot (without spacing), is a feature of Microsoft Excel, a computer software spreadsheet. It is available as an add-in in Excel 2010, 2013 in separate downloads, and as an add-in included with the Excel 2016 ...
for
Excel ExCeL London (an abbreviation for Exhibition Centre London) is an exhibition centre, international convention centre and former hospital in the Custom House area of Newham, East London. It is situated on a site on the northern quay of the ...
and
SharePoint SharePoint is a web-based collaborative platform that integrates natively with Microsoft Office. Launched in 2001, SharePoint is primarily sold as a document management and storage system, but the product is highly configurable and its usage v ...
,
Master Data Services Microsoft SQL Server Master Data Services (MDS) is a Master Data Management (MDM) product from Microsoft that ships as a part of the Microsoft SQL Server relational database management system. Master data management (MDM) allows an organization to ...

StreamInsight
Report Builder A report is a document that presents information in an organized format for a specific audience and purpose. Although summaries of reports may be delivered orally, complete reports are almost always in the form of written documents. Usage In ...
3.0
Reporting Services
Add-in for SharePoint, a Data-tier function in Visual Studio that enables packaging of tiered databases as part of an application, and a SQL Server Utility named UC (Utility Control Point), part of AMSM (Application and Multi-Server Management) that is used to manage multiple SQL Servers. The first SQL Server 2008 R2 service pack (10.50.2500, Service Pack 1) was released on July 11, 2011. The second SQL Server 2008 R2 service pack (10.50.4000, Service Pack 2) was released on July 26, 2012. The final SQL Server 2008 R2 service pack (10.50.6000, Service Pack 3) was released on September 26, 2014. SQL 2008 R2 would be the last version of SQL Server to run on the
Itanium Itanium ( ) is a discontinued family of 64-bit Intel microprocessors that implement the Intel Itanium architecture (formerly called IA-64). Launched in June 2001, Intel marketed the processors for enterprise servers and high-performance computin ...
(IA-64) platform. However, the x64 platform would continue on in force. Extended support for SQL Server on Itanium would continue until 2018. SQL Server 2008 R2 had mainstream support until July 8, 2014 and extended support until July 9, 2019. Volume licensed Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter and Embedded editions of SQL Server 2008 R2 are eligible for the Extended Security Updates program. The first term of yearly installment ended on 14 July, 2020, the second term ended on July 13, 2021 and the third term ended on July 12, 2022. Those volume licensed editions rehosted on Azure will receive the fourth and free term of ESUs until 11 July, 2023.


SQL Server 2012

At the 2011
Professional Association for SQL Server PASS (formerly known as the Professional Association for SQL Server) was a global community for data professionals who use the Microsoft data platform. An independent, non-profit, user-run association, PASS was founded in 1999 with funds from Micro ...
(PASS) summit on October 11, Microsoft announced that the next major version of SQL Server (codenamed "Denali"), would be SQL Server 2012. It was released to manufacturing on March 6, 2012. SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 1 was released to manufacturing on November 7, 2012, Service Pack 2 was released to manufacturing on June 10, 2014, Service Pack 3 was released to manufacturing on December 1, 2015, and Service Pack 4 was released to manufacturing on October 5, 2017. It was announced to be the last version to natively support
OLE DB OLE DB (''Object Linking and Embedding, Database'', sometimes written as OLEDB or OLE-DB), an API designed by Microsoft, allows accessing data from a variety of sources in a uniform manner. The API provides a set of interfaces implemented using ...
and instead to prefer
ODBC In computing, Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) is a standard application programming interface (API) for accessing database management systems (DBMS). The designers of ODBC aimed to make it independent of database systems and operating systems. An ...
for native connectivity. SQL Server 2012's new features and enhancements include Always On SQL Server Failover Cluster Instances and Availability Groups which provides a set of options to improve database availability, Contained Databases which simplify the moving of databases between instances, new and modified Dynamic Management Views and Functions, programmability enhancements including new spatial features, metadata discovery, sequence objects and the THROW statement, performance enhancements such as ColumnStore Indexes as well as improvements to OnLine and partition level operations and security enhancements including provisioning during setup, new permissions, improved role management, and default schema assignment for groups. SQL Server 2012 had mainstream support until July 11, 2017 and extended support until July 12, 2022. All volume licensed editions of SQL Server 2012 are eligible for the Extended Security Updates program. The first term of yearly installment will end on 11 July, 2023, the second term will end on July 9, 2024 and the third and final term will end on July 8, 2025.


