SQL Server 2008 R2 (formerly codenamed SQL Server "Kilimanjaro") was announced at TechEd 2009, and was released to manufacturing on April 21, 2010. SQL Server 2008 R2 adds certain features to SQL Server 2008 including a master data management system branded as Master Data Services, 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 for Excel and SharePoint, Master Data Services, StreamInsight, Report Builder 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 UCP (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 (Service Pack 1) was released on July 11, 2011.
SQL Server Versions What Version of SQL Server to Use on the Backend SQL Server 2012 SQL Server 2008 R2 (this article) SQL Server 2008 SQL Server 2005 SQL Server 2000 SQL Server 7.0 SQL Server 6.5
This article was originally written by Luigi Bruno.
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