SQL Server 2008 R2 - even more Business Intelligence for your company
Compared to its predecessor, the SQL version 2008 R2 primarily brings improvements in BI functions in order to support SharePoint 2010 and Office 2010 even better. The most important goal is still the provision of comprehensive self-service BI solutions in companies to meet the increasingly complex requirements of data analysis and provision. SQL Server 2008 R2 also provides improved connectivity between SQL Azure Server and the individual BI tools. The highly scalable BI platform of SQL Server 2008 R2 includes the following services, which include new features as well as improved functionality:
- Analysis Services (SSAS)
- Integration Services (SSIS)
- Reporting Services (SSRS)
- Master Data Services (MDS)
- Data Mining and Data Warehousing
- service broker
- StreamInsight
- Report Builder V3.0
Learn more about each Business Intelligence feature for SQL Server 2008 R2 below
SSAS for SQL Server 2008 R2
The Analysis Services are the basis for all reports and OLAP analyses as well as data mining. SSAS offers an integrated, uniform view of all business data. Supplemented by Online Analytical Processing (OLAP), the data can be analyzed from various aspects - such as hierarchies, dimensions, and drill-downs or drill-ups - and displayed as a cube.
PowerPivot for Excel 2010 is also available as an add-in for SSAS in conjunction with the Office 2010. This allows even large amounts of data to be imported from the data warehouse and analyzed. PowerPivot contains various optimizations as well as functional enhancements, such as the supported field search by name and named sets. Relationships between unlinked tables in a pivot table can also be recognized. These PowerPivot analyses and reports can be made available to other employees via the SharePoint Document Libraries and can be continuously updated.
Integration Services (SSIS)
The SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) known from earlier SQL Server versions are also available in the SQL 2008 R2 release. They form the three cornerstones for all Business Intelligence applications in companies: Integration, analysis and reporting of data. They are also the basis for all ETL (Extract, Transform and Load) processes and provide a broad repertoire of features for data warehouses.
Reporting Services (SSRS)
The practical SQL Server Reporting Services offer some interesting functions especially for text fields: They can be rotated by 270 degrees, page breaks within tablix data areas and groups etc. extend the layout options when creating reports.
Master Data Services (MDS)
Master Data Services is a new feature in SQL Server 2008 R2. They now make it possible to manage data centrally and make it available for different applications at the same time. This also includes the management and protection of product, customer and account data during transactions.
Data Mining and Data Warehousing
In the data warehouse area, the improved performance in SQL Server 2008 allows data to be integrated into the data warehouse more quickly. This also includes optimized administration and performance, especially of large partitioned tables.
service broker
Service Broker enables developers to implement native asynchronous messaging capabilities in SQL Server. It allows you to distribute workloads between multiple databases without complicated programming. In SQL Server 2008 R2, Service Broker includes improved statement capabilities for handling unprocessable messages in a queue, which also supports communication between different databases.
StreamInsight for SQL Server 2008 R2
With StreamInsight, the SQL Server 2008 R2 version also features CEP (Complex Event Processing) technology. StreamInsight allows the continuous monitoring, processing and control of data streams in real time. This technology is used especially in electronic commerce for the processing of credit card information, logistics and network monitoring.
Report Builder V3.0
Report Builder V3.0 is also a new feature of SQL Server 2008 R2. Using caching, it allows faster display of reports and graphs. Certain areas of reports can be published as web content via SharePoint. In addition, new data types in geoinformation systems allow clear representations using geographical maps.
Administrator functions in Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2
Administrators will also appreciate the many wizards, repositories, and features in SQL Server 2008 R2 that make it easy and simple to manage, meet business requirements, and meet service level agreements (SLAs). SQL 2008 R2 also includes improved support for PowerShell 2.x.
SQL Server Management Studio also provides effective administration capabilities for SQL Server 2008 R. The integrated object explorer collects relevant information from all registered servers and the new dashboard allows a clear presentation of various server and database parameters.
The Microsoft licensing model for SQL Server 2008 / R2 versions
Licensing of the SQL Server 2008 as well as 2008 R2 version offers two options, depending on the edition.
The following software license models are available:
- Per Processor - Based on the number of physical and virtual processors used in the operating system environment in which the instances of this server software are running.
- Server/Client Access License (CAL) - Based on the number of instances running the server software, PLUS the number of devices and users accessing the instances and functions of the server software
Licensing for SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2
For the SQL Server 2008 version, Microsoft allows 1 virtual instance of the database per (virtual) CPU in the Workgroup, Standard and SBS editions available from Wiresoft. For the Enterprise Edition the virtualization is not limited, always provided that you purchase the appropriate number of licenses for all processors.
In SQL version 2008 R2, the Enterprise Edition has a limit of 4 virtual servers.
Overview of the editions of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 available from Wiresoft
At Wiresoft you will find software licenses for SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2. This release differs, as already mentioned, in some functions from the 2008 version. We offer the following editions of these two SQL versions for purchase:
- SQL Server 2008 Enterprise R2
- SQL Server 2008 Standard R2
- SQL Server 2008 Workgroup R2
- SQL Server 2008 Enterprise
- SQL Server 2008 Standard
- SQL Server 2008 Workgroup
- SQL Server For Small Business 2008 (SBS)
Licensing Microsoft SQL Server 2008 versions with Wiresoft
At Wiresoft you will find original server licenses of the versions and editions of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Standard, Enterprise, Workgroup as well as Small Business at a particularly favourable final price. You will benefit from the special conditions Wiresoft grants you not only for these but also for other software licenses: All Microsoft products available from us are unused individual licenses from European companies, which were acquired absolutely legally from them: According to a decision of the European Court of Justice, the purchase and resale of software products, server licenses or CALs, is absolutely legal. Therefore our license products are all 100% usable, because they have been checked by us very carefully for their authenticity. Many customers regularly trust in the advantages of the favourable licence offer of Wiresoft. Do you have questions about your individual licensing with a Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Edition? Then you are welcome to contact us.