SQL Server 2008 is now released to manufacturing.

I had the opportunity to have an review session on the new product two weeks back before I was on holidays. I was fairly impressed by a few of the new features:

1. the ability to encrypt the entire database, data files and log files transparently.
2. enhanced auditing. One can define audit specifications in each database and create custom audit filters.
3. better report tools.

It looks like some good updates to the product to make it more secure and easier to audit and get good reports, all things upper managment like to see. When links come out to the downloads, I post it up to the blog.