SQL Server 2008 Delayed--Is Windows Server 2008 Next?

Published: January 30, 2008

by Alex Woodie

Delivery of SQL Server 2008 has been pushed back a quarter, and won't occur until the third quarter, a Microsoft product manager said in a blog posting last week. The delay--occurring less than a month before the formal launch at the big February 27 server product hootenanny--will lead to inevitable questions about the wisdom of formally launching a product six months before it actually becomes available, and whether the delay will affect the delivery of other, closely tied products, such as Windows Server 2008.

Last September, at meeting of SQL Server professionals, Ted Kummert, the database chief at Microsoft, told attendees that SQL Server 2008 would ship during the second quarter of 2008. Since then, everything seemed to be going smoothly, with regular beta releases and community technology previews (CTPs) making their way into testers hands.

While it was clear that the big February 27 "Heroes Happens Here" launch event would be a marketing extravaganza, it was generally expected that the three products to be prominently featured--SQL Server 2008, Windows Server 2008, and Visual Studio 2008--would be available within a reasonable amount of time of the launch.

On Friday, we learned that won't be the case. In a blog posting on the SQL Server team blog, called "The Data Platform Insider," a worker in the SQL Server division, Francois Ajenstat, announced that SQL Server 2008 won't ship until the third quarter of 2008. (Hint: When product availability is couched in quarterly terms, it usually means the last day of the quarter, which would be September 30.)

Ajenstat explained the new release schedule, and the rationale for the delay. "Microsoft is excited to deliver a feature-complete CTP during the 'Heroes Happen Here' launch wave and a release candidate (RC) in Q2 calendar year 2008, with final release to manufacturing (RTM) of SQL Server 2008 expected in Q3. Our goal is to deliver the highest quality product possible and we simply want to use the time to meet the high bar that you, our customers, expect."

The announcement was the source of confusion for some people, who thought all three server products, including SQL Server 2008, would be available on February 27. So the next day, another SQL Server engineer, Anthony Carrabino, explained the difference between marketing and product development.

"The launch event in Los Angeles is actually a marketing event designed to tell the world about SQL Server 2008, Visual Studio 2008, and Windows Server 2008," Carrabino writes on the blog. "Since all three Microsoft products are being RTM within months of each other, it makes sense for us to create a single event for delivering information about these exciting new releases."

In actuality, that's not the case. Visual Studio 2008 already went RTM in late November and is in developers hands (although they can't exploit all the new features without finalized versions of the new operating system and database). After the latest delay in September, the RTM of Windows Server 2008 is currently slated for the first quarter of 2008 (which, as we learned earlier, probably means March 30).

With the third crucial component of the new server platform, SQL Server 2008, not due to arrive until the kiddies return to school this fall, it leads one to wonder exactly how much cohesion Microsoft expects to draw from the launch of these three related products next month in LA. After all, Visual Studio 2008 developers won't be able to exploit all of the new features in Windows Server 2008 until SQL Server 2008 is ready.

It also makes one wonder if the delay somehow portends another delay in Windows Server 2008. While this product is deep into the testing phase, with RC1 currently the latest and an RC2 until now looking unlikely, the fact that the new database won't be ready for the new operating system for about six months could provide justification to keep Windows Server 2008 in the oven a bit longer, and do some more tinkering with RC2. After all, the product formerly known as "Longhorn Server" has been no stranger to delays, so what's one more?

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