SQL Server 2008 November CTP 5 - next instalment is available
Here comes another instalment of SQL Server 2008 for the CTP fans.
The SQL Server 2008 November CTP has been released to the connect.microsoft.com website and is available for download here. One of the improvements in this build is the ability to persist Lookup reference data and use non-OLEDB sources for Lookup.
A discussion of what's new in the CTP may be found here.
This is what referred by Microsoft's Ted Kummet, Corporate Vice-President, Data & Storage platform:
this CTP really is jam-packed with new features. We really believe it is going to be an eye opener for a lot of people, not just in terms of the new features that will be included, but how close we are to delivering a final product with high quality. When we think about the importance of SQL Server 2008, it is really about moving ahead with our application platform approach and delivering against the vision of Dynamic IT for organizations. Some key data management and reliability features include compatibility with Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 as well as new capabilities such as Resource Governor, Backup Compression and Transparent Data Encryption.
I have also looked the high level informatio non Business Intelligence enhancements such as Degisn alerts, block computation, report designed with new visualizations. A betterment to the FILESTREAM data type for unstructured data, and to provide support for spatial data for location intelligence. There is a considerable amount of new functionality, and as always I suggest the best practice to download & install this CTP within your Development Environment on a Virtual machine and not to disturb existing platform.