Server Consolidation

Flexibility

Consolidate servers with multiple databases and instances
Use SQL Server 2008 to host multiple databases in a single server instance to centralize data storage and management. Run multiple instances of SQL Server 2008 on a single server to enable isolation of database applications while reducing hardware costs, licensing costs, and administrative overhead.

Consolidate data services through virtualization
Run multiple virtual operating systems on the same physical computer by using Microsoft Virtual Server, with one or more instances of the required SQL Server 2008 services in each virtual machine.

Transfer and migrate databases and data easily
Choose the right data transfer approach to consolidate data from a wide range of technologies in SQL Server 2008, including backup and restore, attach and detach, SQL Server Integration Services.

Manageability

Centralize management with SQL Server Management Studio
Use a single, consistent management interface to manage multiple instances on a single server and multiple SQL Server instances on different virtual machines; manage instances of SQL Server 2000, SQL Server 2005, and SQL Server 2008 in every edition.

Centralize auditing
Configure auditing settings at the server and database levels on one server instance, and then deploy them to others. Consolidate enterprise-wide audit records from multiple sources such as SQL Server Analysis Services and Reporting Services.

Enforce configuration policy compliance across the enterprise
Use the Declarative Management Framework to define configuration policies and apply them to servers, databases, tables, and other targets; thus consolidating configuration management by defining a policy once and reusing it across servers throughout the enterprise.

Simplify and consolidate enterprise encryption and key management
Use third party cryptographic providers to simplify and consolidate encryption and key management across applications and services within your organization. Use Hardware Security Modules (HSMs) to provide centralized hardware- based encryption and key management.

Predictable Scalability and Performance

Control resource utilization
Define resource limits and priorities for different workloads by using Resource Governor. Place limits on each workload on a consolidated server to prevent one workload from using excessive resources, and provide more predictable performance.

Scale up consolidated servers
Improve concurrency by using the LOCK_ESCALATION setting on a table and benefit from better concurrency on partitioned tables. Reduce disk contention by splitting tables and indexes into partitions and accessing these partitions separately.

Manage system resources dynamically
Take advantage of the hot-add capabilities of SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Edition to add memory and CPU resources to scale-up a server without having to stop database services.

Maximize storage with data compression
Store your data more efficiently and significantly improve performance for large I/O bound workloads by using data compression.

Centralize and consolidate monitoring
Use Performance Studio to troubleshoot, tune, and monitor the state of one or more instances of SQL Server 2008. Collect information from multiple sources, store the performance data centrally, and display all relevant troubleshooting information in one place using Reporting Services