SQL Server 2016 editions – what’s new

SQL Server 2016 is the biggest leap forward in the Microsoft data platform history with real-time operational analytics, rich
visualizations on mobile devices, built-in advanced analytics, new advanced security technology, and new hybrid cloud scenarios.
Enterprise Standard Express Developer
SQL Server Enterprise delivers comprehensive SQL Server Standard provides core data SQL Server Express is a free edition of SQL SQL Server Developer is now a free edition
datacenter capabilities for mission-critical management and business intelligence Server ideal for development and production providing the full feature set of SQL Server
database, business intelligence, and advanced capabilities for non-critical workloads with for desktop, web and small server Enterprise. For development and test only,
analytics workloads. minimal IT resources. applications. and not for production environments or use
with production data.

Mission critical Security Data Business Advanced Hybrid cloud

performance warehousing intelligence analytics
• Operating system max • Always Encrypted • Enhanced in-memory • End-to-end mobile BI on • In database advanced • Stretch Database
cores and memory ColumnStore all major platforms analytics
• Row-level security • Enhanced backup
• Enhanced in-memory • PolyBase in scale-out • Enhanced DirectQuery • R integration with massive to Azure
OLTP performance • Dynamic data masking configuration parallel processing for
• In-memory analytics • Enhanced HA and DR with
• Enhanced separation of (head and compute performance and scale
• Operational analytics nodes) • Advanced data mining Azure – ease of use, no
duties • Works with in-memory domain join (Windows
• Enhanced AlwaysOn with • Advanced tabular
• Enhanced SQL Server • License rights to (the APS) technology Server 2016)
no domain join (WS 2016) MPP appliance” • Web portal experience
auditing • Run in database or • SSIS integration with
• Query Store (all reports in one place)
Enterprise

• Transparent data • Distributed query standalone Azure Data Factory and

processing • Modernized reports Azure SQL Data
• Temporal encryption • Connectivity to R Open
• Pin reports to Power BI Warehouse
• Policy-based management • Support for JSON
• Enhanced multi-
dimensional models

• Disk-based OLTP • Row-level security • PolyBase • Basic tabular (16GB • Single-threaded for RRE • Stretch Database
• 24 cores max and 128 GB (compute node only) memory per instance)
• Dynamic data masking • Connectivity to R Open • Backup to Azure
max memory • Support for JSON • Web portal experience
• Basic auditing
• 2-node single database • Modernized reports
Standard

failover (non-readable • Separation of duties

secondary) • Pin reports to Power BI
• Policy-based management
• Query Store • Enhanced multi-
• Temporal dimensional models
• 1 GB memory, • Policy-based management • Support for JSON • Basic reporting and • Stretch Database
max 10 GB memory analytics
• Backup to Azure
• Basic OLTP • Web portal experience
Express

• Query Store • Modernized reports

• Temporal
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SQL Server 2016 features by edition
Developer1 Express Standard Enterprise
Maximum number of cores New Unlimited 4 cores 24 cores Unlimited

Maximum memory utilized per instance OS Max 1 GB 128 GB OS Max

Maximum size 524 PB 10 GB 524 PB 524 PB

Production use rights   

Basic OLTP    

Manageability (Management Studio, Policy-Based Management)    

Basic high availability (2-node single database failover, non-readable secondary) New   

Enterprise data management (Master Data Services, Data Quality Services)  

Advanced OLTP (In-memory OLTP, Operational analytics) New  

Advanced HA (Always On - multi-node, multi-db failover, readable secondaries)  

Basic security (Row-level security, data masking, basic auditing, separation of duties) New   
Security
Advanced security (Transparent Data Encryption, Always Encrypted) New  

Advanced data integration (Fuzzy grouping and look ups, change data capture)  
Data
Data warehousing (In-Memory ColumnStore, Partitioning) New  
warehousing
PolyBase2   

Programmability & developer t ools (T-SQL, CLR, Data Types, FileTable, JSON) New    

Basic reporting & analytics    

Basic data integration (SSIS, built-in connectors)   

Business
intelligence Basic Corporate Business Intelligence (Multi-dimensional models, Basic tabular model) New   

Mobile BI (Datazen) New  

Advanced Corporate Business Intelligence (Advanced tabular model, DirectQuery,
New  
in-memory analytics, advanced data mining)

Advanced Basic “R” integration (Connectivity to R Open, Limited parallelism for RRE) New    

analytics Advanced “R” integration (Full parallelism for RRE) New  

Hybrid cloud Stretch Database New    

1SQL Server 2016 Developer Edition offers the full feature set of SQL Server 2016 Enterprise Edition, but Developer Edition is for development and test only, and not for production environments or use with production data.
2Scale out relational and non-relational data queries with the simplicity of T-SQL using PolyBase, which requires single Microsoft SQL Server 2016 Enterprise Edition as head node.
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