News

RC0 Version of SQL Server 2008 Available

Microsoft rolled out Release Candidate 0 (RC0) of SQL Server 2008, which is available for evaluation by developers and database administrators who want an early look at the relational database management system.

Microsoft hopes to get feedback on the solution, which was announced with great fanfare in late February, before actually launching the commercial product.

The RC0 version, which contains all of the software's features, will be the last issue of the software before the SQL Server 2008 product is released to manufacturing, which is scheduled for the third quarter of this year, according to Microsoft's announcement. Prior to this RC0 release, SQL Server 2008 was under Community Technology Preview evaluation.

The RC0 version, which expires after 180 days, contains various RCO editions of SQL Server 2008, including the Developer, Enterprise, Standard, Web and Workgroup Editions.

The Microsoft Connect Web site has some descriptions of identified bugs in SQL Server 2008, including problems with locks not releasing, inability to perform cube browsing and periodic assertion errors, among others.

Blogger Aaron Bertrand has found a bug in RC0 in which the program's Activity Monitor has a problem "when connecting to a SQL Server 2005 instance." Activity Monitor is a component in SQL Server that shows user connections to the database, helping administrators resolve user locks on data.

SQL Server seems to be getting renewed emphasis as a key Microsoft product component. At the TechEd event last week, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said that SQL Server is becoming the basis for other Microsoft data platforms, such as SharePoint and Active Directory.

Subscribers to MSDN (Microsoft Developer Network) can access SQL Server 2008 RC0 here, or it's available to Microsoft TechNet Plus subscribers here.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for the 1105 Enterprise Computing Group.