14 DAY TRIAL // An excellent online resource offered to customers upgrading to the latest iteration of Microsoft’s data platform is also available as a standalone download. SQL Server Books Online can still be accessed through MSDN, but, in addition to the Redmond company’s developer portal, the collection of documents is also up for grabs via the Microsoft Download Center, free of charge, of course. The download offers both documentation and tutorials created for the RTM version of SQL Server 2008 R2. As many of you already know, SQL Server 2008 R2, formerly code-named “Kilimanjaro,” was released to manufacturing in April 2010.
In fact, Microsoft’s advice for SQL Server users is to first have a look at the content online, and only then decide whether they need to download and install “SQL Server 2008 R2 Books Online.” Customers running the previous version of the data platform, SQL Server 2008, along with the SQL Server 2008 Books Online, need to know that SQL Server 2008 R2 Books Online represents an upgrade for the content they have currently deployed on their computer.
“Installing SQL Server 2008 R2 Books Online upgrades your existing SQL Server 2008 version of Books Online. If you upgrade, be aware that the content and help topics now describe tools and features of SQL Server 2008 R2. To reinstall SQL Server 2008 Books Online, you must first uninstall SQL Server 2008 R2 Books Online. Because SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 share components, you cannot have side-by-side installations of Books Online on the same machine,” the company noted.
After having wrapped up SQL Server 2008 R2 in April, Microsoft made the data platform available for purchase to business customers as of May 12. Starting with the same date, the company has also been allowing businesses to buy Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010.
“Books Online includes the following types of information: setup and upgrade instructions: information about new features and backward compatibility; conceptual descriptions of the technologies and features in SQL Server; procedural topics describing how to use the various features in SQL Server; tutorials that guide you through common tasks; reference documentation for the graphical tools, command prompt utilities, programming languages, and application programming interfaces (APIs) that are supported by SQL Server; [and] descriptions of the sample databases and applications that are available with SQL Server,” Microsoft stated.
The new SQL Server 2008 R2 RTM downloads are available here.