Free resource

SQL Server 2025 is here. Are you ready?

The DBA & Developer Upgrade Reference — featuring ready-to-run T-SQL, compatibility level migration tables, and a 10-point upgrade readiness checklist.

12-page reference guide
Ready-to-run T-SQL samples
Compatibility level tables
10-point upgrade checklist
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Intelligent Query Processing (IQP)
GA features
  • Scalar UDF inlining — automatic reformulation of scalar UDFs as subqueries
  • Table variable deferred compilation — improved cardinality estimation for TVFs
  • Batch mode on rowstore — columnstore-like speed for rowstore indexes without CC
  • Adaptive joins — runtime correction of join strategy based on actual row counts
  • Memory grant feedback — dynamic adjustment of memory allocation per execution
🔒
Security Defaults & Authentication
Critical for Azure SQL
  • Mandatory TLS 1.2+ enforcement — no fallback to older protocol versions
  • Contained database authentication — users without logins, fully portable DBs
  • Password policy enforcement options — per-database password complexity rules
  • Azure AD integration — managed identity, conditional access, passwordless auth
  • Column-level security patterns — RLS vs column-level encryption decisions
📝
T-SQL Additions & Enhancements
New syntax
  • GENERATE_SERIES() — built-in sequence generator, replaces CTE tally tables
  • WINDOW clause — window frame definition moved to FROM clause, cleaner queries
  • STRING_SPLIT with enable_ordinal — ordinal position without charindex gymnastics
  • JSON path improvements — $.. wildcard, strict mode, improved error messages
  • APPROX_COUNT_DISTINCT — O(1) memory for large distinct counts in aggregation
⚙
Resource Governor for Standard Edition
Game changer
  • RG now available on Standard Edition — previously Enterprise-only
  • CPU, memory, and I/O resource pool configuration per workload group
  • Resource Governor classifier function patterns for multi-tenant scenarios
  • Max degree of parallelism (MAXDOP) enforcement per resource pool
  • Workload group priority relative weighting — not just hard caps
🔍
Vector Search for AI Applications
New capability
  • Vector data type — store vector embeddings as native SQL Server data type
  • Vector index types — IVFFlat and HNSW indexing for approximate nearest neighbor
  • VECTOR_DISTANCE() function — cosine, euclidean, dot product similarity metrics
  • Hybrid search — combine vector similarity with traditional WHERE clauses
  • Integration with Azure OpenAI — native embedding generation within SQL
✅
10-Point Upgrade Readiness Checklist
Action items
  • Review database compatibility level — target 160 for SQL Server 2025
  • Run sp_upgradehelper or Database Migration Assistant (DMA) assessment
  • Audit deprecated T-SQL — remove syntax deprecated in prior versions
  • Validate backup chain and test restores on 2025 instance
  • Review extended events and traces — migrate off trace flags 1204/1222

Get the Full Reference Guide as a PDF

Download the complete 12-page guide — formatted for printing, keeping at your desk, and sharing with your team before the upgrade window opens.

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