Applies ToSQL Server 2012 Enterprise SQL Server 2012 Developer SQL Server 2012 Analysis Services SQL Server 2012 Business Intelligence SQL Server 2012 Standard SQL Server 2012 Web

This article contains important information that you should review before you install Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 4 (SP4). It describes how to obtain the service pack, the list of fixes that are included in the service pack, how to select the correct download based on your currently installed version, and a list of copyright attributions for the product.Note This article serves as a single source of information to locate all documentation that is related to this service pack. It includes all the information that you previously found in the release notes and Readme.txt files.

More Information

How to obtain SQL Server 2012 SP4

SQL Server 2012 SP4, Microsoft SQL Server 2012 SP4 Express, and Microsoft SQL Server 2012 SP4 Feature Pack are available for manual download and installation at the following Microsoft Download Center websites.

SQL Server 2012 SP4

Download Download the package now.

SQL Server 2012 SP4 Express

Download Download the package now.

Microsoft SQL Server 2012 SP4 Feature Pack

Download Download the package now.

Note After you install the service pack, the SQL Server service version should be 11.0.7001.0. Microsoft SQL Server 2012 service packs are cumulative updates. SQL Server 2012 SP4 upgrades all editions and service levels of SQL Server 2012 to SQL Server 2012 SP4. For more information about the cumulative updates that are available in SQL Server 2012, see SQL Server 2012 build versions.

List of enhancements and fixes included in SQL Server 2012 SP4

Note Besides the listed updates, additional changes may also be included in this service pack. You may receive documentation in the future.

Enhancements and new capabilities

SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 4 provides additional updates to improve performance, scalability, and monitoring. Key updates include:

  • Scalability and performance improvements for the storage engine

  • Improvements in consistency check performance

  • Query hints to provide granular control while using Resource Governor

  • Additional monitoring capabilities through enhancements in DMV, Extended Events, and Query Plans

  • Improved performance while opening and reading XEL files by using the XEvent Linq reader

  • Improved performance for spatial queries

For more information about some of these enhancements that are included in SQL Server 2012 SP4, see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.

VSTS bug number

KB article number

Description

7996676

3209442

FIX: "No Data Available" in the SQL Server Memory Usage page in the SQL Server MDM report

9626397

4016945

FIX: "The custom resolver for this article requires OLEAUT32.DLL with a minimum version of 2.40.4276" error with merge publication in SQL Server

9719280

4016361

FIX: Service Broker endpoint connections aren"t closed after an availability group failover in SQL Server

9379250

4013236

FIX: Bad query plan created on secondary replicas after statistics updated via FULLSCAN option on primary replica in SQL Server 2012 or 2014

9649009

4017445

FIX: A REDO thread is not available in the secondary replica after an availability database is dropped in SQL Server 2012

9818256

4017080

FIX: Transaction log backup failure on the secondary replica in SQL Server 2012 Always-On Availability Groups

9638199

4021243

FIX: Access violation when you create or configure an Always On availability group for an availability database in SQL Server 2012

5477456

3107173

Improved memory grant diagnostics using Extended Events in SQL Server 2012 and 2014

9699829

4016949

A Unified Showplan Schema for different versions SQL is available starting in SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 4

9850108

3146404

FIX: Canceling a backup task crashes SQL Server

9328711

4013128

FIX: UDT assembly loaded and unloaded when SQLCLR UDT is used as a stored procedure parameter for a SQL RPC call causes waits for CLR_AUTO_EVENT and CMEMTHREAD

9619718

3170022

Update lets SQL Server 2012 or 2014 use all the user-mode virtual address space for a process

9619820

3170020

Informational messages added for tempdb configuration in the SQL Server error log in SQL Server 2012 or 2014

9659540

3170019

Update to add info about SQL Server startup account to security policy in SQL Server 2012 or 2014 error log

9692557

3170115

Information about enabled trace flags is added to the showplan XML in SQL Server

9699444

3201552

Update adds overall query execution statistics information to the STATISTICS XML output in SQL Server 2012 or 2016

9699445

4016867

FIX: Data types of Query_hash and Query_hash_plan columns in xEvents do not match the data types in DMVs sys.dm_exec_requests and sys.dm_exec_query_stats

9699464

3170116

FIX: Memory grant that's required to run optimized nested loop join isn't reflected in Showplan XML in SQL Server

9732128

3173157

Adds a stored procedure for the manual cleanup of the change tracking side table in SQL Server 2012 SP4, SQL Server 2014 SP2, or SQL Server 2016 SP1

9307480

3177838

How to use DBCC CLONEDATABASE to generate a schema and statistics only copy of a user database in SQL Server 2012 SP4, SQL Server 2014 SP2, and SQL Server 2016 SP1

9654797

3191296

Update extends the Trace extended event with security protocol handshake information in SQL Server

10655526

4053693

FIX: CDC components in SSIS do not function in SQL Server after a cumulative update is applied

Additional resolutions

Resolutions to the following issues are also included in SQL Server 2012 SP4.

VSTS bug number

Description

9842082

Include the table name and the primary key for error 20598 in the MSdistribution_history table.

9654797

Provide a method to discover the TLS/SSL protocol used by the client connection

Select the correct file to download and install

The SQL Server 2012 SP4 download page contains the system requirements for installing SQL Server 2012 SP4 and basic installation instructions. For additional documentation about how to upgrade installed 2012 SP4 components with a SQL Server 2012 servicing update, see "Install SQL Server 2012 servicing updates." For more information about how to upgrade your SQL Server installation to SQL Server 2012 SP4, see Supported Version and Edition Upgrades.

  • This product contains software derived from the Xerox Secure Hash Function.

  • This product includes software from the zlib general purpose compression library.

  • Parts of this software are based in part on the work of RSA Data Security, Inc. Because Microsoft has included the RSA Data Security, Inc., software in this product, Microsoft is required to include the text below that accompanied such software:

    • Copyright 1990, RSA Data Security, Inc. All rights reserved.

    • License to copy and use this software is granted provided that it is identified as the "RSA Data Security, Inc., MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm" in all material mentioning or referencing this software or this function. License is also granted to make and use derivative works provided that such works are identified as "derived from the RSA Data Security, Inc., MD5 Message-Digest Algorithm" in all material mentioning or referencing the derived work.

    • RSA Data Security, Inc., makes no representations concerning either the merchantability of this software or the suitability of this software for any particular purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty of any kind.

    These notices must be retained in any copies of any part of this documentation or software.

  • The Reporting Services mapping feature uses data from TIGER/Line Shapefiles that are provided courtesy of the U.S. Census Bureau (http://www.census.gov/). TIGER/Line Shapefiles are an extract of selected geographic and cartographic information from the Census MAF/TIGER database. TIGER/Line Shapefiles are available without charge from the U.S. Census Bureau. To obtain more information about the TIGER/Line shapefiles, go to http://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger. The boundary information in the TIGER/Line Shapefiles is for statistical data collection and tabulation purposes only; its depiction and designation for statistical purposes does not constitute a determination of jurisdictional authority, rights of ownership, or entitlement, and does not reflect legal land descriptions. Census TIGER and TIGER/Line are registered trademarks of the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

Copyright 2012 Microsoft. All rights reserved.

References

For more information about how to determine the current SQL Server version and edition, click the following article number to go to the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

321185How to identify your SQL Server version and edition

Third-party information disclaimer

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.

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