Launched officially at the end of February 2008, concomitantly with Windows Server 2008, SQL Server 2008 was only released to manufacturing at the start of August 2008. Formerly codenamed Katmai, SQL Server 2008 represents not only Microsoft's way of taking its database platform to the next level, but also mixing in out-of-the-box business intelligence capabilities with the solution. With two editions of SQL Server 2008 made available for free via the Microsoft Download Center, users have the possibility to test drive the latest iteration of the company's database platform, before acquiring it.

“Microsoft SQL Server 2008 is a database platform for large-scale online transaction processing (OLTP), data warehousing, and e-commerce applications; it is also a business intelligence platform for data analysis and reporting solutions,” the Redmond company stated.

The Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Evaluation: Trial Experience for IT Professionals and the Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Evaluation: Trial Experience for Developers are both examples of free trial software releases. According to Microsoft, the two editions support a wide range of platforms including Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista RTM/SP1, Windows Server 2008, and even Windows XP SP3. The software giant informed that the trial editions were time-bombed and would automatically expire after six months, but throughout the trial period users would be able to enjoy full functionality.

“SQL Server 2008 is a trusted, productive, and intelligent data platform for all your data needs. SQL Server 2008 delivers on Microsoft’s Data Platform vision, by helping your organization manage any data, any place, any time. It enables you to store structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data, such as documents, images, and music, directly in the database. SQL Server 2008 delivers a rich set of integrated services that enable you to do more with your data such as query, search, synchronize, report, and analyze. Data can be stored and accessed in your largest servers within the data center all the way down to desktops and mobile devices, enabling you to have control over your data, no matter where it is stored,” Microsoft revealed.

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Evaluation: Trial Experience for IT Professionals is available for download here.

Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Evaluation: Trial Experience for Developers can be downloaded from here.