posted on Monday, April 18, 2005 6:09 AM
by
amachanic
SQL Server 2005 April CTP + Important Announcements
In addition to releasing the April CTP of SQL Server 2005, Microsoft has made two important announcements this morning:
- One, the rest of the SQL Server 2005 beta program will follow the CTP model -- no more "beta" milestones. It's CTP from here on out.
- Two, SQL Server 2005 Express Edition is now cleared for a "Go Live" license. That means you can use it in production without violating the EULA. However, you still won't get support from MS.
Of course, I have a few reactions to these announcements...
First of all, the fact that MS is going with a CTP model for the rest of the release is very interesting. This shows, in my opinion, that MS both values the community's input on the direction of the product, and is willing to put the product through a much more rigorous test that only real users can throw at it. MS simply cannot
test all possible scenarios, and users are apt to do many strange things in the course of a deployment. The CTP model will produce a much more robust product, by subjecting SQL Server to tests that no one in a lab could have ever thought of. I think that opening the beta like this is a big step in the right direction for MS -- and I think doing this kind of thing in the past would have resulted in a lot less hassles with regards to fixes, patches, etc.
The "Go Live" news for the SQL Server Express bits is also quite intriguing! SQL Server express has most of the capabilities of the "bigger" SQL Server editions -- so from my perspective this is really a validation that most of the product is feature-complete, relatively bug-free, and ready to go. I don't think I'll be able to take advantage quite yet, but I'm looking forward to hearing others' experiences using this thing in production environments.