Some Interesting SQL Server 2014 Elements
SQL Server 2014 has some pretty amazing features. In-memory is clearly a pretty major area of enhancement and is something worth looking at and understanding as you work through architecting your solutions.
Overall, if you’re not yet aware of the differences brought to the table by in-memory optimized operations, it’s all about speed and durability. SQL Server provides for both – you get the speed from having the option to move elements to memory for access. SQL Server assures the durability of the transactions you complete, even if they’re in-memory, something that’s long been a hesitation in working with volatile storage-based processing.
The performance gains are pretty stellar. Real-world demos are pretty readily available for review…. you can see that that sheer number of operations that SQL Server is able to perform now are pretty stunning.
One thing I’ve heard as a hesitation in working with the new in-memory features is the choice you have to make. Moving to, or not, in-memory processing. We’ll have more on this in some coming presentations and other resources on SSWUG, but it’s important to know that it’s not an all or nothing proposition. You can pick and choose what should be in-memory vs. traditional on-disk storage. Look into your systems (sounds like "search your feelings…") and see what really should optimized and what doesn’t need that kind of horsepower. You have absolute control over how and what is moved to in-memory processing.
If you’ve not yet looked into the changes in 2014, this is a great place to start. Learn about, understand and play with the in-memory options and see if they’ll be a great candidate to really pump up your applications.