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Aaron Bertrand

Aaron is a senior consultant for SQL Sentry, Inc., makers of performance monitoring and event management software for SQL Server, Analysis Services, and Windows. He has been blogging here at sqlblog.com since 2006, focusing on manageability, performance, and new features; has been a Microsoft MVP since 1997; tweets as @AaronBertrand; and speaks frequently at user group meetings and SQL Saturday events.

This time it's for real - SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 2 is available!

I'm not going to blab about the speculation, or how Microsoft seems to like making their promised deadlines by the skin of their teeth.  I'm too busy preparing how we're going to deploy and test SP2 on all of our SQL Server 2008 instances.  So without any delay, here are the downloads / fix information:

Download Details: Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 2

KB #2285068 : List of the bugs that are fixed in SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 2

As we've seen before, the release has been quietly posted to the downloads site and knowledge base with little fanfare, and there is not yet a post on the SQL Server Release Services blog.  But I'm sure you'll hear more about it soon.

Note that the Service Pack only includes the fixes that were in SP1 CU 1 through 8.  So if you have already applied CU9 or CU10, I would hold off on deploying the service pack for now, especially if you are relying on any of the fixes in either of those CUs - because there is a chance that you will lose them.

The service pack will patch any existing SQL Server 2008 instances (and client tools) on your machine, including Express instances (I seem to remember that you used to have to patch Express instances separately, with the whole Express setup program).  Note that you can't patch client tools with a SQL Server 2008 Service Pack if you already have SQL Server 2008 R2 tools installed - this just means that the Shared Tools checkbox will be unavailable.

I know that some of you like to hear about the build numbers more than anything else.  This service pack will move your build number to 10.0.4000:

 

Fellow SQL Server MVP Denis Gobo (blog | twitter) spoke about some of the changes introduced with Service Pack 2.

EDIT: And here are the announcements from the SQL Server Team Blog and SQL Server Release Services blog.

 

Published Wednesday, September 29, 2010 1:52 PM by AaronBertrand

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bender said:

So, would this apply to SQL Server 2008 R2?  Or only to SQL Server 2008?

September 29, 2010 1:33 PM
 

AaronBertrand said:

No bender, this service pack has nothing to do with R2.  So many people get confused by this.  I wish they had just called it SQL Server 2010.  Like anyone would complain about too many "major" releases.  If it requires a new license, it's a major release for those willing to spend the money on the upgrade.

September 29, 2010 1:35 PM
 

bender said:

Thanks Aaron.  Just wanted to be sure.

September 29, 2010 1:38 PM
 

Glenn Berry said:

Have you installed it on a test box yet?  Did they really jump to Build 4000?  The CTP was in the 3xxx range.

September 29, 2010 1:43 PM
 

AaronBertrand said:

Yes it is 4000.  It was pretty high in the 3xxx range, IIRC (3798 maybe?).

September 29, 2010 1:47 PM
 

AaronBertrand said:

I've only installed it in a VM with an Express and a Workgroup instance.  Real testing will have to wait, I'm afraid.

September 29, 2010 1:49 PM
 

Twitter Trackbacks for Aaron Bertrand : This time it's for real - SQL Server 2008 SP2 is available! [sqlblog.com] on Topsy.com said:

PingBack from http://topsy.com/sqlblog.com/blogs/aaron_bertrand/archive/2010/09/29/this-time-it-s-for-real-sql-server-2008-sp2-is-available.aspx?utm_source=pingback&utm_campaign=L2

September 29, 2010 1:49 PM
 

SQL Server 2008 SP2 Released | Benchmark IT Consulting | Colin Stasiuk said:

PingBack from http://benchmarkitconsulting.com/colin-stasiuk/2010/09/29/sql-server-2008-sp2-released/

September 29, 2010 2:46 PM
 

SQL Server DBA Diaries of Pradeep Adiga said:

PingBack from http://www.sqldbadiaries.com/2010/09/30/sql-server-2008-sp2-released/

September 29, 2010 4:18 PM
 

SQL2008 SP2 Liberado « Sergio C. Fonseca Weblog said:

PingBack from http://fonsecasergio.wordpress.com/2010/09/29/sql2008-sp2-liberado/

September 29, 2010 9:34 PM
 

Imtiaz said:

I know this subject has come up a few times but wanted to see if there is any progress on it or a clever workaround?

Release Notification from SQL Release Services:

I have an RSS feed setup (Netvibes) and this is how I currently keep myself up-to-date with latest releases/cu's etc.

However, what I really want (no not Twitter!) is the ability to download something, ANYTHING, which will allow me to know that there has been a release, regardless of the release, and then marry it up against my current SQL servers to see which ones 'could' be updated, or atleast report on which servers may be available for an update.

In a multi-version environment, where cu's/sp's are multi version released, it would be nice to have my own database of these patches and notify me automatically when a patch is available.

Any ideas/suggestions if this is possible today?

Immy

October 1, 2010 6:48 AM
 

AaronBertrand said:

Wish I had better news for you Imtiaz, but I still rely on a rather manual approach.  You may find this earlier blog post useful:

http://sqlblog.com/blogs/aaron_bertrand/archive/2010/04/20/keeping-up-with-sql-server-cumulative-updates.aspx

October 1, 2010 10:20 AM
 

Imtiaz said:

Thanks Aaron, yes I came across that post too. Just looking for that Silver Bullet! ;)

October 1, 2010 11:06 AM
 

AaronBertrand said:

I hear you.  When you find it, let me know.  If I find it first, you'll see it here!

October 1, 2010 11:11 AM
 

KP said:

This service pack can not resolved my work in ReportViewer control on C#.NET using local mode.

October 2, 2010 9:58 PM
 

Sharee-Lee said:

Thanks guys for the tips it was very useful.

October 4, 2010 9:09 AM
 

Aaron Bertrand said:

Sorry KP, don't know how to help you.  Is this ReportViewer / C# problem documented in a public KB article or Connect item?

October 4, 2010 7:29 PM
 

Aaron Bertrand said:

Okay, I'm following the lead of Joe Webb ( blog | twitter ), who recently posted " My Most Popular Posts

January 28, 2011 4:09 PM

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