The new version of SQL Server offers a host of new features and enhancements that promise to improve performance, increase security, and make life better for database administrators. Here's an overview of the key changes and what you can expect from SQL Server 2008. Randy Dyess

Security continues to be an area of deliberate improvement for SQL Server. Explore some of the most important security-related changes you'll find in SQL Server 2008, from encryption and authentication enhancements to Policy-Based Management and the new auditing system that will help with regulatory requirements. Rick Byham

SQL Server 2008 offers seven new built-in data types that let you work with more complex data and simplify the management of structured, semi-structured, and even unstructured data. Get an in-depth look at these new data types and find out how you can use them to improve data management in your infrastructure. Kelly Wilson

SQL Server 2008 offers more powerful relational data warehousing capabilities. Take a close look at key performancerelated data warehousing features and find out how you can use all this new technology to optimize query performance. S. Agarwal, T. Grabs, and J. Hammer

While locking is essential to support concurrent read and write activities on a database, blocking can adversely affect system performance. Learn how to optimize your SQL Server database to minimize blocking, and see how you can monitor the system to better understand how locking impacts performance. Cherié Warren

Many businesses still rely on Microsoft Access. Fortunately, Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 allows you to integrate legacy Access data. Explore how you can use these tools to build new solutions for your organization.