The code name is gone, and in case you hadn't heard, SQL Server 2008 was Released to Manufacturing (RTM) yesterday and is available for download on MSDN and TechNet, and presumably for sale as well. There's a new edition this time, the Web Edition, which is described in this blog post from Microsoft.
This has felt like a very quick release, as quick as SQL Server 2000 felt after SQL Server 7 (that was two years), though not nearly as quick as the SQL Server 6.0 to 6.5, about six months. It's been just under three years since SQL Server 2005 was completed, but since I, and many others, are still learning new things about that version every week, it feels as though this version came out quickly.
And I expect SQL 11 in 2011, in about 3 years. That's the goal of the SQL Server team, and after changing the way they engineer SQL Server with this version, I expect they'll be able to meet that goal again sometime in the next three years.
For those of us working with SQL Server, this means we'll have a fairly continuous need to learn more about the platform and continue to grow our database skills. There are quite a few new features and enhancements in version 10, and I expect more and more as each new version appears. The days of slight changes, as occurred between SQL Server 6.0 and 6.5 are behind us and I expect to only see full releases in the future.
I've spent more time with SQL Server 2008 in it's beta/CTP/RC releases than I had with most of the previous versions. I am mostly impressed with the work that’s gone into the product and I see some great features, like the Resource Governor and Policy Based Management, that I really like and think will become more and more important, and very widely used, as people install or upgrade to SQL Server 2008.
I've been recommending for almost a year that people skip upgrading to SQL Server 2005 if they haven't already and move directly to SQL Server 2008. With these short support cycles, I don't think it's worth losing almost 3 years of your support lifecycle by moving to SQL Server 2005, especially as the products are very similar at their core. I still recommend that, especially with the RTM version available.
If you are worried about issues with new features, I think you can easily ignore the new features and only use those that are carrying over from SQL Server 2005. The core engines in the product subsystems are mostly the same and you can start to use those new features as they get tested and patched. And if you are concerned about patching, Service Pack 1 for SQL Server 2008 is due to release in six months, so by February 6, you should have the first major patch. Hopefully this also means lots of resources for SQL Server 2005 SP3!
I hope you join me in congratulating the SQL Server team for completing another release, one that seems to be very well done. There are bugs, as there will be with all software of this size, but the release seems to be very stable overall.
Now I'm looking forward to learning more about SQL Server 2008, bringing you new articles and information, and hopefully no security patches.
Steve Jones
The Voice of the DBA Podcasts
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