14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft isn’t recommending that early adopters that have helped test-drive the latest iteration of its data platform upgrade to the RTM version from CTP, Beta or RC development milestones. SQL Server 2008 R2 was released to manufacturing a little over a week ago, on April 21st, 2010. Ahead of RTM, Microsoft produced a constant flow of Community Technology Preview Builds, although no milestones were labeled Beta or Release Candidate. Customers that have been testing the CTP releases of SQL Server 2008 R2 should resist the temptation to upgrade to RTM, and instead re-deploy from scratch.
“Right up until the last minute, things are changing in the code – and you want that to happen. Our internal testing runs right up until the second we lock down for release, and we watch the CTP/RC/Beta reports to make sure there are no show-stoppers, and fix what we find. And it’s not just “big” changes you need to worry about – a simple change in one line of code can have a massive effect,” Buck Woody, orofessional SQL server technical specialist, Microsoft, revealed.
Woody recalled a specific case with SQL Server 2008 a year ago, involving a customer that upgraded from CTP to RTM and went into production. Immediately following the upgrade process, there were absolutely no problems whatsoever with the new deployment. However, things soon changed.
“One day they had an issue. Couldn’t fix it themselves, we took a look, days went by, and we finally had to call in the big guns for support. Turns out, the upgrade was the problem. So we had to come up with some elaborate schemes to get the system migrated over while they were in production. This was painful for everyone involved. So in general it's just a really not a good idea,” Woody added.
At the same time, there are early adopters for which Microsoft makes an exception. Customers that opted to be a part of the company’s Technology Adoption Program for specific technologies, including SQL Server 2008 R2, will receive assistance in their move from CTP to RTM. “If you are a 'TAP' customer (you’ll know if you are), we help you move from the CTP products to RTM, but that’s a special case that we track carefully and send along special instructions and tools to help you along. That level of effort isn’t possible on a large scale, so it’s not just a magic tool that we run to upgrade from CTP to RTM. So again, unless you’re a TAP customer, it’s a no-no,” Woody concluded.