Chapter 1: SQL Server 2008 R2 Editions and Enhancements

This chapter introduces the new SQL Server 2008 R2 features, capabilities, and editions from a DBA's perspective. It also discusses why Windows Server 2008 R2 is recommended as the underlying operating system for deploying SQL Server 2008 R2. Last, SQL Server 2008 R2 hardware and software requirements and installation strategies are also identified.

Advantages of Using Windows Server 2008 R2

The database platform is intimately related to the operating system. Because of this relationship, Microsoft has designed Windows Server 2008 R2 to provide a solid IT foundation for business-critical applications such as SQL Server 2008 R2. The combination of the two products produces an impressive package. With these two products, an organization can achieve maximum performance, scalability, reliability, and availability, while at the same time reducing the total cost of ownership associated with its database platform.

It is a best practice to leverage Windows Server 2008 R2 as the underlying operating system when deploying SQL Server 2008 R2 because the new and enhanced capabilities of Windows Server 2008 R2 can enrich an organization's experience with SQL Server 2008 R2.

The new capabilities that have direct impact on SQL Server 2008 R2 include

• Maximum scalability Windows Server 2008 R2 is capable of achieving unprecedented workload size, dynamic scalability, and across-the-board availability and reliability. For instance, Windows Server 2008 R2 supports up to 256 logical processors and 2 terabytes of memory in a single operating system instance. When SQL Server 2008 R2 runs on Windows Server 2008 R2, the two products together can support more intensive database and BI workloads than ever before.
• Hyper-V improvements Building on the approval and success of the original Hyper-V release, Windows Server 2008 R2 delivers several new capabilities to the Hyper-V platform to further improve the SQL Server virtualization experience. First, availability can be stepped up with the introduction of Live Migration, which makes it possible to move SQL Server virtual machines (VMs) between Hyper-V hosts without service interruption. Second, Hyper-V can make use of up to 64 logical processors in the host processor pool, which allows for consolidation of a greater number of SQL Server VMs on a single Hyper-V host. Third, Dynamic Virtual Machine Storage, a new feature, allows for the addition of virtual or physical disks to an existing VM without requiring the VM to be restarted.
• Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Manager Server Manager has been optimized in Windows Server 2008 R2. It is usually used to centrally manage and secure multiple server roles across SQL Server instances running Windows Server 2008 R2. Remote management of connections to remote computers is achievable with Server Manager. Server Manager also includes a new Best Practices Analyzer tool to report best practice violations.
• Best Practices Analyzer (BPA) Although there are only a few roles on Windows Server 2008 R2 that the BPA can collect data for, this tool is still a good investment because it helps reduce best practice violations, which ultimately helps fix and prevent deterioration in performance, scalability, and downtime.
• Windows PowerShell 2.0 Windows Server 2008 R2 ships with Windows Power-Shell 2.0. In addition to allowing DBAs to run Windows PowerShell commands against remote computers and run commands as asynchronous background jobs, Windows PowerShell 2.0 features include new and improved Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) cmdlets, a script debugging feature, and a graphical environment for creating scripts. DBAs can improve their productivity with Windows PowerShell by simplifying, automating, and consolidating repetitive tasks and server management processes across a distributed SQL Server environment.