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July 27, 2004 - Microsoft Corp. today announced it would add support for the AMD Opteron(tm) with Direct Connect Architecture in Microsoft(r) SQL Server(tm) 2005, the next generation of Microsoft's flagship database product. The enhanced functionality provides customers and partners with simultaneous high-performance 32- and 64-bit computing, which gives them the technical and business flexibility to solve their unique problems in a way that best meets their needs. In addition, it supplies customers with a compelling and cost-effective alternative to UNIX-based solutions through 64-bit capabilities that deliver both high scalability and lower cost of ownership. By introducing AMD Extended System architecture in SQL Server 2005, Microsoft is adding a new offering complementing the high-performance 64-bit Intel Itanium support in SQL Server 2000.

"The AMD Opteron processor provides SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 testers with the investment protection of outstanding overall x86 performance in both 32-bit and 64-bit computing environments. As enterprises transition from 32- to 64-bit computing, they need the smooth migration path to 64-bit computing that AMD64 provides," said Marty Seyer, corporate vice president and general manager of the Microprocessor Business Unit, Computation Products Group at AMD. "We invite beta testers to experience for themselves how AMD64 with Direct Connect Architecture can help eliminate the bottlenecks inherent in a front-side bus and improve overall system performance and efficiency."

News source: Microsoft UK

Paul Maher, technical research manager at Alphameric, the UK based retailing specialist, commented "64-bit technology has, for some time, been promised as the next revolutionary breakthrough. With hardware availability growing, there is increased pressure for software to keep up. For demanding workload and memory intensive tasks, Alphameric will look to the 64-bit capabilities of SQL Server 2005, to fulfill the business function and provide competitive advantage."

"ProClarity plans to fully support Microsoft SQL Server 2005 and continue our development of the ProClarity Analytics Platform utilising the best-in-class analytic functionality of the Microsoft platform," said Russ Whitney, ProClarity Vice President of Research and Development. "Microsoft is a current leader in the BI industry and extensive new BI features of SQL Server 2005 will cement that position for the future. ProClarity is excited to work with Microsoft to bring these new SQL Server 2005 features to bear to deliver superior analytic functionality further raising the bar in the BI industry."

SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 Available Today
In addition to the added 64-bit components that are available today in SQL Server 2005 Beta 2, beta testers will see a large number of enhancements across the entire release that are geared toward enterprise data management, developer productivity and business intelligence. These capabilities include the following:

Enterprise Data Management
* Management tools. SQL Server Management Studio - previously referred to as the SQL Server "workbench" - will perhaps be the most visible new tool in SQL Server 2005. Management Studio combines the functionality of Enterprise Manager, Query Analyzer and Analysis Manager into one integrated tool, while adding new support for SQL Server Reporting Services, Notification Services, XML and SQL Server 2005 Mobile Edition. SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 will simplify the management and administration of single or multiple SQL Server databases.

* Scalability and availability advancements. SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 includes many performance, scalability and availability enhancements to key features such as Snapshot Isolation, Database Mirroring, Database Snapshots, partitioning and Service Broker to help customers deploy highly scalable, reliable applications.

* Security. SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 also introduces database encryption. This important new feature will allow database administrators to protect the privacy of customer data.

* SQL Server 2005 Express Edition. SQL Server Express, the evolution of Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (MSDE) for SQL Server 2005, provides a free, easily used, embeddable database designed for building simple data-driven applications.

* Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Mobile Edition. SQL Server 2005 Mobile Edition, the next release of SQL Server Windows(r) CE Edition, provides a mobile database solution that expands support beyond Pocket PC to include Tablet PC and a future release of Windows Mobile(tm)-based Smartphone. Some key features include tool integration with SQL Server 2005 and Visual Studio(r) 2005, increased reliability, significant performance improvements and control over performance tuning.

Developer Productivity
* Development tools. SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 will include significant enhancements to the business intelligence "workbench," which has been named the Business Intelligence Development Studio. The tool will provide a single development environment for Data Transformation Services (DTS), Reporting Services, Data Mining and Analysis Services to enable faster and more efficient development and debugging of business intelligence applications.

* Visual Studio 2005 integration. SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 will include new technology such as cross-language debugging and enable Visual Studio 2005 to take advantage of business intelligence functionality, which will help increase developer productivity.

* Programmability enhancements. In addition to developer productivity enhancements such as tight integration with Visual Studio and improved business intelligence development tools, SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 includes many new and enhanced features in database programmability such as improved T-SQL exception handling, enhanced XML support, tighter integration with the Microsoft .NET Framework Common Language Runtime (CLR) and advanced messaging capabilities in Service Broker.

Business Intelligence
* Analysis Services enhancements. Analysis Services is enhanced in SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 with additional MDX expressions and new MDX script capabilities designed to support some complex and advanced modeling needs. In addition, Analysis Services takes advantage of enhancements to Visual Studio 2005 and introduces an online mode that allows developers to develop their applications in real time.

* Data mining algorithms. Data mining enhancements to SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 include a new Neural Network algorithm, a Text Mining feature, query enhancements and Reporting Services integration. The Neural Network and Text Mining features allow users to tackle the most complicated analytical problems containing nonlinear relationships and unstructured data. DMX Query enhancements and Reporting Services integration allow developers to apply models against data from a new range of sources and deliver the results to users through a common front end.

* DTS enhancements. SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 includes many enhancements to DTS. SQL Server 2005 DTS will provide developers and database administrators with enterprise-level extract, transform and load (ETL) capabilities out of the box. The new DTS architecture enables scalable, manageable and reliable ETL capabilities with remarkable ease of use and performance. Going beyond traditional ETL, DTS handles Web services and XML sources, along with data cleansing, data mining and text mining fully integrated into a single, manageable process.

SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 is available to Enterprise, Universal and Professional MSDN(r) subscribers for download later today on the MSDN Subscriber Downloads site. MSDN is a set of online and offline services designed to help developers write applications using Microsoft products and technologies. Information on subscribing to MSDN is available at MSDN.