SQL Server 2014

SQL Server 2014 was released to manufacturing on March 18, 2014, and released to the general public on April 1, 2014 and the build number was 12.0.2000.8 at release. Until November 2013 there were two CTP revisions, CTP1 and CTP2. SQL Server 2014 provides a new in-memory capability for tables that can fit entirely in memory (also known as Hekaton). Whilst small tables may be entirely resident in memory in all versions of SQL Server, they also may reside on disk, so work is involved in reserving
RAM Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...
, writing evicted pages to disk, loading new pages from disk, locking the pages in RAM while they are being operated on, and many other tasks. By treating a table as guaranteed to be entirely resident in memory much of the 'plumbing' of disk-based databases can be avoided.SQL Server 2012-2014-Explore. Server Cloud. Microsoft.com (2013-04-17). Retrieved on 2014-03-23
/ref> For disk-based SQL Server applications, it also provides the SSD Buffer Pool Extension, which can improve performance by cache between
RAM Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to: Animals * A male sheep * Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish People * Ram (given name) * Ram (surname) * Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director * RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch * ...
and spinning media. SQL Server 2014 also enhances the Always On (HADR) solution by increasing the readable secondaries count and sustaining read operations upon secondary-primary disconnections, and it provides new hybrid disaster recovery and backup solutions with Microsoft Azure, enabling customers to use existing skills with the on-premises version of SQL Server to take advantage of Microsoft's global datacenters. In addition, it takes advantage of new Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 capabilities for database application scalability in a physical or virtual environment. Microsoft provides three versions of SQL Server 2014 for downloading: the one that runs on
Microsoft Azure Microsoft Azure, often referred to as Azure ( , ), is a cloud computing platform operated by Microsoft for application management via around the world-distributed data centers. Microsoft Azure has multiple capabilities such as software as a ...
, the SQL Server 2014 CAB, and SQL Server 2014 ISO. SQL Server 2014 SP1, consisting primarily of bugfixes, was released on May 15, 2015. SQL Server 2014 is the last version available on x86/IA32 architecture.


SQL Server 2016

The official General Availability (GA) release date for SQL Server 2016 was June 1, 2016. The RTM version is 13.0.1601.5. Service pack 2 updates the version to 13.2.5026. Service Pack 1 was released on November 16, 2016, Service Pack 2 was released on April 24, 2018, and Service Pack 3 was released on September 15, 2021. SQL Server 2016 is supported on x64 processors only. It is no longer supported on x86 processors. SQL Server 2016 is the last version to have Service Packs launched.


SQL Server 2017

Microsoft launched SQL Server 2017 on October 2, 2017, along with support for Linux.


SQL Server 2019

Microsoft launched SQL Server 2019 on November 4, 2019. SQL Server 2019 (15.x) introduces Big Data Clusters for SQL Server. It also provides additional capability and improvements for the SQL Server database engine, SQL Server Analysis Services, SQL Server Machine Learning Services, SQL Server on Linux, and SQL Server Master Data Services.


Processor support


References

{{reflist, 30em Client-server database management systems Database management systems History of Microsoft
Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft SQL Server is a relational database management system developed by Microsoft. As a database server, it is a software product with the primary function of storing and retrieving data as requested by other software applications—which ma ...
Microsoft database software Relational database management systems SQL Server