sql2k5 scale out articles

Find a bunch of links to find the ins and outs of scaling out with Sql Server 2005 -
http://blogs.msdn.com/sqlcat/archive/2008/06/12/sql-server-scale-out.aspx

multi-server query with SSMS 2008

A cool new feature with SSMS 2008 http://blogs.msdn.com/sqlrem/archive/2008/02/04/multiple-server-query-execution-in-sql-server-2008.aspx

cumulative update 9 released

SQL Server 2005 Sp2 cumulative update 9 has been released. Happy installations!
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/953752

zeroing for log files

Instant file initialization is an excellent feature that came with Windows 2003 which is made use by SQL Server 2005. When instant file initialization is enabled, the zeroing process for the SQL Server data files is disabled which reduces substantially the time required for file write and growth processes. However, instant file initialization cannot be done for SQL Server log files. The reason is that there are parity bits required by log file sectors to help in crash recovery processes, and if zeroing is disabled, the already existing data in the sectors can be misinterpreted as parity bits and can cause issues. There is a post from Paul Randal explaining the architectural reason. Find the post at http://www.sqlskills.com/blogs/paul/2008/08/20/SearchEngineQA24WhyCantTheTransactionLogUseInstantInitialization.aspx.

SQL Server 2008 Released!

After the long waits, Microsoft has officially announced the release of the new version of SQL Server to our lives! Read the full story here http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2008/aug08/08-06SQLServer2008PR.mspx
Along with that, a new edition - "Web Edition" - also has been announced which would be used for internet facing web applications http://blogs.msdn.com/irelandlicensing/archive/2008/07/11/microsoft-sql-server-2008-web-edition.aspx#8824528