SQL Server 2016 New Features

SQL Server 2016 New Features (welcome updates)

1. Always Encrypted
Always encrypted is designed to protect data while retrieving or when stored in
Databases, encryption/decryption keys reside in applications in customer trusted environment. SQL Server can perform operations on encrypted data. This help to hide data from DBA and SQL developer. Encryption/decryption of data happens transparently in application which helps for minimal code changes to existing application.

2. Dynamic Data Masking
This feature helps to mask/hide actual values of a sensitive columns and keeping rest as it. i.e. Email/Phone/Salary etc. this can be maintained at user/role level
This is also available in Azure SQL DB V12

3. Row level security
This help to maintain the policies which help to filter specific rows based on the user queries
This is also available in Azure SQL DB V12

4. Stretch Database
This feature helps to move cold or history data to move in azure environment at lower cost and hot and operational data in on-premises. Always encrypted feature is available in azure environment.

5. Real-time Operational Analytics
This feature combines in-memory OLTP with in-memory column store for real time analysis.
It helps to optimize system for optimal transactional performance and increased workload concurrency.

6. PolyBase into SQL Server
This feature help to integrate sql server with hadoop

7. Native JSON Support
8. Java script object notation (JSON) currently not supported natively by sql server to support it has to have t-SQL,SQLCLR, JavaSupport. Now in this release JSON Support feature help to integrate SQL server directly like xml.

9. Enhancements to AlwaysOn
This release will have up to three synchronous replicas and will support DTC and also support for round robin load balancing for secondary replicas. And will also have automatic fail over based on database health.

10. Enhanced In-Memory OLTP
This release will support more memory (in TB) and greater number of parallel CPU’s and will also support for extended t-SQL surface areas.

11. Revamped SQL Server Data Tools
This release will consolidate different version of SQL Server data tools into one.