Microsoft will support Itanium in SQL Server 2008 R2, but that's it

4/7/2010 1:30 PM

Tech giant Microsoft announced in an official blog post on Friday that it would end support for Intel's Itanium processing family in SQL Server, and that the upcoming SQL Server 2008 R2 release would be the final iteration of that software to do so.

Microsoft senior product manager Dan Reger wrote that "the natural evolution of the x86 64-bit ('x64') architecture has led to the creation of processors and servers which deliver the scalability and reliability needed for today’s 'mission-critical' workloads. Just this week, both Intel and AMD have released new high core-count processors, and servers with 8 or more x64 processors have now been announced by a full dozen server manufacturers. Such servers contain 64 to 96 processor cores, with more on the horizon."

According to CNET, the move comes as a further blow to the mainstream adoption of the Itanium chipset, although it does power the current generation of HP's high-end servers.

For IT professionals, the loss of SQL Server capability on Itanium should be outweighed by the new release's other benefits.

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