News

Yukon, Whidbey to Launch in November

• By Scott Bekker
• 06/07/2005

In a Microsoft TechEd 2005 conference keynote speech that he peppered with joking references to SQL Server's long delays, Flessner also announced immediate availability of a new Community Technology Preview of SQL Server 2005 called the June CTP. It is the latest in a series of CTPs Microsoft has released in lieu of betas and release candidates. Microsoft also released the first CTP for BizTalk Server 2006 on Tuesday.

Flessner added that although the release will have come five years after the last version, SQL Server 2000, extensive testing means customers won't need to apply the conventional wisdom of delaying deployment until after the first service pack to avoid stability problems. Flessner said the Microsoft IT department has been running SQL Server 2005 in production for nearly a year and said seven major companies are in production. "SP1 is baked into the product," Flessner said.

SQL Server 2005, code-named "Yukon," brings tight integration with Visual Studio 2005, code-named "Whidbey," and with BizTalk Server 2006. SQL Server 2005 will include a Common Language Runtime that allows developers to program in any CLR-supported development language and deploy application components at any tier of the application.

SQL Server 2005 also brings scalability enhancements, enhanced reporting capabilities and data mining, new versions and x64 support.