August 2014 - Glenn Berry

Microsoft has made a small, but helpful improvement to the format for their Knowledge Base articles that accompany new Cumulative Updates for SQL Server 2012 and SQL Server 2014. As you hopefully know, there will not be any more cumulative updates for SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2008 R2, since those versions are now out of mainstream support.

There is now a new column in the hotfix table that lists the major functional area that the hotfix applies to (see Figure 1). Having this information readily available and visible can help you focus your efforts as you scan the overall hotfix list looking for relevant fixes for the SQL Server components you are using, which is something you should be doing when each new Cumulative Update is released.

The fix area information is generated automatically (probably by VSTS), so it may not be 100% accurate, but it is certainly a good start.

Figure 1: Recent SQL Server 2014 CU KB Article

Microsoft has released (about a week early by my calendar) SQL Server 2014 RTM Cumulative Update 3, which is build 12.0.2402. It has 32 fixes in the public fix list. As always, I think that you should strongly consider applying this update to your SQL Server 2014 instances, after you have done your normal round of application testing.

Based on some of the public hints that Microsoft has made, they may be moving away from using Service Packs to service SQL Server in the future, so I think it makes even more sense to get yourself and your organization ready to consider applying Cumulative Updates in order to maintain your SQL Server instances. This means having some sort of formal testing process for your applications and a plan for how you go about patching your SQL Server machines to minimize your downtime and reduce your risk.

Semi-random musings about SQL Server performance

Small Enhancement to Microsoft SQL Server CU Knowledge Base Articles

SQL Server 2014 RTM Cumulative Update 3