SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 2 is available – but there's a catch!
Service Pack 2 is available:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=43340
The build number is 11.0.5058, and this includes fixes up to and including SQL Server 2012 SP1 CU #9. (The complete list of fixes is exhaustive, including all fixes from SP1 CU #1 -> #9, but the post-CU #9 fixes are listed here:
http://support.microsoft.com/KB/2958429
However, if you may be affected by the regression bug I talked about earlier today, which could lead to data loss or corruption during online parallel index rebuilds, this regression did make it into the SP2 code, so if you are on SP1 you will want to take the hotfix linked in the blog post above, and if you plan to upgrade to SP2, there is a similar SP2 hotfix available from the same KB article.
You can not fix the problem simply by installing the hotfix to SP1 and then applying SP2 on top of that – Service Pack 2 will effectively remove all of the fixes you got from the hotfix. And you will not be able to install SP2 and then install an earlier CU (like SP1 CU #10) or the SP1 version of the hotfix. So if you plan to move to SP2, you need to keep both your current CU level and this critical hotfix in mind. If this doesn't meet your corporate policies, then you may want to wait for SP2 CU1, which should be available at the end of July 2014.
If you are just looking for Management Studio, you can download the new version from here:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=43351
You want the file SQLManagementStudio_x64_ENU.exe or, if you are still using an x86 machine, SQLManagementStudio_x86_ENU.exe.
@Yasar I don't know that I can really help. Are you sure you're using a version of the Configuration Manager that is 2012 or better? Are you sure you're looking in the right place in the configuration manager?
Hi Aaron,
After Successfully completion of SQL Server 2012 SP2 upgrade and CU 6 , i am unable to see the SQL Services in SQL Server Configuration Manager.
Please help me.
Regards,
Yasar
bahushekh,
I suspect that the fix *should* be included with Service Pack 2, but it's not listed explicitly here:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2958429
So, I would contact PSS and explain that you're still getting that error even though you've applied SP2.
Hello Aaron,
I have applied SP2 and expecting that the error https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2916827 of CU08 for SP1 should be no more. But Error is still in SP2. Is there any workaround for this? Or SP2 is missing the files of CU08 for SP1
Vikas, your clients should be patched to >= version of the highest server you have to manage. Always.
That said, I am not the guy to ask about SSDT. I don't think the story on that side of the house is a very good one…
Hi Aaron, Need your help, I recently applied SP2 on my serves running SQL Server 2012 SP1 CU8, just wanted to know if I need to apply the sameon Client workstations too, Client machine having 2012 SP1 installed on it, no patching was done ever, workstations are used for cube/model developement. How to update SSDT on their machines?
After Service Pack 2, I can't run Management Studio and SQL Server Data Tools! I have got an error "Only some of the Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 products on this computer have been upgraded to Service Pack 1. None will work correctly until all have been upgraded.". Could you please help me?
Aaron, Thank you for your answer. In fact it was an error, diagnostic was wrong due to an update done by a team member during my vacation. Sorry, it was out of scope. Thanks for the answer.
@AaronBertrand You are absolutely correct. When I searched for the link I found it in VERY small type and light blue text that does not show up well on my monitor. Thanks for the quick response.
@Thomas I have not, sorry. Is it possible that you restarted after SP2 and the CPU load is caused by compilation of every single query plan?
@BobReardon Sounds like you are accessing the page from an x86 machine, and Microsoft is being "helpful" by only showing you the patches that are relevant for your machine. It is totally asinine. Click the link that says "Show hotfixes for all platforms and languages"…
When I download SQL Server 2012 SP2 it has x86 and x64 versions available. But when I go to download the CU1 for SP2 it only has x86 available. Is there a x64 version of SP2 CU1 or do I use the x86 version for my 64 bit server?
Aaron we are working on a Fast Track SQL Server configuration, since SP2 (today) lots of query are using 100% cpu and cannot finish. Do you have heard of such an issue??
Thomas G
@Murali no, 2012 SP1 CU1 contains CU10 and *parts* of CU11. See this post (and the comments):
/blogs/aaron_bertrand/archive/2014/07/23/sql-server-2012-service-pack-2-cumulative-update-1-is-available.aspx
So is CU10 & CU11 of 2012 SP1 included in CU1 of SP2
Murali A
Now SP2 is showing up in Microsoft Update.
Chris
The SQL servicing model is such that we port all hotfixes forward according to the patch cycle for each product. So, this fix should be included in the next (first) CU for SQL11 SP2. I imagine that the fix for SP1 was released during the final stages of the SP2 release cycle when no new changes were being accepted. There are several fixes in the most recent CU for SP1 which are not yet in SP2, but will be in the first CU for SP2. It is only in the rarest of cases that a patch will be released for all products concurrently, and those only for severe security-related issues.
I asked our service engineer and he said "This is already slated for inclusion in SQL11 SP2 CU1. "
The SQL servicing model is such that we port all hotfixes forward according to the patch cycle for each product. So, this fix should be included in the next (first) CU for SQL11 SP2. I imagine that the fix for SP1 was released during the final stages of the SP2 release cycle when no new changes were being accepted. There are several fixes in the most recent CU for SP1 which are not yet in SP2, but will be in the first CU for SP2. It is only in the rarest of cases that a patch will be released for all products concurrently, and those only for severe security-related issues.
I asked our service engineer and he said "This is already slated for inclusion in SQL11 SP2 CU1. "
The SP2 hotfix build 5522 now out for http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2969896
Chris
@Dale yes, if you are relying on any fixes in CU10 that are not in SP2 (and I believe that's all of them), you will lose them.
I've already applied CU10 to my instance. Will there be a problem installing SP2 over top of CU10? Thanks.
@Dale because service packs go through a much longer test and regression cycle than cumulative updates. It is almost always the case that a service pack is missing updates from the most recent CU, sometimes the most recent TWO CUs, because the SP code branch was locked down for testing long before some of those CU issues were even discovered, never mind fix. If they sat there and waited until a CU was complete before they started testing, then they'd just run into the same issue for the *next* CU, which continues getting fed with customer issues, regressions, bugs discovered, etc. It's not like the world stands still and nothing happens between CU cycles and especially when CU and SP cycles overlap. They always catch up with the updates fairly quickly though, and you probably want to hold off anyway – not just for the updates found in CU10 but also for the issue mentioned above…
Why isn't CU10 included in this Service Pack?