SQL Server 2008 R2 November CTP has been released!

At the PASS Summit 2009 event, Ted Kummert announced the imminent appearance of the November version of SQL Server 2008 R2 CTP. And today we are pleased to announce that the November SQL Server 2008 R2 CTP is available today for download to MSDN and TechNet subscribers. All others will have access to the November SQL Server 2008 R2 CTP on November 11.

You can go to www.microsoft.com/sqlserver/2008/en/us/R2.aspx to get more information.
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November CTP is a release that includes all the planned features of the final product (feature complete), so we would like you to try out all the new features of this CTP release, which include:

• Windows Server 2008 R2 support, including Hyper-V support with Live Migration;
• improved data compression mechanism with Unicode UCS-2 support;
• PowerPivot for Microsoft Excel and Microsoft SharePoint Server; *
• Report Builder 3.0 with the Report Part gallery and new visualizations (sparklines, databars);
• Master Data Services (MDS).

Improvements in features that were introduced in August CTP:

• Control Point Explorer has been added to SQL Server Management Studio for centralized management of multiple server instances and application load monitoring;
• built-in wizards to help you quickly configure and register new server instances and data-tier components in the centralized management mechanism;
• Dashboard viewpoints to quickly view the load status of applications and servers;
• StreamInsight technology engine for the Complex Event Processing mechanism.

Your feedback is important to us! If you find time to try this release, please follow this link in order to submit your review.

* PowerPivot components for Excel and SharePoint will be available soon. Check for updates on this here .