SQL Server 2022 Release Candidate is now available

The first Release Candidate (RC0) of SQL Server 2022 is now available at https://aks.ms/getsqlserver2022. A Release Candidate means we are moving closer to the product's general availability. With each new release of a preview version, there are fewer new features but more fixes and "fit and finish" often based on your feedback.

There are a few new features that may be of interest to you in RC0:

• Integrated acceleration

The concept of integrated acceleration typically involves hardware offloading. Hardware offloading involves the integration of unique hardware technology to offload processing so that workloads have more resources. The first example with SQL Server is to use technology for backup compression from Intel called QuickAssist. You can learn more at https://docs.microsoft.com/sql/relational-databases/integrated-acceleration/overview.

• TRIM function extensions

We have enhanced the TRIM, RTRIM, and LTRIM T-SQL functions to new ANSI standards. This is just an example of the many T-SQL language enhancements we have included in SQL Server 2022.

You can learn all the capabilities we have packed into SQL Server 2022 at https://aka.ms/sqlserver2022docs. We have all types of demos you can try out these new features for yourself at https://aka.ms/sqlserver2022demos.

And keep up to date with deep dives into new SQL Server 2022 features from our team through our blog series at https://aka.ms/sqlserver2022blogs.

We look forward to your continued feedback on SQL Server 2022 at https://aka.ms/sqlfeedback and the march towards general availability.

Bob Ward, Microsoft