According to a Microsoft spokesperson, the software will be available to volume license customers Aug. 14, then be released through general retail on Sept. 15.
This version of SQL Server will offer wide swath of new capabilities, making it a formidable rival to Oracle's enterprise database offering.
One of the chief new features will be something called Policy-Based Management, which will allow administrators to set an organizational-wide configurations for all running instances of SQL Server, according to Microsoft Federal development consultant Jack Bradham.
SQL Server 2008 will also collect performance data of the database itself, through its Performance Data Collector (PDC). Administrators will also be able to allocate resources for each workload, through a new feature called the Resource Governor.
Other new features will include support for auditing, large-scale data warehousing and geospatial data. And it will also offer a wider range of reporting and analysis services.
SQL Server will available in a total of seven editions, ranging from the full-fledged Enterprise version to Standard, as well as Developer, Express and Compact. The latter two are free and designed for "learning enviornments" and mobile developments, respectively. SQL Server 2008 Express and SQL Server Compact editions are available for general release now.
The software has been widely tested. According to Microsoft, the preview editions have been downloaded over 450,000 times, and 75 instances are already run in production environments.
Although Microsoft announced SQL Server 2008 in February of this year, it delayed the release of the software, first to June, and, most recently, to the end of September.
More information on SQL Server 2008 can be found on Microsoft's Web site here.
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