SQL Server 2008 R2 Improves Scalability

SQL Server 2008 R2 now supports up to 256 logical processors when running on Windows Server 2008 R2 with compatible hardware, up from a maximum of 64 logical processors in previous versions of SQL Server and Windows Server. By allowing SQL Server to exploit the latest high-end multiprocessor hardware, support for more logical processors lets SQL Server scale up to much larger database engine workloads.

Building in Scalability

Logical processors are a unit used in Windows Server to divide up the processing power of physical processors, which are also called CPUs, sockets, or packages. Each logical processor is capable of running an independent sequence of instructions in parallel, so the number of logical processors available to SQL Server influences the amount of work it can do at any one time on a server and the overall capacity of the server. (See the illustration “Understanding Logical Processors“.) Examples of workloads that might benefit from significantly greater logical processor count include large customer relationship management or order-entry portals or data warehouses for which a single server must bear a large load of database traffic.