Top 10 SQL Server 2008 Features for the Database Administrator

• Activity Monitor-. SQL Server 2008 Activity Monitor consolidates information about what processes are executing and where is the problem by detailing running and recently executed processes

• [SQL Server] Audit- SQL Server Audit provides automation that allows the DBA and others to enable, store, and view audits on various server and database components

• Backup Compression

• Central Management Servers-Central Management Servers allow the DBA to register a group of servers and apply functionality to the servers

• Data Collector and Management Data Warehouse

• Data Compression-The ability to easily manage a database can greatly enhance the opportunity for DBAs to accomplish their regular task lists.

• Policy-Based Management-Policy-Based Management (PBM) provides DBAs with a wide variety of options in managing their environment. Policies can be created and checked for compliance.

• Predictable Performance and Concurrency-SQL Server 2008 provides a few feature changes that can help provide more predictable performance.

• Resource Governor-SQL Server 2008 introduces a new feature called Resource Governor, which helps address this issue by enabling users to differentiate workloads and allocate resources as they are requested.

• Transparent Data Encryption (TDE)-

  SQL Server 2008 offers a solution to this problem by way of transparent data encryption (TDE). TDE performs real-time I/O encryption and decryption of the data and log files by using a database encryption key (DEK). The DEK is a symmetric key secured by using a certificate stored in the master database of the server, or an asymmetric key protected by an Extensible Key Management (EKM) module.