Microsoft announced last week that SQL Server 2016 will be generally available on June 1 for purchase and installation.
Microsoft is moving forward with a cloud first release and the new terminology of SQL Server 2016 being “generally available” as opposed to RTM or released. I’m guessing this will be the new way we’ll get bits as sold and supported, when they ‘are generally available’.
The new Stretch Database function that allows users to store some of their data in a database on-premises and to send their infrequently used data to Microsoft’s Azure cloud. An application connected to a database using that feature can still see all the data from different sources.
Another key feature is the new Always Encrypted function, which makes it possible for users to encrypt data at the column level – both at rest ,and in memory.
That’s still only scratching the surface of the software, which also supports creating mobile business intelligence dashboards and new functionality for big data applications.
In addition to its on-premises release, Microsoft will also have a virtual machine available on June 1 through its Azure cloud platform that will make it easy for companies to deploy SQL Server 2016 in the cloud. Many of the new features in SQL Server 2016 like Always Encrypted and Stretch Database are already available in Microsoft’s Azure SQL Database managed service, but the virtual machine will be useful for companies that prefer to manage their own database infrastructure or that plan to roll out SQL Server 2016 on premises and want to test it in the cloud.
The feature mix for each edition is available (Developer, Express, Standard, Enterprise),
Standard will has a core limit (24) and low memory (128GB), but does get two node Availability Groups (and FCIs). Stretch Databases, RLS, Dynamic Data Masking and more are also available. ‘It is disappointing that Always Encrypted isn’t allowed, – there is of course a wish to push companies with the need for more features to Enterprise but wish that wasn’t based on security, where we have enough problems.
The Developer Edition is free.
SQL Server 2014 added a lot of features but it was not worth most people upgrading from 2012.
SQL Server 2016 is a full new release. with many new improvements, and is worth considering as an upgrade.
If you just need the core T-SQL, database engine features, then you still run on older versions for a supported configuration, with HA capabilities and better performance, look at 2016. it just runs faster. (The CSS engineers have a whole series of posts on the various improvements made in SQL Server 2016 that make it faster)
For the fact sheet see http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/products/sql-server-2016/
I don’t think anyone should just upgrade your SQL Server 2008, R2, 2012, or 2014 instances just because there is a new version. Each upgrade should be considered on its own, weighing the pros and cons that against the resource costs (licensing, personnel cost, and development efforts). However, if you are looking to upgrade, and want newer features, I think this is a version that you could move to and run for the next decade easily. Many features have been improved, and the new enhancements give you room to grow.
I’m excited about the new version of SQL Server 2016, something I haven’t been able to say for a long time.
