Well, it’s been released and apparently ahead of schedule. Yes, Katmai is available! Great news. Now, call me a cynic but wasn’t the Release Candidate called RC0? It was not called THE Release Candidate. Surely that implies there would be an RC1, at least? There was more than one TechNet note referring to RC1. Well, I guess the quality was sufficient to bypass any further Release Candidates so surprise, surprise, it is available before Labor Day. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am excited by this release. My testing has revealed some neat new features and I have mentioned these in previous blog entries. I am looking forward to training more DBAs in SQL Server 2008. My favorite feature is the Filestream Data option which I have also written about in other blog entries. Backward compatibility is always a big consideration by Microsoft so I am confident that this is a quality release. I have just installed the RTM Enterprise Evaluation Edition and it looks good. One disappointment is that the sample databases are not an option in the install program. You need to download these from the web at codeplex , which is just fine, I suppose. At least they’re free. But you have to download multiple files. Then, after running the .MSI files you will need to restore the backup files manually to bring the databases in. But wait, there’s more. You will also need to enable Filestream data on the server by using the documented two-step process in Books Online before you restore the AdventureWorks2008 database successfully. And, as documented in a previous Blog entry, this is not as straight forward as you would imagine. OK, I am an experienced DBA so I can get through this, but I am thinking about the new user experiencing SQL Server for the first time. Shouldn’t there be a checkbox for the sample databases just as in the 2005 Setup.exe? This would make things so much easier for the novice (and for me!). Well, I am afraid this hints at a premature release. My suspicions were first aroused when I entered SQL Server Configuration Manager. Right-clicked on the SQL Server service, chose Properties, clicked the Advanced tab, and what did I see? Under the File Version property it still mentions “SQL_PreRelease”. Someone didn’t get the memo. Things like this would be handled easily by iterative Release Candidates. Or maybe there’s a bit of apathy out there. Too many DBA’s still handling the new 2005 features? Some people waiting for SP1? I just hope this isn’t another Vista. I think not.
We’ll be training people in the new release, as always, just in time. We have training available now. There are always early adopters out there willing to push the envelope with the new software. That’s what I enjoy about my job, always something new and exciting. But we’ll also be offering SQL Server 2005 training for the mainstream. We recognize that you have a choice.
Later,
Brian
