News

SQL Server 2005 SP3 Expected in Summer '08

Microsoft announced through two blogs that it plans to release the next service pack to SQL Server 2005, Service Pack 3 (SP3).

Microsoft on Tuesday announced through two blogs that it plans to release the next service pack to SQL Server 2005, Service Pack 3 (SP3). The release is timed for the third quarter of this year, or after Microsoft releases SQL Server 2008 to manufacturing.

In addition, on Monday, Microsoft issued notes describing the availability of Cumulative Update 7 (CU 7) for SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2.

CU 7 is intended for users "severely affected" by certain problems. Those not affected should wait until the next service pack is released, according to Microsoft's notes.

Microsoft's PSS SQL Server engineers strongly caution that applying CU 7 can affect "Analysis Services backup and sync operations." The problem is associated with a time-out issue, as the PSS SQL blog explains.

"After the fix a backup is treated as a blocker for a commit operation. Due to the way that lock compatibility operates in Analysis Services, once the commit operation is blocked, all incoming requests against objects in the database are also blocked."

The blog describes some workarounds, but it generally recommends that administrators schedule "database backups at a time that will not overlap with processing of objects in the database."

The Cumulative Updates are part of Microsoft's "incremental servicing model" -- a three-pronged approach to releasing important code corrections that Microsoft calls "hotfixes." Microsoft's Cumulative Updates contain all previously released critical on-demand hotfixes and are released every two months. They must be requested by customers, but any customer, regardless of their support level can request them.

A second way to get hotfixes is through Microsoft's "On-Demand" and "Critical-On-Demand" releases, which are solutions to specific customer-referenced problems that have no workaround fix.

The third way that Microsoft releases hotfixes is in a "general distribution release." Microsoft issues these general distribution releases when it needs to fix problems that affect customers more broadly, such as when security issues are involved.

Microsoft already has uploaded a page describing its next Cumulative Update for SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2. Cumulative Update 8, as it's called, is scheduled for release sometime in June.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.

Featured

  • Microsoft Appoints Althoff as New CEO for Commercial Business

    Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella on Wednesday announced the promotion of Judson Althoff to CEO of the company's commercial business, presenting the move as a response to the dramatic industrywide shifts caused by AI.

  • Broadcom Revamps VMware Partner Program Again

    Broadcom recently announced a significant update regarding its VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) program, coinciding with the release of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0, a key component in Broadcom’s private cloud strategy.

  • Closeup of the new Copilot keyboard key

    Microsoft Updates Copilot To Add Context-Sensitive Agents to Teams, SharePoint

    Microsoft has rolled out a new public preview for collaborative "always on" agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot, bringing enhanced, context-aware tools into Teams channels, meetings, SharePoint sites, Planner workstreams and Viva Engage communities.

  • Windows 365 Cloud Apps Now Available for Public Preview

    Microsoft announced this week that Windows 365 Cloud Apps are now available for public preview. This aims to allow IT administrators to stream individual Windows applications from the cloud, removing the need to assign Cloud PCs to every user.