SQL Server Portal

SQL Server 2014 was announced a couple of weeks ago during TechEd North America Conference 2013. So, I started research about its features and I found few features very exciting to me. Given below are the details of the few features available in SQL Server 2014.

• In-Memory OLTP : It improves the performance of database applications about 50x as compared to the normal database application. It can achieve significant performance. 
• Enhanced In-Memory ColumnStore : Now, you can update the columnstore index (woww) , also you can apply a new option called COLUMNSTORE_ARCHIVE for higher compression and storage space savings of as much as 90 per cent in columnstore index.
• Buffer pool extension to SDD (solid-state drives) : SQL Server improved the query performance by allowing the use of non-volatile devices (e.g solid-state drives (SSDs)) to reduce usage of SQL Server memory with no risk of data loss.
• Enhanced Query Processing : SQL queries became much faster due to the enhancement of query processing and one of the reasons why querying process became faster is, it separates querying into two steps, decision-making and execution. 
• Enhanced Always On : Now it can support up to 8 secondaries.

• Backup to Azure : SQL Server can take backup and restore directly to the Windows Azure Blob service.

• Resource Governor Enhancements : 

  Resource Governor can provide better control and performance for different types of workloads in SQL Server applications.

• SQL Server Audit Enhancements : Auditing became more easier because it is enabled by default and it will record each and every database activities, including database reads, with minimal impact on performance.

Let me know if I missed out any important features.

For further details, you can download given below sources:

• SQL Server 2014  Datasheet
• SQL Server Mission Critical Performance White Paper