With the announcement the other day of SQL Server 2008 RTMing, I have been seeing and receiving some questions as to whether SBS 2008 Premium would be shipping with SQL Server 2005 or SQL Server 2008. I thought I would address this here on the Blog so that all of you would have this answer.

The answer is… Both.

Now let me explain what I mean by that so everyone is clear. If you look at the SBS 2008 Editions page, you will see that SBS 2008 Premium does come with SQL Server 2008 Standard included:

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Because Microsoft recognizes that Line of Business applications may experience compatibility issues moving from one version to the next, for approximately one year from SBS 2008’s Release to Manufacturing (RTM) date, we will ship SQL Server 2005 Standard Edition (both 32-bit and 64-bit platforms) in addition to the SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition for Small Business for the customer’s use in order to address these potential issues. A couple things to note on this:

1) You get a single SQL Server license in SBS 2008 Premium. So, although you get the media for SQL 2008 and SQL 2005 in the box, you will have to choose one or the other to install, not both.

2) SBS 2008 downgrade rights apply to the suite, not individual components only. We are providing this approximately one-year window to allow for transition into the SQL 2008 era. Note that once we stop shipping both versions of SQL Server in the box, customers are restricted from downgrading just the SQL Server component. Our SBS downgrade rights specify that if you downgrade, you must downgrade all the component parts of the server software, not just individual components. (This answer is posted in the FAQ posted HERE)

Thank you and have a wonderful day,

Eric Ligman
Microsoft Senior Manager, Community Engagement
US Partner Strategy, Marketing and Programs
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights