SQL Server 2005 gets second service pack Microsoft has released a second free service pack -- a large, recommended update -- for its popular SQL Server 2005 database application.

Microsoft released Service Pack 2 (SP2) for SQL Server 2005 on Tuesday, a free upgrade available for download, in addition to new virtualization licensing for the database.

Microsoft began a wide beta testing program of its forthcoming SQL Server 2005 database on Monday, a much anticipated--and delayed--product central to the company's server software line.

Microsoft rolled out another round of prerelease versions of Visual Studio 2005, .Net Framework 2.0 and SQL Server 2005 as it strives to hit its revised ship dates during the second half of the year.

For those planning to upgrade SQL Server on-premises, Microsoft claims SQL Server 2005 can be upgraded in-place to SQL Server 2014 — provided the former isn’t a 32-bit edition of the product.

Organizations that applied Microsoft's July 10 'update Tuesday' Windows patches may have experienced SQL Server failures after rebooting their servers.