CTP of SP2 for SQL Server 2008 is now available
SQL Server 2008 will soon have a new service pack - SP2. SQL Server service packs go through a CTP (aka beta) cycle prior to release. The CTP of SP2 is now available for you to download and test. This is only the pre-release version, so only use it for testing.
· SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 2 CTP https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=65606fdd-093f-4c70-91f6-dc1f24520e8f&displaylang=en
· SQL Server 2008 Express Edition Service Pack 2 – CTP https://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=c56e753d-13ef-4b95-a5eb-0b470bf56341&displaylang=en
· Feedback via Connect https://connect.microsoft.com/SQLServer/Feedback
· SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 2 Customer Technology Preview Available https://blogs.msdn.com/b/sqlreleaseservices/archive/2010/07/07/sql-server-2008-service-pack-2-customer-technology-preview-available.aspx
"Today marks the release of the Customer Technology Preview (CTP) for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 2. Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 2 includes:
· All hotfixes released up to Microsoft SQL Server 2008 SP1 CU 8.
· Updates to the Reporting Services Add-in for Microsoft SharePoint Products 2007 allowing customer to connect to SQL Server 2008 R2 Report Servers.
· Support for SQL Server 2008 R2 version of Management Studio to perform operations for data-tier applications (DAC) in SQL Server 2008 instances that have SP2 installed. For more information please visit https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee240739.aspx.
· Support for SQL Server 2008 R2 Utility Explorer and SQL Server Utility viewpoints in (SSMS) provide administrators a holistic view of resource health through an instance of SQL Server that serves as a utility control point (UCP). For more information please visit https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee210557.aspx.
We encourage customers to try Microsoft SQL Server 2008 SP2 CTP, and provide us your feedback. We are actively reading all feedback and appreciate any thoughts that you might have to help us with this product update. To provide feedback please visit the Microsoft Connect Feedback Center."
· List of the bugs that are fixed in SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 2 https://support.microsoft.com/kb/979450
SQL Server Servicing plans
https://blogs.msdn.com/sqlreleaseservices/archive/2010/02/12/sql-server-servicing-plans.aspx
· SQL Server 2008 SP2 is targeted for the third quarter of calendar year 2010.
· SQL Server 2005 SP4 is targeted for the fourth quarter of calendar year 2010. This is planned to be the last SQL Server 2005 service pack.
SQL Server Service Pack support (mostly) ends 12 months after the next service pack releases. So 1 year after SQL Server 2008 SP2 releases you need to be have all SQL Server 2008 instances on SP2 (and optionally with SP2 based cumulative updates (CUs) applied). There is very limited support for older service packs under our new SP policy.
· Service Pack support (general) https://support.microsoft.com/?LN=en-us&scid=gp%3B%5Bln%5D%3Blifecycle&x=17&y=10#ServicePackSupport
· SQL Server lifecycle https://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifeselectindex#S