Want to test out Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (“Denali”) without having to download and install it? Amazon and Microsoft have put together a EC2 AMI that makes it possible to spin up Denali with minimal hassle.
The EC2 AMI includes Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 and the Community Technology Preview 3 (CTP3) of SQL Server 2012. Why go with the AMI rather than download and run it yourself? For starters, you’ll save yourself a 3GB download and configuration hassle.
Amazon says that it should take about five minutes to go from start to running Denali and being able to test it. The costs include only the EC2 instances – no licensing costs. Amazon also has a test drive page for Denali which includes links to the Microsoft forums for discussing Denali, and a page with all the AMI IDs for the different Amazon regions.
This seems like a smart way to get betas and new products in the hands of developers. Anyone planning to take Denali for a test drive on AWS?
