Microsoft pushes SQL Server 2005 back

Those users and developers anxious to get their hands on SQL Server 2005 will have to be anxious a little longer.

Since early this year Microsoft officials said to expect the finished version of the product in the first half of 2005. But on Monday the company said it has decided to release a new and "incremental" beta called a Community Technical Preview (CTP) starting immediately, according to Microsoft senior vice president Paul Flessner.

This means the finished version of the product will be pushed back to next summer.

Flessner advised beta testers that the CTP is an "internal build" that is coming between major releases. He said there is the possibility of additional CTPs before the third beta of the product.

The first beta, sent to only selected testers, was delivered in mid-2003 with a much larger circulated second beta coming almost exactly a year later. Beta 3 is now expected to drop sometime during next year's first quarter, according to company officials.

The Developer Edition of the SQL Server 2005 CTP is available immediately on Betaplace and will be available to MSDN Universal, Enterprise, and Professional subscribers through the MSDN Subscriber Downloads site within one or two weeks, company officials said.