SQL Server
SQL Server includes capabilities that enable organizations to scale database operations with confidence, improve IT and developer efficiency, and empower end users with self-service Business Intelligence features in SharePoint and Excel.
Here is an overview of the features and functionality in SQL Server.
SQL Server Resources
SQL Server 2012 Home (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=198252)
SQL Server 2012 Technical Articles (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=198253)
SQL Server 2012 Books Online (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=198254)
Integration Services
SQL Server Integration Services (SSIS) provides a scalable enterprise data integration platform with exceptional Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) and integration capabilities that enable you to more easily manage data from a wide array of data sources. You can use it to create script tasks, perform scalable data transfers using the Import and Export Wizard, and take advantage of new SSIS connectors for external data sources. For more information, see Data Integration (Planning), and SQL Server Integration Services (Troubleshooting).
SQL Server SSIS Resources
Analysis Services
SQL Server Analysis Services brings powerful new capabilities that allow analytical applications to scale to millions of records and thousands of users. You can use it to consolidate relational and multidimensional data that includes business entities, business logic, calculations, and metrics. It also provides an enhanced data mining engine and improved algorithms, and strengthens the powerful data mining framework represented by the extensible .NET programming model. Improved interoperability with Office 2010 enables business users to access multidimensional data directly from within Excel and SharePoint.
For more information about Analysis Services and Host Integration Server, see Data Integration (Planning) and SQL Server Analysis Services (Troubleshooting).
SQL Server Analysis Services Resources
Reporting Services
SQL Server Reporting Services provides a complete, server-based platform designed to support a wide variety of reporting needs across enterprise organizations. Reporting Services contains new and improved features for creating and deploying reports as well as support for consuming SharePoint lists and PowerPivot models as data sources. For more information on Reporting Services, see the resources listed below.
See What is Reporting Services.
Replication
SQL Server replication consists of a set of technologies that allow you to distribute and synchronize data to different locations and to remote or mobile users over local and wide area networks, dial-up connections, wireless connections, and the Internet.
IBM DB2 subscribers can subscribe to snapshot and transactional publications using the Host Integration Server (HIS) OLE DB provider. For more information, see Data Integration (Planning) and SQL Server Replication (Troubleshooting).
SQL Server Replication Resources
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Distributed and ad hoc queries