The CTP 1 for SQL Server Denali is now available to download at the below link:

Link to Download: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=6a04f16f-f6be-4f92-9c92-f7e5677d91f9

Things that excite me about this upcoming release is:

  • AlwaysOn – make high availability lot easier going forward in SQL Server, and also the ability to make the remote sites available for continuous read and backups. This will help with scalability as well.
  • Column-based Query Accelerator (Project “Apollo”) – faster query times
  • SQL Server developer tools (Project “Juneau”)
  • Adhoc Query Tool (Project “Crescent”)
  • Updated Data Integration including Data Quality Services
  • and many more…

Download the CTP try it out and provide feedback on http://connect.microsoft.com