What’s new, and what are the new features in SQL Server 2008 vs SQL Server 2008 R2?
From a very high level, here’s the new features in R2 that weren’t in 2008: • Database Engine – not much new here. There’s some infrastructure introductions to support Data-Tier Applications in the future, but they’re not too useful as of the August CTP. I blogged about it in a 3-part series starting with this article about How SQL 2008 R2 is Like Virtualization for Databases. If you’ve heard the terms Utility Control Point, Utility Explorer, or SQL Server Utility, I’ve got your answers in that series. • Business Intelligence – there’s a ton of new functionality for self-service BI in SQL Server Analysis Services 2008 R2. Excel 2010 will act as a client for SSAS. You can learn more about it in this screenshot-packed review of what’s new in Project Gemini and this pivot table tutorial for Project Gemini. • Scale-Out Servers – if you need to scale a data warehouse beyond a single server, you’ll want to keep an eye on Project Madison. It’s the result of Microsoft’s acquisition of DATAlleg
