SQL Server 2005 Released to Manufacturing

by Alex Woodie

SQL Server 2005, the new database management system that was first slated for availability three years ago, was released to manufacturing by Microsoft last week, the final step before it becomes generally available to customers. The launch of the new database, codenamed "Yukon," is an important milestone for Microsoft, which is why the company will be pulling out the stops at a gala launch event in San Francisco next Monday.

Microsoft's chief executive officer Steve Ballmer will do his best to raise the excitement level during Microsoft's "Launch Tour 2005" event in the City by the Bay next week. While the indefatigable Ballmer has mellowed his antics somewhat compared to the famous "Developers, Developers" and "Dance, Monkey Boy " routines of years past, Windows professionals should not miss the chance to see the imminently excitable CEO if they're in the area.

The show hits the road the following day with another launch event in Detroit, followed by shows in Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, Atlanta, Seattle, Dallas, Denver, Anaheim, Houston, Orlando, Minneapolis, Boston, and Washington D.C. Users can register for these shows here. A number of smaller events are also planned throughout November and December. Check here for Visual Studio 2005 launch events and here for SQL Server 2005 launch events. Besides education and entertainment, attendees of all of these events will receive a free copies of SQL Server and Visual Studio.

While SQL Server 2005 won't hit the shelves of retail outlets for some time, Windows shops across the country have been using the database for months. Microsoft has more than 100 production applications running on the database as part of its "dog food" tests, and another 30 customers have put the database into production, according to an update that Paul Flessner, senior vice president of server applications at Microsoft, posted on the Web in September.

Microsoft revealed pricing and packaging for SQL Server 2005 seven months ago. This was an unusual move for Microsoft, which normally announces these details much closer to the actual launch date. However, the company conceded it was under pressure from customers who had signed multi-year Software Assurance contracts to show them what they would get with SQL Server 2005.

SQL Server 2005 Enterprise Edition will cost $25,000 per processor, a 25 percent increase from the $20,000-per-processor price tag of SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition. Users of SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition, which runs on servers with up to four processors, will pay $6,000 per processor, a 20 percent increase from SQL Server 2000 Standard Edition--or pay a similar increase if they opt for the Client Access License (CAL) licensing schemes. New with SQL Server 2005 is a Workgroup Edition that installs on servers with up to two processors and will cost $3,899.

In addition to the low-end Workgroup Edition for SQL Server 2005, Microsoft also announced a Workgroup Edition for SQL Server 2000 earlier this year. The availability of this new entry-level database, which sells for $3,899 and was aimed at similar low-end database offerings made by database rivals Oracle and IBM, could explain the surprising 15 percent increase in SQL Server 2000 sales Microsoft reported last quarter (see the accompanying story "Microsoft Revenues Grow 6 Percent, Profit Soars to $3.1 Billion" in this newsletter).

Last month Microsoft unveiled Project REAL, a program Microsoft is undertaking with business partners providing future SQL Server 2005 users with reference implementations for the database. The company is also working to get ISVs up to speed with SQL Server 2005 through its Front Runner program. See "Microsoft Gears Up for SQL Server Launch" for more on Project REAL and Front Runner.

In addition to SQL Server 2005, Microsoft will also formally launch Visual Studio 2005, the new development environment that is closely tied to SQL Server 2005, at next week's launch event in San Francisco. A third product, BizTalk Server 2006, will also be formally unveiled, although BizTalk Server 2006 won't actually be available until next year.