Since the stable and mainly feature-complete versions of SQL Server 2012 have been available, I have been heads-down on multiple BI projects using this software. SQL Server 2012 is not just the next, incremental build of the same database platforms with a few added features here and there. No, SQL Server 2012 ushers in a new era of user-driven BI analytics and data visualization.
Here’s a little information about my upgrade experience. First of all, let’s talk about where we are in the pre-release cycle. Release Candidate 0 was made available to the general public about a month ago. There was talk about another, internal build with bug fixes and some added BI model functionality & Power View features. If this internal release were to actually exist and if it had been made available to yours truly, the existence of such a product build would be protected under a non-disclosure agreement with Microsoft and I would not be at liberty to tell you that I had it installed not to discuss any details.
I started with a completely working install of SQL Server 2008 R2, including all SQL Server services and a SharePoint 2010 Enterprise Edition farm with Reporting Services & PowerPivot integration. When attempting to upgrade from 2008 R2 to 2012 RC0, setup would freeze and become inoperable. There were several issues, all of which I don’t remember but the a did not go well. At that point, I rolled my machine back to a snapshot and performed a side-by-side installation of 2012 with all services, alongside the existing 2088 R2 install. Both cohabitated and worked well. Moving the content databases was done manually but it went smoothly. I then manually migrated all the user databases by detaching them from the 2008 R2 instance and then attaching them to the 2012 RC0 instance. I got there but it was on the long road.
What about the alledged more-recent, internal, super-secret build that no one knows about? If it did in-fact exist, and if I did in fact have a copy; it would have installed seamlessly and the upgrade from 2012 RC0 would have gone very smoothly. If that did indeed happen, I would hev been quite pleased that the upgrade from RC0 went quite well. Nudge nudge, wink wink – it looks like the upgrade story is good news.
We have sqlserver 2012 RCO installed and it will take some time to install the RTM. I need to know if there are changes related to PowerPivot, PowerView, Tabular Models or Report builder between the two versions to make it worth the time to install RTM immediately. We are just trying to evaluate the new features right now and definitely plan to install RTM down the road. Thanks.
The product teams have been aggressively adding features to bith PowerPivot and Power View in every build. I don’t have a complete list handy but I know there were enhancements to Power View after RC0.
No issues… much better than my experience trying to upgrade from 2008 R2 to RC0 or from CTP3 to RC0
[ theoretically, of course 😀 ]
If the alleged super secret build that no one knows about did exist, I’d be very happy to know the upgrade process was a smooth one;)