As the foundation of the cloud-ready information platform, SQL Server 2012 will help organizations unlock breakthrough insights across the organization as well quickly build solutions and extend data across on-premises and public cloud backed by mission critical confidence.

Windows Server Core Support:

• Reduce OS patching by as much as 50-60%¹ with new support for Windows Server Core

User-Defined Server Roles:

• Easily manage permissions around data access to support separation of duties and enable compliance around strict data access policies

Distributed Replay:

• Simplify application testing and help minimize errors with production-like application testing and configuration changes, and upgrades

SQL Server Data Tools:

• Take database development to the next level with SQL Server Data Tools an integrated development experience for database and BI

Run Non-Critical Applications:

• Greater Uptime and Recovery
• Support for Better Compliance
• Improved Manageability

Integrate Data and Enable Basic BI:

• More Easily Integrate Data
• Enable Reporting and Analytics

Develop Innovative Applications:

• Enable More Innovative Development
• Rich Support for Content
• Extend Any Data, Anywhere

Processor:

• 1.0 GHz AMD Opteron, AMD Athlon 64, Intel Xeon with Intel EM64T support, Intel Pentium IV with EM64T support (x64)
• 1.4 GHz Pentium III-compatible or faster (x86)
• 2.0 GHz or faster Recommended

Operating System:

• Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter/Enterprise/Standard/Foundation/Web with Service Pack 1 (64-bit)
• Windows 7 Ultimate/Enterprise/Professional with Service Pack 1(32/64-bit)
• Windows Server 2008 Datacenter/Enterprise/Standard/Foundation/Web with Service Pack 2 (32/64-bit)
• Windows Vista Ultimate/Enterprise/Business with Service Pack 2 (32/64-bit)

Hard Disk*:

• 6 GB of available space

Memory:

• 1 GB RAM
• 4 GB Recommended and should be increased as database size increases to ensure optimal performance

Optical Drive:

• DVD-ROM

Others:

• Internet Explorer 7 or a later version is required for Microsoft Management Console (MMC), SQL Server Data Tools (SSDT), the Report Designer component of Reporting Services, and HTML Help
• Internet functionality requires Internet access
• Super-VGA (800x600) or higher resolution monitor
• .NET 3.5 with Service Pack 1 is a requirement for SQL Server 2012 when you select Database Engine, Reporting Services, Replication, Master Data Services, Data Quality Services, or SQL Server Management Studio, and it is no longer installed by SQL Server Setup
• .NET 4.0, .NET Framework 4, SQL Server Native Client, SQL Server Setup support files
• Windows PowerShell 2.0

* Disk space requirements will vary with the SQL Server 2012 components you install