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Connecting to Pre-Release Versions of SQL Server 2008

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Testing has identified some issues connecting to versions of SQL Server 2008 from applications using the .NET Framework v2.0 SP1 or developers using Visual Studio 2005 or Visual Studio 2008. These connectivity issues should be considered before upgrading any end-user systems to Vista SP1 Beta or Windows Server 2008 RC0, upgrading a backend database to SQL Server 2008, or upgrading developer systems to use Visual Studio  2008 Beta 2 or RTM.

Design-Time Connectivity Between Visual Studio and SQL Server 2008

Developers using Visual Studio 2005 or any version of Visual Studio 2008 will be unable to connect to any instance of SQL Server 2008. This is most significant for Visual Basic and C# developers as it will effectively block the use of any RAD features to aid in the development of their project.

 

This connectivity issue is principally caused by an incompatibility between the SMO layer that ships in Visual Studio and the SMO support provided in SQL Server 2008. Future updates will replace the appropriate Visual Studio components and allow connectivity and RAD feature support to the SQL Server 2008 November CTP and later.

Runtime Connectivity to SQL Server 2008 Using System.Data.SqlClient

On systems that have installed the .NET Framework v2.0 SP1, applications that use System.Data.SqlClient to provide data access will be unable to connect to certain versions of SQL Server 2008 depending on the .NET Framework version installed on the client and the SQL Server 2008 version installed on the server. If either end of the connection is updated without consideration of the system as a whole, applications that were previously working would no longer be able to connect.

 

System.Data.dll, which contains the System.Data.SqlClient namespace, ships as part of the .NET Framework v2.0 SP1. This version of the .NET Framework ships with Visual Studio 2008, Vista SP1, and Windows Server 2008 and with each release of these products (beta, CTP, or release) there is a slightly different version of the .NET Framework. This is not unexpected with pre-release bits, as this is a normal part of the development cycle for each of these products. The released versions of these products will be interoperable and will allow for limited support of other pre-release components.

 

Below is a chart that identifies whether or not a connection can be established between managed data access applications using System.Data.SqlClient and particular versions of SQL Server 2008 (Katmai).

 

 

 

1 the .NET Framework v2.0 SP1 RTM redistributable is installed as a pre-requisite for the RTM versions of Visual Studio 2008, .NET Framework v3.0 SP1, and .NET Framework v3.5
2 the .NET Framework v2.0 SP1 Beta 2 redistributable is installed as a pre-requisite for the Beta 2 versions of Visual Studio 2008, .NET Framework v3.0 SP1, and .NET Framework v3.5
3 connection utilizes SQL Server 2005 data type compatibility

 

How Does this Impact Feature Availability

The chart below identifies the SQL Server 2008 features that are supported between different combinations of the .NET Framework v2.0 SP1 releases and SQL Server 2008 (Katmai) releases.

 

 

Comments

  • Anonymous
    November 26, 2007
    PingBack from http://msdnrss.thecoderblogs.com/2007/11/26/connecting-to-pre-release-versions-of-sql-server-2008-4/

  • Anonymous
    December 09, 2007
    With the release of SQL Server 2005 and Visual Studio 2005 we delivered significant new improvements

  • Anonymous
    December 11, 2007
    S příchodem VS 2005 a SQL 2005 bylo automaticky bezproblémové propojení se z VS 2005 na SQL 2005. Též

  • Anonymous
    December 12, 2007
    Visual Studio 2005 Support for SQL Server 2008, Community Technology Preview: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=e1109aef-1aa2-408d-aa0f-9df094f993bf&DisplayLang=en

  • Anonymous
    December 19, 2007
    You have install a SQL Server 2008 CTP and then another application or you've installed SQL Server 2008

  • Anonymous
    January 30, 2008
    AAARGH! this is killing me :( Any ETA on when there will be Design-Time support in VS2008 for SQL2008 NOV CTP? It's krazy how there's a patch for VS2005 but not for VS2008 :( /me cries! Please can we have a patch release? please?

  • Anonymous
    April 07, 2008
    Since posting on the topic of design-time and runtime connectivity to pre-release versions of SQL Server

  • Anonymous
    April 07, 2008
    Since posting on the topic of design-time and runtime connectivity to pre-release versions of SQL Server

  • Anonymous
    April 07, 2008
    Il team di ADO.NET ha appena fatto postato la news del rilascio di una Patch Beta per Visual Studio 2008

  • Anonymous
    April 26, 2008
    Last year, a particular release of SQL Server 2008 hampered the ability to access SQL Server 2008 from

  • Anonymous
    June 28, 2008
    The comment has been removed

  • Anonymous
    May 25, 2009
    Hi, im using visual studio 2008 profesional edition and sql server 2008 where i got my database and when i try to run my aplication after making the functions by code to connect to the database i got the next msg:

  1. the program can not continue due to an incompatible database. the current data base version is". the aplication version is '1'. Please if someone can help me with this problem i got lots of weeks trying to find answer and nothing, ive already instaled CTP and nothing works out. my sqlserver managent studio 2008 is well installed. and im using the following code to connect to my database: Dim connectionString As String        ' ----- Initialize.        HoldTransaction = Nothing        ' ----- Build the connection string.        ' !!! WARNING: Hardcoded for now.        connectionString = "Data Source=tzSQLEXPRESS;" & _           "Initial Catalog=Library;Integrated Security=true"        ' ----- Attempt to open the database.        Try            LibraryDB = New SqlClient.SqlConnection(connectionString)            LibraryDB.Open()        Catch ex As Exception            GeneralError("ConnectDatabase", ex)            Return False        End Try        ' ----- Success. Please answer me here: cabe_zz@hotmail.com Please answer me here: cabe_zz@hotmail.com Please answer me here: cabe_zz@hotmail.com Please answer me here: cabe_zz@hotmail.com thank u, u all help to make us better and grow up our knowledge