SQL Server 2005 introduces significant new management, developer, scalability, and high-availability features and capabilities. If properly employed, these features will make developers more productive, improve the performance and manageability of databases, and the stability of database applications. However, the scope of change in the product carries with it several important considerations that prospective customers should note.

Some Holes in Tool Set

Although many developers and administrators will use Management Studio’s query editor for the script, query, and stored procedure development previously done in SQL Server 2000’s Query Analyzer, these users will find one major omission: unlike Query Analyzer, Management Studio does not include a T-SQL debugger. To develop and debug complex scripts, queries, or stored procedures, SQL Server developers and administrators will need to use Visual Studio, which supports debugging T-SQL code.

Furthermore, while SQL Server 2005’s mirrored backup feature addresses one major limitation in the product’s backup utility, another limitation is not addressed. Unlike many advanced third-party backup utilities, SQL Server backup does not provide built-in data compression. As a result, administrators will likely find SQL Server’s backup utility to be slower, less efficient, and potentially less cost-effective than commercial backup products, such as Idera’s SQL Safe and Quest Software’s SQL Litespeed.

The SQL Server 2005 BI platform is a major update-the platform services get new data processing and analysis capabilities and a new development environment based on Visual Studio, all of which could help developers more efficiently create sophisticated BI applications with less custom or third-party code. In addition, improvements in the platform’s core engines should generally yield better performance and scale compared to its predecessors.

However, the scope of the platform’s update implies a number of considerations that prospective customers should be aware of when evaluating SQL Server 2005.

Compatibility and Upgrade Issues

Existing customers may face the following issues when upgrading from previous versions of the SQL Server BI platform:

DTS packages are not compatible with Integration Services. Microsoft will ship a migration wizard that could help make some DTS packages compatible with Integration Services, but many complex DTS packages will need to be rewritten. Certain DTS tasks and data connections have direct counterparts in Integration Services, and DTS packages containing only such elements can be directly migrated to Integration Services. However, packages that contain self-modifying loops, for instance, will not run in Integration Services and need to be rewritten. Similarly, custom DTS tasks must be rewritten to be used in Integration Services packages.