14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is gearing up to release the next iteration of its data platform, and offered customers an indication as to when they will be able to get their hands on the successor of SQL Server 2008. According to a member of the SQL Server team, SQL Server 2008 R2, formerly codenamed Kilimanjaro, is right on track for general availability in the next three months. It was previously reported that the final release of the R2 flavor of the data platform would be offered by May 6th, 2010, and now Microsoft is only offering official confirmation of this fact.
“Today, SQL Server 2008 R2 received an official release date. It will be listed on Microsoft’s May price list, and will be available by May 2010,” an SQL Server team representative said. “Customers with Software Assurance can upgrade to SQL Server 2008 R2 and take advantage of the new features without incurring additional licensing costs. “
In this regard, SQL Server 2008 R2 will be generally available approximately one year after the Redmond company announced the official label for the product developed since then as SQL Server Kilimanjaro. According to Microsoft, SQL Server 2008 R2 has benefited from a consistent number of testers as the platform evolved one Community Technology Preview to another over the course of the past year.
“SQL Server 2008 R2 showcases Microsoft’s continued commitment to business intelligence and mission-critical workloads. Since we made this release available as a Community Technology Preview (CTP) in August 2009, it has been well-received by the community with more than 150,000 downloads,” the SLQ Server team member added.
In November 2009, the software giant announced that it was adding two new items to the SQL Server product lineup, namely Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Datacenter and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Parallel Data Warehouse (formerly codenamed “Madison”). SQL Server 2008 R2 Parallel Data Warehouse is the only edition of the platform that will not be released ahead of May, but rather in mid-2010.