SQL

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express with Tools is a free, easy-to use version of SQL Server Express that includes more features and makes it easier than ever to start developing powerful data-driven applications for the web or local desktop.

Download SQL 2008 Express with Advanced Services here and SQL 2008 Express with Tools here.

Grab it here. The SQL 2008 Express with Tools is not available yet.

Interesting gotcha that should be resolved this week if things go as scheduled. According to the information in the SQL 2008 release notes, Visual Studio 2008 SP1 is due sometime this week and is a requirement for some installations of SQL 2008.

In the interim, do not install the Visual Studio 2008 SP1 Beta, which can cause version conflicts.

When Visual Studio 2008 SP1 is available, here are the guidelines for install order:

If Visual Studio 2008 is not currently installed on your computer, you can install SQL Server 2008. No further action for installing Visual Studio is required.

If Visual Studio 2008 is currently installed on your computer, you cannot install SQL Server 2008 successfully unless you perform one of the following actions:

Install Visual Studio 2008 SP1 before you install SQL Server 2008.

Uninstall Visual Studio 2008, and then install SQL Server 2008. After you install SQL Server 2008, you can install Visual Studio 2008. Then, you can install Visual Studio 2008 SP1.

Only install components of SQL Server 2008 that do not require Visual Studio 2008. Do not select the following features: Management Tools (Basic or Complete), Integration Services, Business Intelligence Development Studio.

This will expire in 180 days, but will give you a feel for the upcoming version.

You can grab it from here.

The feature pack contains redistributable components, add-on providers, and backward compatibility components for SQL Server 2008.

You can read the release notes here and download the feature pack here.

Stop by the Microsoft "Ask the Experts" area and ask me some technical questions about Windows Server 2008. I don't know if I will have anything to give out for prizes, except for nuggets of information.

Just keep in mind, I'm not a sales guy. I'm more well versed in telling you about configuration scenarios for Hyper-V than what the licensing cost would be. I can also tell you the technical reasons for upgrading to Server 2008 and not standard marketing phrases of "Easier to manage" or "Reduced TCO". Those are all valid reasons but I'd rather tell you about the technical aspects, like SMB 2.0 and Read-only Domain Controllers.

I'll also be at the CDW/Berbee booth from time to time too, since we are one of the partners at the event.

More information on the event is here.

I'll also be at the Grand Rapids event a few months from now.

Microsoft SQL Server 2008, the next release of Microsoft SQL Server, provides a comprehensive data platform that is more secure, reliable, manageable and scalable for your mission critical applications, while enabling developers to create new applications that can store and consume any type of data on any device, and enabling all your users to make informed decisions with relevant insights.

Download it here.

If you go to the Server 2008, SQL 2008, and Visual Studio 2008 launch event in your area, it looks like you will be getting some Not-For-Resale goodies.

1. Windows Server 2008 Enterprise RTM (64 and 32 bit) with a product key
2. Visual Studio 2008 Standard RTM
3. SQL Server 2008 CTP 5.0 with a voucher for a RTM copy when available

If you happen to go to the Grand Rapids, Michigan or Detroit, Michigan event, I should be in the "Ask the Experts" section with Microsoft, if everything goes as planned.

I have heard rumors of discounted TechNet Plus subscriptions too, so those are always nice too!

Details originally spotted here.

Read about it here and request it from PSS if you need the hotfixes that have been released since SP2.

It also looks like they are following the Vista update trend:
SQL Server 2005 hotfixes are now multilanguage. There is only one cumulative update package for all languages.

Unless you are experiencing a specific issue listed inside the KB, I'd stick with the released SP2 build for now.

Grab the hotfix here.

Today must be release day. I wonder if Windows 2003 SP2 will come out today too.
Download SQL 2005 SP2 here.

If you want to run SQL under Vista or Longhorn, get SP2.

There are a lot of changes since SP1, so it is worth reading the release notes to make sure there haven't been any incompatible changes made and, of course, it is not recommended to use CTPs in a production environment but if past SQL CTPs have been very stable.

You can grab the new binaries here.

The changelog for SQL 2005 SP2, so far, is here.

.NET 3.0 RTM'd too today - it is the week of releases at Microsoft it seems.

If you are seeing any of these issues, you might want to consider installing this post-SP1 "rollup" for SQL 2005. It looks like mostly memory leak and deadlock fixes.

More info here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918222

Looks like the one of the new features mentioned in the SP1 release notes is located here:

"A registry switch has been added that you can use to control encryption between a master server and a target server (MSX-TSX)."

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\MSSQLServer\Client\SNI9.0\GeneralFlags\Flag1

It looks like it is a DWORD toggle of 0 or 1 with the setting of 'Value' determining whether or not to use encryption between the SQL server agent and SQL server.

It looks like not a lot has changed since the March CTP of SP1. A big noteworthy detail is that Vista and Longhorn are officially supported now.

New additions:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/916940

Fixes:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=913090

Download link:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=cb6c71ea-d649-47ff-9176-e7cac58fd4bc&displaylang=en

Tiny URL version of the download link:
http://tinyurl.com/efgun

I'm sure there are a lot more out there but these seem to be the most common you might see in the wild, and this is what I've gathered from various sources around the Internet.

All start with 9.00.xxx and the number we care about is at the xxx. Typically SQL will spam the event log with the build number on startup but I don't think that is always the best way to determine the build number. When all else fails, you can always execute SELECT @@version from the Query editor.

Beta 1: 608
Beta 2: 852
12/04 CTP: 981
04/05 CTP: 1116
06/05 CTP: 1187
09/05 CTP: 1314
RTM: 1399.06
SP1 03/06 CTP: 2040

Any production server should most likely be running 1399.06 and any test box might be running one of the CTPs or Betas, but those should be retired ASAP.

I have been running the SP1 CTP without any issues so far, but my laptop isn't exactly a SQL transaction powerhouse.