SQL Server 2014 and 2012 new releases

Microsoft SQL Server team has done few releases related SQL Server 2014 and 2012 in last few months. You can download and upgrade your instances if required;

• Cumulative Update #2 for SQL Server 2014 SP1
• Cumulative Update #9 for SQL Server 2014 RTM
• Cumulative Update #7 for SQL Server 2012 SP2

If you want to understand about Cumulative Updates, please read this;
What are hotfixes, Cumulative Updates and Service Packs? 


For all update releases;

Version	Code Name	Initial Version	Updates
2014	Hekaton	12.00.2000.8	CU1: 12.0.2342.0 CU3: 12.0.2402 CU4: 12.0.2402 CU5: 12.0.2402 CU6: 12.0.2402 CU7: 12.0.2402 CU8: 12.0.2402 CU9: 12.0.2402  SP1: 12.0.4100.1 SP1: CU#1 12.0.4416.0 SP1: CU#2 12.0.4422.0
2012	Denali	11.00.2100	SP1: 11.00.3000 SP1: CU#7: 11.0.3393 SP1: CU#8: 11.0.3401 SP1: CU#9: 11.0.3412 SP1: CU#16 11.0.3492.0 SP2: 11.0.5058 SP2: HotFix – 11.0.5522 SP2: CU#1: 11.0.5532 SP2: CU#6: 11.0.5592.0 SP2: CU#7: 11.0.5623.0

Cumulative updates for SQL Server 2012 and 2014

Few Cumulative updates have been released for SQL Server 2012 and 2014. Here are the links for them:

Cumulative update #6 for SQL Server 2014
Here is the link for downloading: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/hotfix/kbhotfix?kbnum=3031047&kbln=en-us
Here is the link for the list of bugs fixed: http://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3031047

Cumulative update #5 for SQL Server 2012 SP2
Here is the link for downloading: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/hotfix/kbhotfix?kbnum=3037255&kbln=en-us
Here is the link for the list of bugs fixed: http://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3037255

Cumulative update #15 for SQL Server 2012 SP1
Here is the link for downloading: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/hotfix/kbhotfix?kbnum=3038001&kbln=en-us
Here is the link for the list of bugs fixed: http://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3038001

What are hotfixes, Cumulative Updates and Service Packs?

No matter how hard the software has been tested, issues can be still encountered. Same applies to Microsoft SQL Server too and that is the reason we see numerous releases on same versions. These releases are published as a Hotfix, a Cumulative Update, or a Service Pack but what is the right time for applying these, should we apply them as soon as they are published?

Let's try to understand each of these SQL Server updates;

• Hotfixes: These are built and released for addressing urgent customer concerns. Most of the time, this is done based on an issue reported by a customer (or few customers) and the fix is released immediately. Since this addresses a particular issue and the release is done in a urgent manner, not much testing is done hence it is not recommended to apply a hotfix to a production environment as soon as it is released unless the same issue is being experienced.
  
• Cumulative Updates: Cumulative update is a bundle that holds a periodic roll-up releases of hotfixes. This goes through a test comparatively higher than testes done for each hotfix and the bundle is tested as a whole. In a way, this is more secure and advisable to apply rather than applying hotfixes individually. However, if possible, it is always better to wait till a service pack release as explained below.
  
• Service Packs: Service pack is a periodic release that addresses many issues which may have (or may have not) addressed with previous hotfixes and cumulative updates. This goes through a thorough test and it is safe to apply this to production environment. 

Cumulative Update packages for SQL Server 2008 R2, 2012, and 2014

Cumulative update #12 is available for SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2. Refer the following link for downloading it and understanding the fixes done.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2938478

Cumulative update #9 is available for SQL Server 2012 SP1. Refer the following link for downloading it and understanding the fixes done.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2931078

Cumulative update #1 is available for SQL Server 2014. Refer the following link for downloading it and understanding the fixes done.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2931693

For more info on SQL Server versions and service packs, refer:http://dinesql.blogspot.com/2014/01/versions-and-service-packs-of-sql.html

Cumulative update package 11 for SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 2

Cumulative update #11 is available for SQL Server 2008 R2 SP2. Refer the following link for downloading it and understanding the fixes done.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2926028

For more info on SQL Server versions and service packs, refer:http://dinesql.blogspot.com/2014/01/versions-and-service-packs-of-sql.html

Cumulative update package 8 for SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 1

Cumulative update #8 is available for SQL Server 2012 SP1. Refer the following link for downloading it and understanding the fixes done.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2917531

For more info on SQL Server versions and service packs, refer: http://dinesql.blogspot.com/2014/01/versions-and-service-packs-of-sql.html