News

SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 Gets Close

SAN DIEGO -- Microsoft began taking sign ups for participation in the SQL Server 2005 Beta 2 program this week at its Microsoft TechEd show here as the long-awaited test version of the product gets close to availability.

"Beta 2 is coming in a couple of weeks," said Kirsten Hart Ward, senior product manager for Microsoft SQL Server product marketing. "This is the first time we've allowed people to sign up for it."

Attendees at the TechEd show received cards in their Microsoft bags with information on how to sign up for the SQL Server 2005 beta. While the 11,000 TechEd attendees are encouraged to apply, Beta 2 is not the broad public beta it had originally been expected to be. Instead a Beta 3 will represent the large public beta that will be available for general download from the Web, Ward said.

By almost any other software company's standards, however, Beta 2 will be huge. While the Beta 1 went to about 10,000 customers, Microsoft expects about 100,000 customers and partners to participate in Beta 2. It will be available to MSDN Universal and Enterprise level subscribers.

SQL Server 2005, formerly known by the code-name "Yukon," will be the first new release of the database in four-and-a-half years and represents a major overhaul of the technology at all levels. The update to the database has been delayed several times over the last few years.

Native Encryption Added

One major new feature added between the Beta 1 and Beta 2 releases is SQL Server 2005 Data Encryption, Microsoft said this week. "We have previously offered encryption of data over the wire, but we have not offered it natively," Ward said. "We've left it to third parties."

In a keynote demo this week, Microsoft officials showed how encryption can be integrated with user rights to shield certain information. In the demonstration, a power user looking at customer records could see the customers' credit card numbers. A regular user could see the customers' names and other information, but the credit card number field was garbled.

About the Author

Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.

Featured

  • Microsoft Appoints Althoff as New CEO for Commercial Business

    Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella on Wednesday announced the promotion of Judson Althoff to CEO of the company's commercial business, presenting the move as a response to the dramatic industrywide shifts caused by AI.

  • Broadcom Revamps VMware Partner Program Again

    Broadcom recently announced a significant update regarding its VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) program, coinciding with the release of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0, a key component in Broadcom’s private cloud strategy.

  • Closeup of the new Copilot keyboard key

    Microsoft Updates Copilot To Add Context-Sensitive Agents to Teams, SharePoint

    Microsoft has rolled out a new public preview for collaborative "always on" agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot, bringing enhanced, context-aware tools into Teams channels, meetings, SharePoint sites, Planner workstreams and Viva Engage communities.

  • Windows 365 Cloud Apps Now Available for Public Preview

    Microsoft announced this week that Windows 365 Cloud Apps are now available for public preview. This aims to allow IT administrators to stream individual Windows applications from the cloud, removing the need to assign Cloud PCs to every user.